Did you know that board games are enjoying a resurgence in popularity? According to an outlook report from businesswire.com, the global board game market value is expected to rise to $39.99 billion by 2028. 65% of Baby Boomers in the United States stated that they like board games, and it’s not difficult to see why! For many older adults, board games are a walk down memory lane—a callback to family game nights where unforgettable memories were made. Here are 10 classics we guarantee you’ve probably played and enjoyed!
Battleship
Experts can’t determine if this popular strategy board game was invented in Russia during World War I or in France under the name “L’Attaque.” Dubious origins aside, Battleship became an instant classic when Milton Bradley released it in 1967. The game is so popular that it’s spawned video games, apps, and even a 2012 film adaptation!
Checkers
Checkers is quite literally timeless. In fact, historians believe the oldest form of the game was played around 3,000 B.C. in an ancient Sumerian city called Ur. However, the version of checkers we’re familiar with was developed in France around the start of the 12th century. Today, millions of people around the world still play checkers, though with slight variations across cultures!
Clue
British factory worker and musician Anthony E. Pratt was hunkered down in his home during the World War II air raids when inspiration struck. He had often watched his clients act out real-life murder mystery games at the English manors where he played piano. This, combined with his love of murder fiction novels, helped Pratt invent the game he decided to call Murder! The musician-turned-board-game-inventor patented the game in 1947 and promptly sold the rights to Waddingtons’ executive Norman Watson. Watson’s first order of business? To change the name of Murder! to Cluedo—later Clue in the United States.
Connect 4
We can thank legendary board game inventors Howard Wexler and Ned Strongin for this classic game. Connect 4 has been a hit among players old and young since its 1974 debut. While simple to play, it also requires a fair bit of strategy. As a matter of fact, Connect 4 boasts a dizzying 4.5 trillion possible combinations!
The Game of Life
Believe it or not, The Game of Life has been around since 1860. Originally called The Checkered Game of Life, it was invented as an alternative to card games and aimed to promote moral, ethical behavior among players. The Game of Life received a makeover on its 100th anniversary in 1960, transforming into the game we know and love today.
Monopoly
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Monopoly is the best-selling board game of all time. While Charles Darrow is often credited as the inventor of the beloved board game, that’s not exactly true. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie was granted a patent for a Monopoly precursor called The Landlord’s Game in 1904. Sadly, she made only $500 off the game later known as Monopoly and received no royalties, while Darrow became the first millionaire game developer in history.
Operation
We might not be able to play Operation if it weren’t for a professor at the University of Illinois. Created by industrial design student John Spinello for a class assignment in the early 1960s, the game was initially called Death Valley—and bore no resemblance to the Operation of today. In fact, the original concept involved searching for water in Death Valley! Fortunately for Operation fans everywhere, Milton Bradley decided to revamp Spinello’s creation to a surgery-themed game when they bought the rights in 1965.
Risk
Referenced in a Season 6 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, it’s safe to say that Risk is a board game classic. The game has been around since 1957 when it was invented by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. Parker Brothers purchased the rights and relaunched the game to a new audience of game enthusiasts in 1959. Risk went on to sell a whopping 100,000 copies in its first year.
Scrabble
Like millions of Americans during the Great Depression, Alfred Mosher Butts was out of work—but not ideas. The New York-based architect invented Scrabble to give struggling Americans a fun distraction from the bleak economic landscape. When James Brunot acquired the manufacturing rights in 1948, he refined Alfred’s brainchild into the game that continues to delight struggling Americans to this day.
UNO
We can thank a barber from Reading, Ohio for this fast-paced card game. Whether you love it or hate it, one thing is certain—we’ve all had at least one heated UNO argument in our lifetime.
Interestingly, its creator Merle Robbins invented the game to settle an argument with his son about the rules of Crazy Eight. How’s that for irony?
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