History of the Board Game - Morals vs. Capitalism | US History | Extra History
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the evolution of board games, highlighting the 1883 card game 'Banking' created by George B. Parker, which marked a shift from moral instruction to entertainment. It delves into the history of games like 'The Mansion of Happiness' and 'Snakes and Ladders,' revealing their Victorian moral underpinnings. The narrative follows Parker Brothers' rise, influenced by capitalism and role-playing, leading to iconic games like 'Monopoly' and the adaptation of British games, showcasing the transformation of board games into vehicles for fun rather than moral teaching.
Takeaways
- 🎲 The script discusses a group of teenagers in 1883 playing a card game called 'Banking,' which simulates market speculation and investing, contrasting with the moral and instructional games of their time.
- 👦 George B. Parker, a 16-year-old player, created the game 'Banking,' marking a shift in game design philosophy towards entertainment rather than moral instruction.
- 🏛 The Mansion of Happiness was a popular early Victorian board game that focused on moral values and instruction, with players moving through virtues and vices to reach a 'Heavenly Vista.'
- 📚 Board games in the 19th century were tools for moral and ethical instruction, reflecting the growing recognition of childhood as a distinct period for shaping individuals.
- 👧 Toys and games of the era reinforced gender roles and societal expectations, with different types of toys for boys and girls preparing them for their future roles.
- 👩💼 Anne Abbott, a minister's daughter, became America's first notable game designer with her successful game 'Dr. Busby and his Neighbors,' selling 15,000 copies in its first 18 months.
- 🤹♂️ Milton Bradley, a Massachusetts game publisher, introduced the first mass-produced portable game case for Union Army troops during the Civil War, including secular versions of moral instruction games.
- 💼 George Parker, dissatisfied with the moralistic nature of games, sought to create games that were purely for fun and replayability, leading to the creation of 'Banking' and the establishment of Parker Brothers.
- 📈 Banking introduced a new style of gameplay with players taking on roles as stock traders, incorporating elements of role-playing and capitalism into the game.
- 🚀 Parker Brothers grew to become a major player in the game industry, with George Parker publishing games with contemporary themes and eventually acquiring the rights to 'Monopoly,' though he did not create it.
- 🌐 World Anvil is highlighted as a software solution for creative world-building, offering tools for tabletop gamers, novelists, and narrative designers to organize and manage their ideas.
Q & A
What year was the game 'Banking' played by the group of teenagers?
-The game 'Banking' was played by the group of teenagers in 1883.
What is the main theme of the game 'Banking'?
-The main theme of the game 'Banking' is market speculation and investing, with players making leveraged bets using cards.
How does the game 'Banking' differ from the games played before its time?
-The game 'Banking' differs from previous games in that it is about capitalism and does not focus on moral values or instruction.
Who created the game 'Banking'?
-The game 'Banking' was created by George B. Parker, a 16-year-old player at the time.
What was the purpose of games like 'The Mansion of Happiness' and 'Snakes and Ladders' during the Victorian era?
-Games like 'The Mansion of Happiness' and 'Snakes and Ladders' were used for moral instruction, teaching players about virtues and vices through gameplay.
What was the original win state in the game 'The Mansion of Happiness'?
-In the original version of 'The Mansion of Happiness', the win state was reaching a heavenly vista of gardens and a great mansion, symbolizing a good life and reaching heaven.
How did George B. Parker's philosophy of play differ from the prevailing view of the time?
-George B. Parker believed that games should be primarily for entertainment and fun, rather than for moral instruction, and he wanted games to be endlessly replayable with different strategies.
What was the significance of the spinner in 'The Mansion of Happiness'?
-The spinner in 'The Mansion of Happiness' was used instead of dice to avoid the association with gambling, which was considered dangerous and inappropriate for children.
Who was America's first great game designer mentioned in the script?
-Anne Abbott, a minister's daughter from Salem, Massachusetts, is mentioned as America's first great game designer.
What game did Milton Bradley create to entertain Union Army troops during the Civil War?
-Milton Bradley created a mass-produced, portable game case containing chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, and his own version of 'The Mansion of Happiness' called 'The Checkered Game of Life'.
What was the name of the game company that George B. Parker founded?
-George B. Parker founded the game company Parker Brothers.
What was the name of the game that Parker Brothers acquired rights to, which became a smash hit?
-Parker Brothers acquired the rights to the game 'Monopoly', which became a smash hit.
Outlines
🃏 Invention of 'Banking': A Game of Market Speculation
The script introduces a group of 1883 teenagers playing a new card game called 'Banking', created by George B. Parker. This game simulates market speculation and investing, with players borrowing money and making leveraged bets. Unlike traditional games of the era that focused on moral values and instruction, 'Banking' is centered on capitalism, marking a significant shift in gaming philosophy. The game's unique aspect is its divergence in tone and subject matter from games like 'Old Maid' and 'The Mansion of Happiness', which were more about moral instruction. George B. Parker's innovation in game design is highlighted, emphasizing the transition from moral to capitalist themes in board games.
🎲 Evolution of Board Games and the Birth of Parker Brothers
This paragraph delves into the history of board games, tracing their roots back to the Middle Ages and beyond. It discusses the evolution of modern board games with themes and narratives, mentioning 'The Mansion of Happiness' as an early example from the 1500s. The paragraph highlights the moral and instructional nature of Victorian-era games, contrasting them with the entertainment-focused philosophy of George B. Parker. Parker's vision of games as primarily fun and replayable is emphasized, along with his successful endeavor to publish 'Banking' himself after being rejected by publishers. The narrative then follows Parker's journey to establish Parker Brothers, a company that revolutionized the game industry with its focus on contemporary themes and capitalism, rather than moral instruction.
📚 World Anvil: A Creative Tool for World Building and Game Design
The final paragraph shifts focus to World Anvil, a software solution for tabletop gamers, novelists, and narrative designers. It outlines the features of World Anvil, such as a world-building suite, RPG campaign manager, and novel writing and publishing software. The script emphasizes the ease of use and the comprehensive toolset provided by World Anvil for organizing and creating ideas. The paragraph also mentions a promotional offer for Extra Credits viewers, encouraging them to try World Anvil with a discount on premium memberships. The script concludes with acknowledgments to patrons who support the creation of content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Banking
💡Leverage
💡Moral instruction
💡Capitalism
💡George B. Parker
💡The Mansion of Happiness
💡Role-playing
💡Parker Brothers
💡Monopoly
💡World Anvil
Highlights
A group of teenagers in 1883 played a card game called 'Banking', which simulated market speculation and investing.
The game 'Banking' was created by 16-year-old George B. Parker, who changed the concept of gaming by introducing capitalism as a theme.
Traditional games of the era focused on moral values and instruction, unlike 'Banking', which was about capitalism and player choices.
The Mansion of Happiness, a game from the early Victorian era, used a spinner for movement and had moral themes influencing the game's outcome.
Snakes and Ladders originally had a moral component, with ladders representing virtues and snakes representing vices.
George B. Parker believed games should be fun and not solely for moral instruction, leading to the creation of 'Banking'.
In the 19th century, childhood was recognized as a distinct period for ethical and intellectual development, influencing game design.
Anne Abbott, a resident of Salem, Massachusetts, became America's first great game designer with her game 'Dr. Busby and his Neighbors'.
Milton Bradley, a Massachusetts game publisher, provided Union Army troops with games during the Civil War for leisure.
George Parker's game 'Banking' introduced role-playing as a stock trader, adding a new dimension to gameplay.
Parker Brothers was founded by George Parker and his brothers Charles and Edward, focusing on entertainment over moral instruction in games.
The company Parker Brothers published games with themes from investing to famous people and Charles Dickens.
Parker Brothers acquired the rights to 'Monopoly', a game that George Parker did not create, contrary to popular belief.
World Anvil is a software solution for creative world-building, offering tools for tabletop gamers, novelists, and narrative designers.
Extra Credits, the channel producing the content, offers a discount for World Anvil's premium memberships to their viewers.
Transcripts
the group of teenagers sits around the
table trying out a new game and like any
first play session it's a bit of a
fumble through there are laughs rules
clarifications shouting and excitement
overall a very similar experience to
many of us I'm sure except for one thing
this group is playing in 1883 the game
is called banking a card game that
simulates Market speculation and
investing each player borrows money from
the bank making leveraged Bets with the
cards then deciding their fate now the
play style here is also new and
different actually wildly Divergent in
tone and subject matter from games
they've played before like Old Maid the
Mansion of happiness or Pope and Pagan
because those games are about moral
values and instruction whereas this is
about naked capitalism it's honestly
like nothing they've ever played and
there's a good reason for that for this
is not a game that they bought rather
it's one created by one of the
16-year-old players at the table George
B Parker a man who has literally just
changed the game
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thanks so much to World Anvil for also
changing the game with their awesome
tools for Creative people games are old
like really really really old card games
date back to the Middle Ages at least
and board games like chess and back
gamon are truly ancient that's not even
mentioning the royal game of ER in fact
archaeologists have discovered would
appear to be game components in Turkey
dating back 3,000 years then other games
like word word games guessing games and
drawing games probably date back earlier
than that heck we even have a list of
games that Buddha supposedly would not
play as they were distractions from his
meditation but what we consider the
modern board game one with theming or a
story where we move pieces around a
board using a number generator like dice
that is a significantly newer invention
one of the oldest that we know of is a
game that's gone by many names but it's
most popularly called The Mansion of
Happiness there's some evidence that
goes back to Italy in the 1500s and it
was probably first published in Britain
around 1800 but it was really in the
early Victorian era that its popularity
exploded and it's a game you're probably
pretty familiar with okay imagine this
think of a board spiraling inward where
the players move via a spinner if they
hit a vice like say drunkenness they're
punished by going to the whipping post
but if they land on a virtue like
perseverance they advance to win they
need to get to the center of the board
where a Heavenly Vista of Gardens and a
great Mansion await for they have lived
a good life and reached heaven give up
on what we're talking about that my
friends is The Game of Life yep pretty
much the exact one you played as a kid
only with Victorian protestantism as its
basis how about another one the classic
Snakes and Ladders it's always been
played the same way but in the original
ladders were virtues while these snakes
were vices and there were no choices in
these games players Fates were
controlled by the will of God
represented by number generators like
dice because Victorian AR games were
less about fun and more about moral
instruction see throughout the 19th
century there was a growing recognition
that childhood was a distinct period of
life one that was important for the
ethical and intellectual shaping of
people this realization impacted a great
deal from the passing of child labor
laws to founding public education and
expanded Leisure Time for many children
play itself was also considered a kind
of training toys not only Define the
gender roles of the time and their
expectations you know baby dolls for
girls let soldiers or boys that sort of
thing they also set expectations about
the lives children were preparing for
and board games were a popular tool for
this kind of instruction through play
none more so than the Mansion of
Happiness which by the 1840s was being
published by the W and SB Ives company
of Salem Massachusetts for Massachusetts
was at the time the center of America's
virging tabletop game industry in fact
another Salem resident a Minister's
daughter named Anne Abbott became
America's first great game designer heck
yeah over her life she authored three
games but her smash success was called
Dr Busby and his neighbors it was a
memory game where players tried to
create matching suits of families by
asking other players if they had certain
cards Dr Busby sold 15,000 copies within
the first 18 months of its release in
1843 those were monster sales for the
time considering the US population was
only 17 million that equated to roughly
one Dr Busby deck for every 1,100 am
Americans these specifically designed
card games also eliminated the moral
objection to standard card decks which
new englanders associated with gambling
and fortunetelling IV's main corporate
competition though was Milton Bradley
another Massachusetts game publisher who
broke into the market big in the 1860s
when he realized that board Union Army
troops needed to occupy themselves
during any downtime in the Civil War his
solution was the first mass-produced
portable game case containing chess
Checkers back gamon dominoes and his own
more secular version of The Mansion of
Happiness which was renamed the
checkered Game of Life in this version
instead of Heaven as a reward now the
win state was happy old age but overall
these games were still considered moral
instruction Tools in fact in all of its
copies of the Mansion of Happiness IES
eliminated dice which Americans
considered dangerous and inappropriate
for children since they too could be
used for gambling so instead he packaged
it with a drel likee top called a tea
totem and later a spinner yeah the real
reason all those games you grew up with
had a spinner instead of dice wasn't to
reduce choking hazards it was to stop
you from shooting craps which I'm sure
worked for some of you but in meetings
with his gaming group in the 1880s the
teenaged George B Parker started
formulating a different philosophy of
play because he couldn't care less about
using games for moral instruction no no
no he thought playing games should be
fun he foresaw a world where games were
primarily entertainment products rather
than moral instruction because games
like the Mansion of Happiness he argued
were dull there were no choices for the
players to make making every game
repetitive he wanted more games that
could be endlessly replayable like chess
where players could employ different
strategies and he jettisoned the
religious and moral themes in favor of
something more contemporary and exciting
capitalism his first game that we showed
you at the beginning of the episode
banking was all about stock trading
players withdrew money from the bank
then made bets on what cards would come
up they wheeled and dealed across the
table and would try to Corner the market
on different Commodities they shouted
and swindled and occasionally teamed up
to undermine other players but perhaps
banking's biggest difference was one of
imagination because while games like Dr
Busby had an inherent element of humor
in their cards and illustrations the
players were fundamentally outside the
game but in banking you took on the
personality of the stock Trader because
role playing as a ruthless Tycoon was
part of the fun it became so popular
with friends that he tried to interest
the publisher when they turned him down
he borrowed money from his parents to
publish 500 copies himself and went on
the road when Parker got off the train
in Boston with his mother's suitcase
full of banking decks he thought he
might be able to make a few bookstores
interested but within 2 days he returned
home with the suitcase empty and
realized he'd caught lightning in a
bottle within months he'd nearly sold
his entire stock he needed to form a
company and fast by 21 he' published six
more games five by himself and one one
designed by his teacher with themes
ranging from investing to famous people
battlefields and Charles Dickens and
since he was never best at the business
side of things he brought in his
brothers Charles and Edward to handle
the money while he designed the games
and Parker Brothers was born for years
George Parker often with the help of his
wife Grace wrote the majority of games
that the company produced focusing on
ripped from the headlines titles like
Klondike themed around the Alaskan Gold
Rush and war in Cuba published at after
the main explosion and during the
feverish newspaper campaign leading to
the Spanish American war though George
Parker was not above playing to the
religious element in New England as the
company expanded he bought IES and then
began producing the Mansion of Happiness
himself not to mention the couple's most
successful game called Rook published in
1906 reinvented the standard 52 card
deck into a 56 card version with no
faces or suits changing it just enough
to make it acceptable to groups like The
menites that banned traditional decks by
the 1930s Parker Brothers was one of the
largest players in the game industry yet
George Parker wasn't done that decade as
Parker pushed into his 80s his company
adapted popular British games such as
sorry and clue and would acquire the
rights to Lizzy Maggie's Smash Hit
Monopoly before passing away in 1952
wait did you think that Parker Brothers
created Monopoly actually I did too that
is until we made a whole additional
episode on the insane history of
everyone's favorite game not to finish
real talk I flip in love Monopoly and
you can learn all about it right now
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[Music]
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