The Bohemian Gamer

Board games have endured some stiff competition over the years, from television sets in the fifties, to computer games in the eighties, to video games in the nineties. How does the boardgame compete with such mighty adversaries? Well, since the eighties, game manufacturers have been creating new editions of classic board games around themes from TV and movies to keep families coming back to the table. Even more recently, they’ve begun to make editions of games that can use DVD players to “wow” the whole family. Also, some popular computer games, like World of Warcraft, are popping up to entice audiences into playing different versions of their favorite games. There are also games like Cranium that combine several different types of games all in one, so there is something for everyone. Here we’ll discuss some of the recent changes to America’s favorite games.

The Scrabble board game is one of the most popular educational games of all time. Initially, word-smiths would choose seven random letters from a pile and see if they could create words. The players could then build off one another’s words and would vie for the most points, which were based on numbers assigned to each letter, as well as special spots on the board that awarded double or triple points. Over the years, new versions of Scrabble came out to entice buyers. For instance, there are Scrabble board games with side games like the Presidential Edition, where you must try to “win states,” earn points for popular votes and earn the commander in chief job. There’s also a Star Trek Scrabble edition, where players can consult Klingnon dictionaries and can earn “tribble” points. There are a number of special editions for children, like Scrabble Me, Scrabble Junior, Scrabble Junior 2009, Dora Scrabble Junior and Scrabble Apple. A Milton Bradley game called “Upwords” has gained tremendous popularity as a similar concept to Scrabble, except that players earn points by stacking letters on top of one another and making more than one word change at a time. Following the absorption of the Milton Bradley Company, Hasbro has re-christened the game “Scrabble Upwords.”

Often, the ability of manufacturers to morph board games over time and attract new generations of fans is the key to their success. For instance, the Monopoly board has changed from showing typical tycoon, Scotty dog, and iron and thimble characters to a number of different themes. Today you can buy a boardgame based on movie themes (like Transformers, The Wizard of Oz and Pirates of the Caribbean); TV themes (like The Simpsons, Family Guy and Seinfeld); sports teams (like the Boston Celtics, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Braves); hobbies (bass fishing, snowboarding or golf); pets (cats, dogs or horses); music (Elvis or The Beatles); collectibles (Ford Thunderbird, Harley Davidson or John Deere); cartoons (Peanuts, Sponge Bob or Rudolph); and the list goes on forever.

The checkers board game is one of those enduring board games that apparently has changed very little over the years. Sure, there’s Disney Villain checkers, Lego checkers, Chinese checkers, family checkers, A Christmas Story checkers and magnetic checkers, but for the most part, the basic red and black chip boardgame has survived for decades. Historians say the game itself may date as far back as 3,000 BC, where similar game pieces were found in Iraq. In 1600 BC, the Egyptians played a game called “Alquerque,” which is very similar to checkers. The Chinese were well known for their version of checkers around 350 BC. The French are said to have created the modern checker board with 25 squares and 12 chips in 1100 AD. Antonio Torquemada wrote about the official rules of checkers in 1547 and William Payne gave a more detailed account again in 1756. It seems that playing games as a way to relieve stress and enjoy the company of others has been going on for hundreds of centuries and will continue on for many more.