The Game of Life

The Game of Life, often shortened to just Life, is a board game that was first created in 1860 by Milton Bradley under the name *The Checkered Game of Life*. It was the first game produced by Bradley’s company, the Milton Bradley Company. The game follows a person’s journey from early adulthood to retirement, with optional stops for college, jobs, marriage, and children. Depending on the version, two to six players can take part, and some variations allow up to ten.

The modern version of the game was released in 1960, exactly one hundred years after the original. It was created by Bill Markham and co-designed by Reuben Klamer, and was promoted with the endorsement of Art Linkletter. Today, the game is part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The original 1860 game was designed by Milton Bradley, a successful lithographer, and sold 45,000 copies in its first year. Like many 19th-century board games—such as *The Mansion of Happiness* (1843) by S. B. Ives—it carried a strong moral message. The board looked like a modified checkerboard. Players aimed to land on “good” spaces and collect 100 points, but if only one player remained alive, that player automatically won. Some spaces moved the player up or down to a different spot, similar to Snakes and Ladders. Reaching “Happy Old Age” in the upper-right corner (opposite “Infancy,” where players started) earned 50 points. Landing on “Suicide,” located six spaces right and two up from “Infancy,” removed the player from the game. Instead of dice, which were linked to gambling, players spun a six-sided top called a teetotum.

The 1960 version was a collaboration between Reuben Klamer and Stephen Withers. The board features a track that winds over and through small mountains, buildings, and other three-dimensional features. Players move along the track in a small plastic car, using a wheel on the board numbered one through ten. Each car has six holes for pegs, which are added when a player gets married or has children. The pegs are pink for female and blue for male. Every player starts with one peg. The game also includes a bank with bills in denominations of $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, and $100,000, along with insurance policies (automobile, life, fire, and/or homeowners, depending on the version), $20,000 promissory notes, and stock certificates. Other items vary by edition. $500 bills were removed in the 1980s, and $1,000 bills were dropped in 1992. The rules across modern versions are generally the same, though cards and spaces may differ. The winner is the player who retires with the most money.

Hasbro bought the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 and continued developing the game. In 2015, Markham’s heirs sued Hasbro, claiming he had not received proper credit or compensation. In 2019, Judge William E. Smith ruled in Hasbro’s favor, stating that while game development is a collaborative effort, copyright law assigns rights to only one entity.

The 1960s version, copyrighted by Milton Bradley, had several unique features. When a player reached the “Day of Reckoning” space, they could choose to continue toward “Millionaire Acres” if they thought they had enough money to beat all opponents, or try to become a “Millionaire Tycoon” by betting everything on a single number and spinning the wheel. If the number came up, the player won immediately; if not, they went to the “Poor Farm” and were eliminated. If no one became a Millionaire Tycoon, the player with the highest total won. Some spaces forced a player to go backward, taking the shortest route and ignoring any penalties or rewards along the way. Art Linkletter served as the game’s spokesman, with his likeness on the $100,000 bills (labeled “Arthur Linkletter Esq.”) and his endorsement on the box. The game was marketed as a “Milton Bradley 100th Anniversary Game” and “A Full 3-D Action Game.” As of 2022, Winning Moves sells a classic 1960s edition.

In the 1970s and 1980s versions, dollar values were roughly doubled partway through production. Early 1960s-style convertibles were used in the 1978 edition, while late 1980s versions replaced them with minivans. The “Poor Farm” was renamed “Bankrupt!” and losing players would “Retire to the country and become a philosopher.” “Millionaire Acres” was shortened to “Millionaire!” and the winner could “Retire in style.” Some spaces still forced players to go backward, taking the shortest route and ignoring penalties or rewards. The gold “Revenge” squares in the 1978 edition added the byline “Sue for damages.”

In 1991, seven years after Hasbro acquired Milton Bradley, the game was updated to reward players for good behavior—such as recycling trash or helping the homeless—by awarding “Life Tiles,” each worth a set amount. At the end of the game, players added the tile values to their cash total to determine the winner.