Posts Tagged Toys

The 1940s version of Candy Land

Eleanor Abbot created the game in San Diego, California. Abbot, a recovering Polio patient, designed Candy Land to help children stricken with Polio by offering hours of entertainment.

The Milton Bradley Company accepted the game for production. In 1949, Candy Land hit the shelves where the first game sold for one dollar.

The first Candy Land box stated that the game was “A Sweet Little Game . . . For Sweet Little Folks.”

Over 40 million Candy Land games have been sold. According to Hasbro, who acquired the Milton Bradley Company in 1984, the success of the game is because of the following:

In a world filled with advanced technology and fading fads, the sweet simplicity of this classic game keeps it continually popular, generation after generation.

Candy Land information and photo found at Hasbro website.

The game of RISK

In 1957, French film maker Albert Lamorisse created a game he called, La Conqueste du Monde, which translates to “Conquest of the World. The Parker Brothers bought the game two days later and renamed it RISK.

Hasbro Games describes the appeal of RISK  in the following way:

RISK was absolutely unique because it introduced groundbreaking game concepts. It was the first board game to offer non-linear movement – that was crazy thinking back then. Although the rules were simple enough, the strategies required to win the game were not. RISK pushed the envelope and remained unmatched by any other game on the shelf. . . . In the game of RISK there are no perfect moves. There are no guarantees. Because everything is at risk!

Side note: The same year he created the game, Albert Lamorisse won an Academy Award for Best Writing/Best Original Screenplay for his short film, The Red Balloon.  

[History of Risk; Photo; The Red Balloon]

Lincoln Logs

John Wright, the son of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, invented the Lincoln Logs in 1918. During a trip to Tokyo with his father, John got the idea of interlocking wooden beams from the design of the Imperial Hotel. By interlocking the beams it would allow the structure more stability and support.

The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo

- The original logs also came with instructions on how to build “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and President Lincoln’s log cabin.

- By the time the Lincoln Logs became popular, Wright had already sold the rights to the toy.

- The original logs were made from real wood, usually redwood.

- Unlike popular belief, President Lincoln was not the inspiration for the name. It was actually named after John’s father’s real middle name. Frank Lloyd Wright’s middle name was Lincoln but he changed it to Lloyd to honor his mother’s family when his father left the family.

[Photos - Lincoln Logs and The Imperial Hotel]