And My Best Two War Board Games: Stratego and Risk

I enjoyed the Milton-Bradley/American Heritage war board games, but my absolute two favorite games of this sort were Stratego and Risk.

I had excellent strategies for playing both of these.  You could always count on my spy to be somewhere around the general in Stratego.  That way if my opponents marshal came after my general, I had a shot at him.  My marshal would be around at least one of the colonels, maybe both, in case my opponent's general ventured forth.

Plus, I often played Risk in both high school and college.  These games could go on a long time, especially if there were only three players left or to begin with.  With just three players, you dare not go to war with one of the others and wear your armies down while the third person is just getting stronger by the move and preparing to wipe out what's left of the two warring parties.

--CootTego

A Follow Up on the Board Games Posts from Last Month: Milton-Bradley War Games

I was a bit disappointed that Pat didn't have any of my favorite board games with him.  I sure played these games a lot growing up and even have a few remaining.

These were American Heritage Milton-Bradley games.

BROADSIDE

This one was a War of 1812 Navy game.

DOGFIGHT

A World War I aviation game.

BATTLE-CRY

A Civil War game.

There was also one called HIT THE BEACH about World War II island attacks and one about the American Revolution called SKIRMISH.  I never played these two.

And, one other one was CARRIER STRIKE another WW II Pacific one.

Remember Any of These?  --Cooter

MAHS-- Part 6: Even More Board Games

McHenry Area Historical Society.

And, Pat Wirtz had even more board games on display.  I am writing down just some of the games he had with him.

The Puritan Game of My Wife and I (from 1888)

Fibber McGee & Molly (from the mid 1930s to mid-1950s)

Lindy  (Based on Charles Lindbergh's famous flight.

Touring  (started in 1906)

Steve Canyon  (based on a comic strip)

Flying Aces  (1946)

The most money he ever spent was $125 for the German WW II game.  (Or, at least that is what he said since his wife was there.  But, he said his wife knows  everything about his purchases.)

He also has some 40 shoe boxes full of postcards and a complete run of Life Magazine from 1932 to 1945 as he focuses on the World War II era.

He Sure Knows His Board Games.  --CootBoard

MAHS-- Part 5: Some of His Many Board Games

Pat Wirtz had a large collection of games on display.  I went around and looked at them.  Here are some of them:

1927 Turnerville Trolley

Have Gun Will Travel (based on the TV show)

Commandos  (A WW II game)

Underdog

Leave It to Beaver

Little Orphan Annie

Chutes and Ladders

Gene Autry's Dude Ranch

1914 Quarterback football game

--Cooter

MAHS-- Part 4: Milton-Bradley Company and the German WW II Game

Milton-Bradley came out with the Concentration and Jeopardy games in the 1950s as well as the ever-popular Game of Life and Twister.

The company was bought by Play Skool (which is the company that makes Yahtzee and he electronic game Simon.

(Are any of these names bringing back memories?)

Pat Wirtz's oldest game  was first produced in 1905 and is a baseball game.

He also has an unopened McHenry Monopoly game which starts at Pearl Street Park.  (I'd never heard of this park, but looked it up and now it is always referred to as Veterans Park.)

He seems to be most proud of a 1940 game from Germany made for kids that features the Battle of Britain.  This game is very colorful (and, of course, in German, and is what got Pat interested in board games.

--Cooter

McHenry Area Historical Society (MAHS)-- Part 3: Those Board Games

Many of the companies who made the early board games started  in Massachusetts, including the two biggies: Milton-Bradley and Parker Brothers.

Parker Brothers started in in 1883.  They are best known for Monopoly, Clue and Risk.  Their first game was Banking.  George Parker joined his brother in Salem, Massachusetts to start this company.

In the 1900s, General Mills bought them out.  In 1983, Parker Brothers had a book published.  General Mills merged with Kenner and then Hasbro bought them.

Milton-Bradley started in the 1800s as a lithography shop.  One of their first games was The Checkered Game of Life which was a forerunner of the Life game that we all know.  It was very religious and featured the good and bad things that you might do.  You didn't want the bad things.

During the Civil War, they produced smaller versions of the game for Union soldiers and they sold for $1 each.   During the Great Depression the company was losing money.  They also had special soldier game kits during World War II.

--CootGame

McHenry Area Historical Society-- Part 2: Early Board Games

They now have a Facebook and Blog up and running.  There are 2100 followers on Facebook with 8-12,000 views per article.

Today's presenter, Pat Wirtz is a bit like me, or the beloved Bill Shea down in Springfield, Illinois, in that he pretty much collects everything.  And, like me, he is a White Sox fan, as is Double D.  Must be a good guy.

His topic today:  Board Games.

The first commercially-sold board game was The mansion of Happiness in 1843.  It was a children's board game based on Christian  morality.  Players raced around a 66-space spiral track depicting  virtues and vices.  Land on a vice square and you go back.

At one time, the two major board game companies were Milton-Bradley (Pat says 2/3 of his games are made by them) and Parker brothers.  Both are now owned by Hasbro.

The earliest board games were made by lithography companies.  But production unfortunately was only limited to a few hundred copies.  Then, they changed to using watercolors.

--Cooter

McHenry (Illinois) Area Historical Society Meeting 4/9/22: Board Games

The meeting was held at the McHenry Savings Bank on Illinois Highway 31 south of McHenry.  There were 24 in attendance.  It is good to be back meeting again after all that you-know-what.  I just don't do Zoom.  

The last in-person meeting was held last June 11, 2021, at the Veterans Park Shelter in McHenry.

The next meeting will be at the bank on October 8 and the presentation will be about Women Pilots in World War II and the presenter will be Judy Porter from McHenry.

Attendance is down and the society will have a booth at the Thursday night concerts at Veterans Park this summer.

Membership is still $15 a year but will be going up.

There are two publications available from the society:  a 2022 calendar showing historical buildings and a McHenry  Illinois Sanborn Insurance Map Book showing the locations of every building in the city  from 1893 to 1933.

This morning's presentation was Board Games, given by Patrick Wirtz.

I was surprised to see good buddy Double D, fellow collect-too-much and NIU football superfan.

--Cooter

McHenry Area Hist. Soc. Meeting Today: History of Board Games

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 12, the McHenry Area Historical Society will be having a meeting at the McHenry Savings Bank at 353 Bank Drive, McHenry, Illinois. (On Route 31 south of town toward the hospital.)

The meeting will be held in the room downstairs.

The program will be presented by board game expert Patrick Wirtz who has a large collection of board games dating back to the early 1900s.  He will bring about two dozen and place them on display while he shares a brief historical sketch about each of them.

The meeting starts at 10 am.

I especially liked war games of any sort like Risk and Stratego.  Also Dogfight and Broadside.

A Gaming to Go.  --Cooter

"Operation" Inventor Needs One, Can't Afford It

From the October 30, 2014, Chicago Tribune by Tony Briscoe and Colleen Mastony.

John Spinello, 77, of Bloomingdale, Illinois, invented the popular board game "Operation."  Now, he really needs one, only, he can't afford it.

This has fueled a huge reaction.  Some people have said this game inspired them to go into a medical career.

He was a student at the University of Illinois in an industrial design class when he came up with the game as a project.  A relative who worked for Marvin Glass and Associates, a Chicago novelty and toy company and the boss, Marvin Glass liked it so much, he offered to buy the rights for it for $500 and give Spinello a job after graduation.

In 1965, the game reached the Milton Bradley Co. and was redesigned to feature a patient in an operating room.  The game became a smash hit

John Spinello, meanwhile, got his $500, but never worked for Glass.  he started a warehouse and shipping company which ended up declaring bankruptcy two years ago.

Right now, Spinello needs dental implants which will cost $25,000, a crowfunding website has raised $21,000 of  that amount as of Wednesday.

Maybe Milton Bradley Co. should kick in some money after all the dough they made on it.

--Cooter

Deaths: Twist Your Troubles Away

CHARLES FOLEY, 82

Inventor and co-creatir of the game Twister, died July 1, 2013.  "Millions have contorted themselves into awkward and amusing positions."  This was the first game to use humans as board pieces.

Debuted inj 1966 with the slogan "The Game That Ties You Up in Knots."  Some people called it "Sex-In-A-Box."  Sales really took off when Johnny Carson played it with Eva Gabor on "The Tonight Show."  I'd like to play it with Annette.

Mr. Foley had 97 patents, but Un-Du became the product of choice form photographers, scrapbookers' law enforcement officials and the staff at the Library of Congress where it is used at an adhesive remover.

The Twister game was at all our high school parties in the late 60s.  Talk about a great way to "brush up" against that someone you were interested in?  Liz says the gitls felt the same way.

Thanks, Mr. Foley.

How to Play Diplomacy

From the March 1, 2013, Chicago Tribune obituary "Inventor of the board game Diplomacy" by Joan Giangrasse Kates.  The two previous entries on Allan B. Calhamer's death also came from this article.

"Described as a 'thinking man's version of the popular game Risk, Diplomacy is a seven-player game based on the balance of power in pre-World War I Europe.  Players are free to bluff and back-stab one another to attain dominance.

Each of seven major powers--  Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Turkey-- begins the game with three or four pieces in its home country.  To win, one player must occupy 18 of 34 supply centers.  Pieces represent entities such as naval fleets and armies.

'One of the knocks on Diplomacy is that it is a game that ruins friendships' said Jim O'Kelly.'" 

And, I never did anything else with those guys, but I'm a bad loser.

Et Tu, Brutus?  --DaCoot

Deaths: Diplomacy: The Background of a Game-- Part 2

He was rejected by several game companies, and in 1959, he self-published 500 copies of his game, called Diplomacy.  It soon has a small, but dedicated following.  Within six months, these sold out and the board game company Avalon Hill bought the rights, and the rest is history.

Mr. Calhamer died February 25th.

Now, hundreds of thousands of copies have been sold,.  Games are even played on the internet (not by me, even if I knew how).  The game involves not just rolls of dice, but interaction between players who have to stab-the-back to world domination.

John F. Kennedy and Henry Kissinger were reportedly fans of it.  Games Magazine has named it to its Hall of Fame. 

You are the master of your own fate.  But, unlike chess where the best tactician wins, it is about negotiation, persuasion and the ability to read other players.

A Hate It.  --Cooter

Deaths: Diplomacy: The Background of a Game

ALLAN B. CALHAMER (1931-2013)

Of all the games ever made, this one has probably caused more friendships to fall apart than any other.  I played it exactly once and was ready to physically attack some former friends that I felt had stabbed me in the back, which is the premise for the board game Diplomacy.

I just can't behave like that, even in a game.  I went down fast as Austria-Hungary (if I recall).  Then sulked the rest of the evening.

The origins of the game date back to when Allan B. Calhamer was a boy and discovered an old geography book in the attic of his La Grange Park home and found the old, pre-WW I, country borders in Europe.  "That was the seed of the game," he later recalled.

The final inspiration came when he was at Harvard in a class on 19th-century Europe. and he read his professor's book "The Origins of the World War."

"That brought everything together.  I thought, 'What a board game that would make.'"

Never Again,  Never Again, Says I.  --DaCoot

Top Ten Board Games-- Part 5

Last one.

THE GAME OF LIFE

Began in 1860 as the Checkered Game of Life. Developed by board game pioneer Milton Bradley, originally played on a modified checkerboard and conveyed a moral message.

In 1959, game inventor Reuben Klamer redesigned it for the 100th anniversary of the Milton Bradley Company. The result was this game which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. I always thought Milton Bradley was from the 1930s-40s.

I played this a few times a lot of years ago.


TRIVIAL PURSUIT

Canadian journalists Scott Abbott and Chris Haney invented it in 1979 after discovering pieces missing from a Scrabble game they were playing.

The original "Genius" edition had players advancing on a wheel-shaped course by correctly answering randomly selected questions in six categories: arts and literature, entertainment, history, geography, science and nature and sports and leisure.

Today, there are many other editions of it, including a 25th anniversary edition in 2008. More than 90 million games sold in 17 languages in 26 countries.

I love my trivia games (NTN) but these questions are really hard and you don't get possible answers. The Jeopardy on a Board.

I Ought To Dig Some of Them Out and Play. --Cooter

Top Ten Board Games-- Part 4

RISK

Created by French filmmaker Albert Lamorissee in 1957, the war strategy game originally released as Conquest of the World. In 1959, Parker brothers published it in an English version.

Ip to six players amass armies on a political map of the world and attempt to capture territories from each other. Last one standing wins.

This was a particular favorite of mine, especially in high school and college where we had near all-night wars. It would go fast at first, but as soon as only three players remained it slowed down. No two "generals" wanted to go to war because the third would get too strong.

I was surprised that Stratego wasn't on the list. I liked this one even better than Risk.


SCRABBLE


Alfred Mosher Butts, an unemployed architect from Poughkeepsie, NY, invented the word game during the Great Depression, by combining chance with vocabulary skills used for crossword puzzles. More than 100 million games sold since introduced in 1949. They even have tournaments.

Never played it.

Loved Controlling Australia. Build Up Those Armies and No One Can get You. --Cooter

Top Ten Board Games-- Part 3

MONOPOLY

Best-selling board game in history, began 1904 as The Landlord's Game, created by Elizabeth Magie, of Brentwood, Md., to illustrate the social injustices of slumlords and corporate monopolies.

Didn't gain much popularity until Great Depression. In the 1930s, Charles Darrow, an unemployed salesman in Germantown, Pa., modified the game, renamed it Monopoly and sold 5,000 copies to a Philadelphia department store.

Parker brothers bought the rights in 1935, more than 200 million sets sold in 103 countries in 37 languages.

I imagine one of those original games would be worth quite a bit. Parker Brothers did a great job getting it. We play NTN trivia games and they're always asking questions about it. It has been so long since any of us have played it, we have a hard time remembering the answers.


OPERATION

In 1962, John Spinello, an industrial design student at the University of Illinois, built an electric toy that allowed players to probe holes in a metal box with a metal rod. If a player touched the side of a hole, a loud bell sounded. It evolved into the 1965 game Operation in which players pluck 12 body parts and ailments from a patient. If a side is touched a buzzer goes on and Sam's red nose lights up.

Seen it but don't think I ever played it.

Oops. Buzz!! --Cooter

Top Ten Board Games-- Part 2

CHECKERS

Oldest board game in the world. It and its cousin chess, both originated in the Middle East during ancient times. Called draughts in England (in case you're ever asked a trivia question about it).

Two players with twelve pieces who jump over opponents' pieces. get "Crowned" or "Kinged" and then can go back.

My grandfather Norman was a North Carolina champion. I was fairly good at it. Only so-so at chess, though.


CLUE

Originally called Cleudo, a murder-mystery game created by Englishman Anthony E. Pratt in the 1940s. Object to collect clues and deduce which of six characters--Col. Mustard, Miss Scarlett, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Professor Plum or the Rev, Green murdered Dr. Black with what weapon--candlestick, lead pipe, knife, revolver, rope or wrench-- and in what room'' Ballroom, billiard room, conservatory, dining room, hall, kitchen, library, lounge or study.

The first player to get all three wins.

I don't think I ever played it, but be careful of trivia question on NTN on this game.

To Cheat or Not to Cheat? --DaCoot

Top Ten Board Games-- Part 1

From the American Profile Magazine, by Stuart Englert.

A look at the origins and some interesting facts about the ten most popular board games of all time.


BATTLESHIP

Naval warfare guessing game devised in the early 1900s by Clifford Von Wickler. By 1930, called Salvo and played with paper and pencils. Released by the Milton Bradley Co. as Broadsides, the Game of Naval Strategy in 1943 and name changed to Battleship in 1967 with plastic grid boards, ships and pegs.

Players arrange five ships: aircraft carrier, battleship, cruiser, destroyer and submarine on a lettered/numbered grid. First to sink the other's entire fleet wins.

Unless, of course, there is cheating going on and ship movement.

Played many, many games of this. Not admitting to any movement.


CANDY LAND

Eleanor Abbot created it in the 1940s, while recovering from polio in a San Diego hospital. Figured it would let young children with the disease entertain themselves.

More than 40 million have been sold since Milton Bradley Co. introduced the game in 1949. The original sold for $1.

Not sure, but I don't ever remember playing this game. And, if I had, I wouldn't admit to it.

Eight More to Come. --Cooter