Board Games

Board games, like billiards, are a favorite activity for seniors. Many seniors prefer to play the board games they played in their childhood. Two board games that many seniors will remember from their childhood include Monopoly and Clue.

Monopoly is certainly the best known board game around the world, having had a reported 750 million players since its patent in 1935. Though Monopoly was patented and partially designed by Charles Darrow, the game had been developed by a number of different creators before being sold to the Parker Brothers. The Parker Brothers version is now considered the definitive version and closely resembles the game of Monopoly played today. The streets, known as properties in the game, are named after real streets in the area nearby Atlantic City, New Jersey. Since Monopoly's invention, numerous variants of the game have been marketed by Parker Brothers, ranging from Monopoly Junior to Star Wars Monopoly.

Clue, known as Cluedo in the United Kingdom, is another widely successful board game now published by Parker Brothers. Unlike Monopoly's dubious history, Clue's gameplay and design are solely courtesy of Anthony E. Pratt and his wife. After the first copies of the game were produced in 1949 by Waddington's Games, Parker Brother obtained the rights to publish the game in America. Since then, this murder mystery game has remained popular with children and adults alike. The game has even spawned a feature film released in the 80s, a TV show, a book series, and several video games. The game received a moderate redesign in 2008 which added new weapons, rules and an additional deck of cards that affects the way the game is played.

Board games are great ways for family members to spend time with seniors. While video games may be popular among the younger generations, all generations can appreciate the appeal of classic board games.

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