The Game of Life
It's from 1960, before you were born.
- Maker
- Milton Bradley / Hasbro
- Type
- Board game
- Debuted
- 1960
- Note
- Updated from Milton Bradley's very first game (1860)
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About
As of 2026, it's 66 years old.
The Game of Life has a remarkable pedigree — the modern 1960 version (with the spinning wheel and the little plastic cars stuffed with peg children) was created to mark the 100th anniversary of Milton Bradley's very first game, 'The Checkered Game of Life,' from 1860. So you've essentially been simulating capitalism on a spinner for over 160 years.
Players drive a tiny car through career, marriage, kids, and retirement, and the whole thing boils a human existence down to who accumulates the most cash by the end — bleak when you think about it, delightful when you don't. Cramming those little blue and pink pegs into your minivan is half the fun.
Whimsical, plastic-peg-packed, and quietly mercenary, The Game of Life is the board game that turned an entire human lifespan into a race for the biggest pile of money.
