GLMX #146: The Game of Life

Harvard professor and historian Jill Lepore says that 'a whole history of life can be written by studying the games of life.' Following this idea, she wrote a book titled, "The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death." In the book, she tells the story of a man named Milton Bradley who created a game in the 1860s called "The Checkered Game of Life." The game board had checkered squares on it which named life experiences that people could go through. There were good experiences such as perseverance, wealth, marriage, and happiness. And there were bad experiences such as crime, disgrace, suicide, and prison. The goal of the game was to get to the furthest square marked as "Happy Old Age."

Even though Milton Bradley said he came up with his game from scratch, there were actually multiple forms of this game which had already been made. The first game of this type was called "The Human Game of Life" which was published in 1790. The goal of this game was to reach death and then immortality. The goal of another game called "the Mansion of Bliss", which was published in 1800, was to get to salvation in much the same way. "The Mansion of Happiness", which was published in 1843, used a heavenly mansion as the goal of the game of life.

More modern versions of this game changed the goal of life to be something entirely different. Hasbro's edition of the game made becoming as rich as possible the goal of the game of life. And in the 2007 version of the game, called "Twists & Turns", the purpose is to experience as much of life as you possibly can. There really is no end or final destination in this particular version of the game. It is all about seeking thrills.


+ Plus, listen to Casting Crowns singing "Lifesong"