Chinese Checkers was introduced a century ago and used racist imagery based upon Europe and America’s fascination with the East.
In many ways, American’s first board game, The Game of Life (originally called The Checkered Game of Life), has defined America’s “pursuit of happiness,” even though the original board game from 160 years ago included a “Suicide Square” and a “Day of Reckoning.” In that version, losing players “retired to the country and became philosophers” (I guess I’m a loser which is sometimes how this game made me feel), while winners became “millionaires” and “retired in style.”
While the Game of Life was originally defined by a narrow path, ultimately, it offered a much cheerier journey, with a plastic car defining your identity and pegs being added to the car when you got married, had kids, or got a raise at work. It didn’t provide a lot of alternative choices. You know the story—success defined by how much money and stuff you collected along the way and how quickly you got to the end. Art Linkletter, the embodiment of the American Dream, was the celebrity pitchman for The Game of Life.
Then, there is Chutes and Ladders (aka Snakes and Ladders). Originally called Moksha Padam in India, this game was about karma and destiny. Instead of a singular roadmap, there were multiple ways you could journey by way of ladders and slides and squares of virtue (faith, reliability, generosity, asceticism) and vice (vanity, vulgarity, theft, and lust). In this game, life was more about collecting character qualities than achievements and stuff and, if you were unlucky in life, a “chute” or slide would take you back to square one.
Given today’s perilous times, a lot of us are feeling like we may be “back to square one.” But, maybe we’re just in the liminal midst of a global game of Twister (which you definitely don’t want to play in the era of “social distancing”)?
Moving forward, what game defines the life you want to lead?