Ages ago – and I mean ages – and in another life, I was at the local Milton Bradley factory taping a brief clip of the production lines. It was a segment for a small cable children’s show that I produced and shot with a friend.
When I left, they gave me a shiny new game of LIFE, and not
only that, it was their 25th anniversary edition. My own kids were
already grown at that point, so I never opened the game and I set it aside. It
was the early days of Ebay, so who knew? This could be worth something in a few
years!!
Yeah, right. Milton Bradley has long since left the area and I
decided my chances of buying a private island based on the proceeds of selling my
collector’s game had long since evaporated.
So the other day, My Guy and I sliced the box’s cellophane.
First, in spite of memories of playing the game in our youth, was a
read-through of the directions. Directions talking about promissory notes,
stock certificates, and fire insurance. We probably wouldn’t be trotting this
out the next time our eight-year-old twin granddaughters came for a visit.
It is kind of cool having the special edition. The spinning
wheel, buildings, and bridges are all in silver instead of the usual pedestrian
green of ordinary games. We had a pleasant afternoon, even if the spin of the wheel
determined that just like in real life, I was again a teacher, and that My Guy’
profession still meant he earned more than I did.
Wow, your post brought back to me memories of my much younger self. I don't think I have played that game in 35 years!
ReplyDeleteWe had that game when the kids were still kids as I recall. Not your fancy deluxe edition though. This brings to mind when beanie babies came out. My son in law bought every one because he was convinced that decades later he would make a killing. We all know how that turned out. Pretty much like your game of Life.
ReplyDeleteFun! I remember playing Life with friends as a kid, nice nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteIs Milton Bradley defunct? I had no idea. I owned "Life" when I was a kid and my brother and I sort of played it, but I think we dispensed with most of the rules and just raced each other around the board using the spinner. We certainly weren't buying fire insurance.
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