Let's Play! 100 Years of Board Games

San Francisco International Airport is known for its fabulous museum exhibits. Unfortunately, you must be a ticket passenger to enjoy the display. So if you're at SFO between October 27, 2012 and May 19, 2013, you'll want to check out: Let's Play! 100 Years of Board Games, on view Terminal 2.

The first mass-produced board games in the United States were imported from England during the 1820s. During the mid-1800s, the popularity of board games increased, and by the 1870s, advances in chromolithography, a color printing process, allowed them to be printed with bold, richly colored images at affordable prices.

The games that entertained families mirrored the values, popular culture, current events, and literature of the era. Because Victorians esteemed virtue above all things, the goal of many early board games involved teaching moral lessons. Even after the arrival of radio, movie theaters, and television, board games remained a popular pastime as the 20th century progressed. During this era, board games promoting virtue disappeared, while games focusing on the accumulation of wealth proliferated.

Nancy Drew Board Game

Although graphic design styles varied over the years, the game box’s eye- catching imagery has always remained an integral means of attracting players to games. The games on display range from early morality games such as The Mansion of Happiness and The Checkered Game of Life, to the classic, Parcheesi: The Game of India, the Nancy Drew Mystery Game, and the children’s favorite, Candy Land.

The free exhibition is on view in Terminal 2 to ticketed passengers.

Hat Tip: San Mateo Convention & Visitors Bureau