Board game:Chutes & Ladders

Milton Bradley introduced its Chutes and Ladders game in 1943, based on Snakes and Ladders, an English game from India that combined Britain's imperial past with lessons in morality. In the English game, when a player landed on the tail of a snake, a space marked by one of various vices, he was sent back to the start. Landing at the bottom of a ladder, a space associated with virtue, sent the player to the top rung and nearer to the finish and victory. According to one source, the phrase, "back to square one" descends from the English game of Snakes and Ladders. The American version of the game proved its popularity over several generations, perhaps in part because it avoided the heavy-handed lessons in good conduct.