The Ouija Board phenomenon began with its patent in 1891. However, similar devices for telling the future existed for some years before that. In general these were not thought of as toys, but the Ouija board is now considered a game. How or why it works is still a subject for debate, but its long term success is not. This early example is made of plywood rather than pressed paper, and it is marked with the early Ouija stencil. Hasbro now owns the rights to produce Ouija.