Board game:The New Game of Human Life with Rules for Playing: Being the Most Agreeable & Rational Recreation Ev

Although made in London, England in 1790, The New Game of Human Life with Rules for Playing influenced both European and American games that followed its production. Like Ives of Boston's later Mansion of Happiness, it is basically a race game. Race games are known to be one of the most ancient gaming models, found in cultures from ancient Egypt to Asia. "Human Life" demonstrates the continuation of that form when printing technology was still developing. The subject of the game--reproducing the living of a life from infancy to old age--significantly influenced game subjects afterwards. Additionally, the moralistic theme of the game typifies many games that came after it. Gaming itself was thought unhealthy and morally wrong; a game that taught moral behavior through its play was potentially a proper plaything.