Board game:The Game of Black Beauty

Containing a rich history dating back to ancient times, board games delight children and adults alike with their playful nature. Though these games come in a wide variety of topics and themes, many games connect with the culture of their times. Wealth accumulation games reflect the growth of a consumer society, war games re-create familiar battles, and educational games prepare children for school and work. Popular television shows, films, books and other entertainment media also find their way into board games, allowing players to actively participate in their favorite fictional worlds.

This board game is based on the novel "Black Beauty," written by Anna Sewell and published in 1877. Though this book is credited with spawning the "pony book" genre of children's stories, Sewell claimed "Black Beauty" was not written for young audiences but instead to promote the kind, humane and respectful treatment of horses. Sewell succeeded in making more people aware of the cruel treatment of working animals, and her novel is cited as the impetus for ending the use of such items as bearing reins, which were used in Victorian England to keep a horse's head held high and straight their necks. Selling over 50 million copies, "Black Beauty" is one of the most popular books of all time. In this game, players travel across the board through different stages of Black Beauty's life, from his birth, his early life as a fashionable horse for a wealthy English family, his trauma at becoming a hard-working London cab horse, and his happy retirement in the countryside.