Milton Bradley Company, simply known as Milton Bradley (MB), was an American board game manufacturer that was established by Milton Bradley (1836–1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States. It was acquired by Hasbro in 1984 and merged, with Hasbro subsidiary Parker Brothers in 1998. The brand name continued to be used by Hasbro until 2009.

History

Foundation

thumb|left|150px|[[Milton Bradley, founder]]

Milton Bradley found success making board games. In 1860, Milton Bradley moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and set up the state's first color lithography shop. Its graphic design of Abraham Lincoln sold well, until Lincoln grew his beard and rendered the likeness out-of-date.

Struggling to find a new way to use his lithography machine, Bradley visited his friend George Tapley. Tapley challenged him to a game, most likely an old English game. Bradley conceived the idea of making a purely American game. He created The Checkered Game of Life, which had players move along a track from Infancy to Happy Old Age, in which the point was to avoid Ruin and reach Happy Old Age. Squares were labeled with moral positions from honor and bravery to disgrace and ruin. Players used a spinner instead of dice because of the negative association with gambling. These games included chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, and "The Checkered Game of Life". They were sold for one dollar a piece to soldiers and charitable organizations, which bought them in bulk to distribute.

Kindergarten movement

The Milton Bradley Company took a new direction in 1869 after Milton Bradley went to hear a lecture about the kindergarten movement by early education pioneer, Elizabeth Peabody. Peabody promoted the philosophy of the German scholar Friedrich Froebel. Froebel believed and advocated that children learn and develop through creative activities. Bradley would spend much of the rest of his life promoting the kindergarten movement both personally and through the Milton Bradley Company.

thumb|150px|Bradley's kindergarten material and school aids, 1896

In the late 1860s, Bradley became involved in the kindergarten movement. Deeply invested in the cause, his company began manufacturing educational items such as colored papers and paints. The company was hurt by Bradley's generosity as he gave these materials away free of charge. Due to the Long Depression of the late 1870s, his investors told him either his kindergarten work must go or they would go. Bradley chose to keep his kindergarten work. His friend George Tapley bought the interest of the lost investors and took over as president of the Milton Bradley Company. Milton Bradley's company's involvement with kindergartens began with the production of "gifts", the term used by Froebel for the geometric wooden play things that he felt were necessary to properly structure children's creative development. Bradley spent months devising the exact shades in which to produce these materials; his final choice of six pigments of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet would remain the standard colors for children's art supplies through the 20th century.

During the 1970s and 1980s, electronic games became popular. Milton Bradley released Simon in 1978, which was fairly late in the movement. By 1980, it was their best-selling item. The 1990s saw the release of Gator Golf, Crack the Case, Mall Madness, and 1313 Dead End Drive.

In 1991, Hasbro acquired Tonka, which included Parker Brothers. In 1998, Milton Bradley merged with Parker Brothers to form Hasbro Games. After the consolidation, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers turned into brands of Hasbro before being dropped in 2009 in favor of the parent company's name, since adjusted to Hasbro Gaming.

Games published

Some of the games published by Milton Bradley were:

Board / card games

  • 13 Dead End Drive
  • Axis & Allies
  • Battle Cry
  • Battleship
  • Broadsides and Boarding Parties
  • The Checkered Game of Life
  • Conquest of the Empire
  • Crossfire
  • Ea$y Money
  • Fireball Island
  • Fortress America
  • HeroQuest
  • Hungry Hungry Hippos
  • Mall Madness
  • Go For Broke
  • Operation
  • Scrabble
  • Shogun
  • Snakes and ladders
  • Yahtzee

Electronic games

  • Microvision
  • OMNI
  • Simon

Other games

  • Jenga
  • Knockout
  • Twister

Toys

  • Mr. Bucket
  • Buffalo Bill Gun

;Notes

<gallery mode= packed height=90>

Little folks color kit.jpg|Little Folks paints

Historiscope panorama 01 frontcover.jpg|Historicscope

Mb uncle raphael puzzle.jpg|Mr. Uncle Raphael puzzle

Choice thoughts from longfellow.jpg|Choice Thoughts

Mb happy harry ring toss.jpg|Happy Harry

Milton bradley anagrams and other letter.jpg|Anagrams

An account of peter coddles cover.jpg|Peter Coddles

Pirate and traveler game cover.jpg|Pirate and Traveler

Game of india board.jpg|Game of India board

Model ship puzzle cover.jpg|Model Ship puzzle

Cryrite box of crayons.jpg|Crayrite crayons

</gallery>

References

  • Cornell Exhibit on Games with MB Kindergarten Curriculum
  • Predecessor Company McLoughlin Bros. History
  • Milton Bradley Games - information and parts at Gamepart.com
  • MB Portuguese edition Games - all portuguese list