Board game riches games that permitted players to emulate the capitalist heroes of the age. One of the first such games, "The Game of the District Messenger Boy", encouraged the idea that the lowliest messenger boy could ascend the corporate ladder to its topmost rung. Such games insinuated that the accumulation of wealth brought increased social status. Competitive capitalistic games culminated in 1935 with "Monopoly", the most commercially successful board game in U.S. history. McLoughlin Brothers published similar games based on the telegraph boy theme including "Game of the Telegraph Boy, or Merit Rewarded" (1888). Greg Downey notes in his essay, "Information
Wahoo (board game) Wahoo (board game) Wahoo is a cross and circle board game similar to "Parchisi" that involves moving a set number of marbles around the board, trying to get them into the safety zone. The game is alleged to have originated in the Appalachian hills, but it is nearly identical to Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht, a German board game originating in 1907. Most boards are used by four to six players. "Wahoo" has been a popular game for decades. Even today, custom-made boards proliferate on eBay and game manufacturer Parker Brothers has sold their own version of the game, under the