Asked to name classic American board games, most people would first think of Monopoly. Its imagery and tropes (Park Place, Rich Uncle Penny Baggs, “No Passes No Go”) have permeated the culture ever since Parker Brothers brought it to market in 1935. Nevertheless, it is not the oldest board game in America. That honor goes to Traveling around Americawas launched over a century ago, in 1822. While Monopoly could let players learn about Depression-era real estate values ​​in Atlantic City (and a thing or two about capitalism), the older game’s educational ambitions took on a broader subject: the United States of America as a whole.
Of course, in 1822, the year after Missouri became the 24th state, its area was much smaller. Traveling around America In this game, two to four players are tasked with crossing this new country from Washington to New Orleans by rolling what is called a “teetotum,” a kind of cross between a spinning top and a dice designed to avoid the sinister associations of gambling. Players move forward according to the distance indicated by the teetotum, but to stay there they must say the name of the city they stop in. In a more difficult variation, they must guess the city’s population.
As players move their pieces around the country, they can also read descriptions of each city, town and region they pass through. “The game promotes the value of education and focuses on educational institutions.” Written by Matthew Wynn Sivils for Smithsonian.com“Philadelphia’s ‘literary and charitable institutions are numerous and worthy of respect.’ Providence’sBrown Universitya fine literary institution.’ Moving south, “the player will learn of Richmond’s ‘fertile hinterland’ and the ‘fine manners and simple hospitality’ of Charleston’s inhabitants. Savannah ‘has many fine buildings,’ and Columbia’s ‘University of South Carolina… is sure to become a worthy institution.'”
These paintings provide a clear picture of early 19th century America, Tocqueville — but they were written almost a decade ago. Alexis de Tocqueville sets foot in AmericaNot only did the country still have room to expand across the continent, but it had accumulated only a fraction of the power and influence it had built up in the twentieth century. However fascinating a spectacle the United States was to foreign observers, it must have inspired an even stronger desire among its own people to understand its essence and therefore its future. Traveling around America The hope was that it would be a sales boost, apparently. The product was never a success, but the idea, more than 200 years later, lives on in the form of the great American road trip.
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A Brief History of the Great American Road Trip
Based in Seoul, Colin MaOnershall Writing and broadcastingHe has written papers on cities, languages, and cultures, and his projects include the Substack newsletter. Books about cities And books A city without a state: Walking through 21st-century Los Angeles. Follow us on Twitter CollinhamOnershall or Facebook.
