THE GAME OF LIFE is Turning 50!

In honor of this milestone, here are some GAME OF LIFE facts and figures, as well as other significant information from 1960.

• THE GAME OF LIFE was originally created in honor of the Milton Bradley Company’s 100th anniversary.
• THE GAME OF LIFE stands as part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institute.
• The highest sum of money that a player can earn in THE GAME OF LIFE is $3,115,000, which is taking into account that the player lands on all of the spaces that give money and that the player has the highest salary amount.
• There are 26 Pink pegs and 26 Blue pegs in each GAME OF LIFE.
• In Japan, THE GAME OF LIFE, known as Jinsei, has been the country’s most popular board game for more than 40 years.
• THE GAME OF LIFE shares its birth year with Bubble Wrap, the first Xerox office copier, the aluminum can, and the advent of the birth control pill in the United States.
• In September of 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the first televised U.S. presidential debate.
• The 1960 United States Census data estimated the U.S. population at 179,245,000. 50 years later the United States has more than 300,000,000 people.
• In 1960 the average cost of a new home was $12,700 and the average cost of rent was $98.00 a month.
• In 1960 price of gold was just over $36 per ounce and today it is more than $1,200 per ounce.
• A 40th anniversary edition of the GAME OF LIFE was released in 2000. In this version the Travel Agent career was replaced with a Computer Consultant career path.
• In the 1992 edition of THE GAME OF LIFE, a player who chose the College path received $40,000 in debt, whereas in today’s edition the same such player is given $100,000 in debt to reflect the present day cost of higher education.
• Television personality Art Linkletter was THE GAME OF LIFE spokesman in 1960 and his picture even appeared on the $100,000 bills in the game as well as on the outside of the box.
• In 1960 the average cost of a car was under $3,000, while today the average cost of a car is between $30,000 and $40,000.
• In 1960, the average number of children per family in the United States was 2.33; today, it’s 1.87.