Hobbies And Interests
Scrabble
Scrabble made its commercial debut in 1948 and became popular in 1952. The game has 100 little wooden or plastic squares, each of which has a letter of the alphabet printed on it. The surface of the board is divided into 225 squares. The players take turns forming words from the letters they have drawn (usually seven) and placing them on the board. The first word must occupy squares in the center of the board. Subsequent words must cross one of the words already played. Each letter has a different point value. For example, the letter E counts one point; the letter Z counts 10. Letters or words that a player places on bonus squares may be doubled or tripled in value. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
Monopoly
Charles Darrow developed the game of Monopoly in the 1930s, modifying an earlier economic game by Lizzie Magie. Monopoly was a popular family board game in the 50s and 60s. Forty squares hug the perimeter of the square Monopoly board. Each player has a token, such as a little metal hat or a dog. Starting from a square marked "Go," players take turns shaking dice and moving their token the resultant number of squares clockwise around the board. Depending on where the token lands, the player may buy property, pay rent, draw cards with special instructions or even go to jail. Play money and property cards come with the game to facilitate transactions.
Sorry
Sorry, another board game popular in the 50s and 60s, featured a track that ran close to the outer perimeter of the board. Each player places four similarly colored pawns in a circle marked start. The first player who succeeds in moving all four pawns around the board to home base wins the game. A deck of cards comes with the game. Players take turns drawing a card from the top of the deck. Most of the cards have numbers specifying how many spaces a pawn should move. A player can send an opponent's pawn back to start either by landing on the space occupied by the opponent's pawn or else by drawing a card with the word "Sorry" printed on it. The numbers 4, 10 and 11 have special instructions that make the game more interesting.
Parcheesi
Parcheesi also provided entertainment during the 50s and 60s. Parcheesi resembles Sorry in that players move pawns around the board till they reach a specified destination. However, instead of hugging the perimeter, the Parcheesi track forms a cross-shaped figure; and instead of drawing a card, Parcheesi players shake dice to determine how far to move a pawn. Moreover, while only one pawn can occupy a space in Sorry, Parcheesi players can block their opponents if two friendly pawns occupy the same space.