1930-1940's Games

The 1930's looks like it started a board game boom. Monopoly, Sorry and Scrabble all became popular during this decade. The new gaming tradition did not end in the 1940's either. Other board game such as Parcheesi became well known too.

Although money has always been an American hot topic, it was an extremely sensitive subject in the 1930's. It makes sense that Monopoly did so well. The game is unquestionably a byproduct of its time. There is no doubt that Monopoly was created to complement what was on societies mind. It could be argued, however, that it was created to encourage positive, fanciful thoughts about money to take people's minds off of the harsh realities they were living. Nonetheless, correlation between money, Monopoly and the 1930's is quite apparent.

The View Master 3-D toy was also very popular in the 1930's. This toy is particularly interesting because it was used to aid soldiers for training in WWII. Coincidence? No way. The View Master 3-D was probably created first as a training tool and then someone realized how much children would enjoy them. In the 1940's WWII models planes and vehicles also became popular. Understandably, the war made a great impact on the toys made in the 1930's and 40's.

Other popular toys in the 1940's were toys such as the portable electronic phonograph, piano sets and the xylophone. In addition to the invention of the phonograph, the birth of musical toys makes sense during the 1940's. Jazz and other music genres were increasingly popular.

As predicted, games and toys seem to reflect the essence of real-life more directly as time passes. In one way or another every single game from these two decades relates to an adult activity whether it is going to war or out to a Saturday night Jazz show.

Monopoly Photo
Airplane Photo
Xylophone Photo