THE STORY OF MONOPOLY, SlLLY PUTTY, BINGO, TWISTER, FRISSBEE, SCRABBLE, ETCETERA by Marvin Kaye Read Free Book Online Page B

many congregations.
    Eventual clashes with public opinion and the law were inevitable. Since it originally became popular as a Roman Catholic activity, much of the early criticism of Bingo was voiced by various Protestant sects on quasi-religious grounds. One Brooklyn preacher, for instance, gave a sermon calling Bingo “a fool’s game,” and accusing the Catholics of exploiting the cupidity of parishioners. A priest scoffed in reply: “I see no reason why an old lady can’t risk a nickel on a basket of strawberries!”
    Some communities declared Bingo illegal, and rumors began to circulate about professional gamblers moving into the “Bingo racket” with a series of private casinos in New Jersey. Eventually, though, public opposition began to erode, largely because of the impossibility of policing anti-Bingo legislation. One Brooklyn police officer was even demoted and eventually retired after zealously upholding anti-Bingo laws in his borough. Though his superior claimed the officer was disciplined for reasons of insubordination, the press speculated that the real cause was his frequent raids on Brooklyn churches.
    Bingo is one of those rare games that seem to appeal to youngsters and adults alike, although adults tend to be more frequent players. It has traditionally been most popular with women living in poorer neighborhoods. The peculiar thing about Bingo is it is not played as a social activity. A game in progress leaves no room for conversation, so intent are the players on hearing the numbers called. Anyone thoughtless enough to talk out loud during a fund-raising game is immediately and sternly hushed.
    Unlike Bingo, Ed Lowe’s second million-dollar baby did not start out promisingly. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the unforced generosity of its originators, Yahtzee might never have gotten off the ground.
    Though its roots reach back many centuries, the peculiar play combinations of Yahtzee are highly original. Another gambling game, it employs a set of five dice and a cup. Players have a group of dice combinations printed on cards, and they must try to throw them all in a given number of tosses of the cubes. As each throw is taken, the player must cross off one of the combinations on his score pad, or at least eliminate a low-scoring one if he has not been lucky on the toss. As the game progresses, there are fewer and fewer combinations left to try for.
    Initially popular as a men’s game—probably because of the gambling mystique of dice—Yahtzee went on to fascinate women’s clubs. In San Antonio, for instance, a group of women play Yahtzee weekly in a local laundromat. In Chicago, a large body of Yahtzee buffs hold regular matches which culminate in annual playoffs. There is also a vigorous cult of campus Yahtzee-ites.
    Lowe contends that, with many international licenses granted, Yahtzee is probably the largest-selling game in the world (a statement that Parker Brothers might well contest). But Lowe’s estimate cannot be too far wrong for more than forty million Yahtzee sets have been sold in fifteen years and the craze is not yet over.
    Yahtzee began modestly enough. A wealthy Canadian couple whose name Lowe cannot recall used to tie up their yacht each winter in Bermuda and invite guests aboard for entertainment. The pair thought up a gambling game for their own use and the enjoyment of their guests and called it the Yacht Game, since that was where it was usually played. The score pads and other equipment used in the game were hand-made. But the couple couldn’t seem to make enough of them, because they liked to give Yacht Games to each of their shipboard guests as going-away presents. One day the woman came to the headquarters of E. S. Lowe Co., Inc., and asked the firm to custom-make one thousand of the games for her to use as gifts.
    “The request was brought to my attention,” said Lowe, “and I saw that the game looked rather promising. I asked the woman if she would consider permitting