Milton Bradley’s first board game was “The Checkered Game of Life” first published in 1861. Building upon the dice-dependent morality “games” of the previous century, he created a game that became the centerpiece of the Bradley catalog for generations.
The game is obviously a transition piece, from the earlier Mansion of Happiness game, but also not such a departure that it couldn’t be accepted by Victorian society. It sold 45,000 copies in its second year of production!
Using a teetotum, a special scoring card with a needle (and a player aid!), he introduced player choices into this American diversion.