The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit

by Philip E. Orbanes

Book Overview

The Monopoly game, Trivial Pursuit, Clue, Boggle, and Risk are more than games - they're part of Americana. This work presents a study of successful business expansion. It also gives an account of how one individual's strength of character - or weakness - exerted a significant influence over a company's fortunes.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591392691
• ISBN13: 9781591392699
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

monopoly history

This is a perfect companion to Orbanes' other two books about the Monopoly game. If you have an interest in the history of Monopoly, this is good to have. However you would also want Orbanes' History of Monopoly.

Interesting

Interesting book for those looking for how a corporation develops into a household name. Good for general entrepreneurs, but also for those who grew up w/ Parker Bro. games and have a bit of time on their hands to read a non-fiction book. Well-written.

As good as it gets for business books!

Parker Brothers have made some of the most memorable games and the story of how they came up with them and built an empire is fascinating. This is one of the great business books on the toy industry of which sadly there are few. No attention was placed to video games undercutting board games sloes but otherwise this covers everything you would want to know. The stories are great and the ideas for the games really come to life. For those who want to create board games or understand the toy industry this is a must read.

Sanguine but credible history

The author is a former employee and diehard fan of Parker Brothers which makes his viewpoint a double edged sword. On the one hand, his account is complimentary although never gushing. He does not shy away from relating some of the nasty corporate politics especially those during the company's recent years during which he worked for them. Some of the early history though, seems a bit too rosy especially when you consider US labor conditions in the early 20th century.On the much brighter side, Orbanes' passion and connections to the company have afforded him dilligence and sources no other author could have attained. The book is well documented with accounts from George Parker's own private papers as well as interviews with lifelong employees from the upper and lower reaches of the organization.Being a game fan, I can't be completely objective about the historical quality of the book. Orbanes injects as much historical context as he can and documents these references as well. Personally, I couldn't put the book down and found every chapter fascinating.

A fascinating family and all the games we grew up with

I finished reading the Game Makers at 2:00 a.m. Usually I am sleeping long beforehand, but I found it just fascinating to learn about this amazing family and their great company-- especially because of the the way the story is told. It is filled with real drama and surprise. It made it difficult to stop reading before the last page. I learned a lot about making games as well. I also understand much better now the relations between the principles of successful business and the rules of games. The incredible changes in the last 25 years were of great interest for me. The amount of details presented is astonishing and the way they are presented makes it a pleasure to read.I applaud this highly original and interesting book.