The Game of the District Messenger Boy

The Game of the District Messenger Boy; or, Merit Rewarded is a board game published by McLoughlin Brothers in 1886. Players race their tokens around a track as lowly messenger boys. The first player to reach the Head of the Firm space at track's end is the winner. The game is one of the earliest American games to insinuate (suggest as truth) that social status is increased with the accumulation of wealth. Prior to its publication, Christian virtue as a means to a better life was the focus of American board games such as "The Mansion of Happiness". Variants of "District Messenger Boy" include "The Game of the Messenger Boy." Competitive, materialsitic board games culminated in 1935 with "Monopoly".