An In-Depth Analysis of Milton Bradleys Literature Essay -- Gaming

Battleship is a commonly known game throughout the world. A strategic guessing-game, it was first introduced as a pen-and-paper activity where a player plots imaginary ships on a grid, and then take turns with the other player at guessing the positions of the ships of his or her opponent. While Battleship has had many different designs and title arts over the years, the 1967 version stands out as particularly significant. Along with the obvious â€Å"Battleship is fun† message, Milton Bradley attempted to sneakily convey a few subtle and not-always-wholesome messages through its choice in box design. The first thing that one notices when looking at this image is two people appearing to have a good time playing the board game known as Battleship. Both players are smiling and making animated gestures; the older player even appears to enjoy losing. This superficial analysis probably resulted in many impulse buys and a large profit for Messrs. Milton and Bradley. For many people, the implications stop there: â€Å"Battleship is fun. You should buy Battleship.† While delving deeper into the seas of analysis, close attention paid to the players depicted will reveal a bit of insight into a more subtle marketing scheme: This game is fun, yes, but it is also simple. It is so simple, in fact, that even a child can attain a level of mastery sufficient to overcome a far older, more experienced player. A young man—most likely older than eight, as eight is the minimum age stated not-so-subtly to the left—sits opposite an older man. It is probably a safe assumption that the two are related, as they have similar hair and facial features. This assumption will prove to be useful later. Anyone who is familiar with the rules of the game quickl... ... product which he saw as an affirmation of his superiority than one which contested it. The image of women presented on this box is one of subservience, inferiority, and compliance: all of the qualities that Milton Bradley obviously feel are associated the lesser sex. While it can be said with relative certainty that not all men in the 1960s were male-chauvinists, Milton Bradley designed an artistic cover for their board game which suited what they saw as the social norms of the time. In an attempt to market to the masses, they employed subtle advertising tactics meant to subconsciously gain approval from the greatest number of potential buyers: white, middle-class males. Even though this image does not necessarily reflect how the designers and marketing experts at Milton Bradley felt about women, it does reflect their feelings regarding the buyers themselves.