Careers (board game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Careers is a board game first manufactured by Parker Brothers in 1955, which has been reprinted from time to time up to the present day. It was devised by the sociologist James Cooke Brown. Victory conditions consist of a minimum amount of fame, happiness and money that the player must gain. Players set their own victory conditions before the game begins, the total of which must be sixty (or one hundred, recommended when only two are playing).

The board consists of a square with an outer track and several minor loops (called occupation paths), each of which starts and ends at a space on the outer track. Some fame, happiness and money ("victory points") can be obtained on the outer track. These victory points can be obtained more quickly on the occupation paths. Each occupation path has more opportunities for certain types of victory points than others (e.g., in Hollywood there are many opportunities to get fame points). Each occupation also has certain minimum entry requirements.

The "careers" available to players of the game have changed over 50 years of new editions, reflecting changes in popular perceptions. For example, "Farming" became "Ecology" and "Uranium Prospecting" became "Computer Programming". In 1990 Parker released a new version "Careers for Girls", featuring careers such as "School Teacher", "Fashion Designer" and "Super Mom". The strategy aspects of the game were also greatly simplified. This is discussed in the BoardGameGeek discussion thread, "most condescending game ever".