1940s Games: Best Board, Card And Video Games

Cluedo invented in an air-raid blackout, Subbuteo on the carpet, cards in the NAAFI.

Below: the board games of the 1940s, the card games people played, the video and arcade games of the era, and how games actually got played at home.

Handy for a themed party, a quiz round, a reminiscence session or working out what someone played growing up.

Shop the cards that go with these

Shop greetings cards Look back to 1940 Look back to 1941 Look back to 1942

Cards, prints and badges, made by us

Funny and warm greeting cards, art prints and pin badges, printed in the UK. We do not sell games - this guide is free to read, print and copy.

Congratulations greeting card for a boss promoted to police inspector, with text Congrats Boss Promotion to Inspector. Congrats, Boss! Promotion to Inspector Card £3.87 Minimalist white greeting card featuring bold 'World's Best Boss' typography in a clean black font. World's Best Boss Greetings Card £3.87 See You Later, Alligator (Funny Good Luck Card) See You Later, Alligator (Funny Good Luck Card) £3.75 'Rock On' hand gesture good luck card, ideal for a new job or congratulations. "Rock On" Good Luck Card £3.87

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Board games of the 1940s

  • Cluedo - devised by Anthony Pratt in Birmingham in 1943 and published by Waddingtons in 1949.
  • Subbuteo, launched by Peter Adolph in 1947 and sold by post in a plain box.
  • Monopoly, including the Waddingtons sets with escape maps hidden inside for prisoners of war.
  • Chinese Chequers, Ludo and draughts - whatever was already in the house.
  • Home-made boards drawn on card, because production was on ration.

Card games of the 1940s

  • Canasta, invented in Uruguay in 1939 and starting its march across the world.
  • Whist and cribbage in the NAAFI, the mess and the shelter.
  • Pontoon, the soldiers' gambling game, played for matches or pennies.
  • Racing Demon, fast, loud and family-sized.
  • Snap and Happy Families, still the children's standards.

Video and arcade games

  • No video games yet, but the first computers were being built - the ones that would run them.
  • Pinball banned in parts of America; in Britain the pin tables stayed in the arcades.
  • Bagatelle, table football and darts filled the pubs.
  • Radio quiz shows became a kind of national game in themselves.

How people played

  • In shelters, billets and blacked-out front rooms, with whatever fitted in a small box.
  • Cards travelled better than boards, so cards won the war years.
  • Post-war, a new game under the Christmas tree was a real luxury again.

Years covered in the 1940s

  • 1940 - Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1940
  • 1941 - The Blitz continued, clothes went on the ration and America entered the war. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1941
  • 1942 - The Beveridge Report, soap on the ration and the first American troops arriving. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1942
  • 1943 - The tide turned, the Dambusters flew and the country got used to going without. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1943
  • 1944 - D-Day, the V-1s and the Education Act that changed school for everyone. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1944
  • 1945 - VE Day, VJ Day, a landslide election and street parties on bomb-damaged roads. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1945
  • 1946 - Television came back, bread went on the ration and the family allowance started. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1946
  • 1947 - The worst winter in memory, a royal wedding and Indian independence. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1947
  • 1948 - The NHS began, the Olympics came to London and the Windrush docked at Tilbury. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1948
  • 1949 - Clothes rationing ended, the pound was devalued and the decade closed on austerity. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1949
  • That is every 1940s year we have written up so far: 1940 to 1949.

How to use this

  • Themed party: pick one board game and one card game from the list and have both out on the table.
  • Quiz round: read a game and ask for the decade, or read the year and ask for the game.
  • Reminiscence: ask what was under the tree one Christmas. Games get remembered better than clothes.
  • Anyone born in 1940 turns 50 in 1990, 60 in 2000 and 70 in 2010.

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Found your words? Now find the card

Shop greetings cards Look back to 1940 Look back to 1941 Look back to 1942

How to write it so it lands

  • Release years matter: a game can be invented in one decade and only reach British shops in the next.
  • For a party, pick a game people can join halfway through. Nobody wants to start Monopoly at ten o'clock.
  • Boot sales and charity shops still turn up the original boxes, usually with one piece missing.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

What board games were popular in the 1940s?

Cluedo - devised by Anthony Pratt in Birmingham in 1943 and published by Waddingtons in 1949. The full list above covers the rest of the decade's boards.

What card games did people play in the 1940s?

Canasta, invented in Uruguay in 1939 and starting its march across the world. The card games section above has the others.

What video games came out in the 1940s?

No video games yet, but the first computers were being built - the ones that would run them. The section above lists the arcade, console and computer games of the era.

Do you sell games?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This guide is free to read and free to copy - charity shops and second-hand sites are the best place to find the older games.

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