JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
I was wondering how early aerial warfare was used as the basis for a child's structured entertainment, and so passed a little time in the U.S. patent archives for a quick overview of patented games. I was more interested in games than simple toys
The first is an ingenious military game that included playing chits for "aerial mines", which in 1913/1915 was a forward-thinking defensive device, though not much tested. (The the full text and explanation of the game is here.)
Next is a magnetic game--which again was patented during WWI--in which aircraft were supposed to seek out and destroy forts, naval ships, and other tools of war.
The next game didn't have anything to do with war and fighting--I just enjoyed that it involved balloons and airships. It was also surprising to notice that the map depicted is for New York City, a location that is a little hidden because of the not-great cartography. This is supposed to be a geography game, which seems a little sketchy given the lack of detail and the very few moves the pieces can make, though perhaps maps with finer (or any) detail were also provided with the game. Or not. Then there was this chess rip-off by Hiram's brother, Hudson Maxim, in which a military game is waged on a hundred-square chess board with the pieces renamed to have more contemporary meaning, as well as having rounded spaces for landing pads for the flying machine. I can't be certain, but this certainly has the feel of the earliest game (1909-1912) of semi-chess in which a flying machine of some sort is added to the piece arsenal.
And so ended the quick search for early aviation games for children--perhaps some weren't patented, and perhaps I just didn't cast my net wide (or thoughtfully) enough. Suffice to say though that aviation/aerial/bombing games were available to children within a few years of the invention of bombing things from airplanes.
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