Hasbro, The New Giant
by Bruce Whitehill
Milton Bradley Co. remained an independent manufacturer of games until it was bought by Hasbro (Hassenfeld Bros.) in 1984. Parker Brothers sold out to General Mills in 1968, and, after being spun off as Kenner Parker and then sold to Tonka, was purchased in 1991, also by Hasbro. Bradley and Parker, the two giants in the game business, still operate as separate divisions; once in competition, they are now under the new game leader in the industry, Hasbro, a toy company that produced its first games in 1954 under the name Hassenfeld Brothers. Hasbro, which also bought game divisions from Lakeside and Ideal and acquired games such as Selchow & Righter’s PARCHEESI (Hasbro bought Coleco after Coleco purchased Selchow & Righter), now owns most of the classic American games still being produced: BATTLESHIP, CANDYLAND, CAREERS, CHUTES AND LADDERS, CLUE, COOTIE, GAME OF THE STATES, GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS, MONOPOLY, MOUSETRAP, OPERATION, OUIJA, PARCHEESI, RISK, SCRABBLE, STRATEGO, TWISTER, UNCLE WIGGILY, and YAHTZEE.
Watch for more about this giant company in the future.