Chutes & Ladders/Red Riding Hood Game

The Eameses often favored multipurpose designs for the convenience they afforded users, and they likely appreciated the two-for-one quality of this double-sided game board. On one side, a version of the Slide Game—better known today as Chutes & Ladders—features a checkerboard traversed by staircases and snowy “slides” that show children before and after an exhilarating sled ride. On the reverse, the Red Riding Hood Game invites players to race side by side along two numbered paths, one designated for Red Riding Hood, the other for the Wicked Wolf. The board was produced by McLoughlin Bros., a New York–based publishing company that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries until it was acquired by Milton Bradley Company in 1920. Known for its use of cutting-edge color printing technologies, the firm specialized in children’s books and board games and hired an impressive roster of artists to create delightfully detailed images that transformed simple board games into colorful adventures.