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People playing a vintage 1980s Bargain Hunter board game around a wooden table, photorealistic style.

People playing a vintage 1980s Bargain Hunter board game around a wooden table, photorealistic style.

Released in 1981, the Bargain Hunter board game from Milton Bradley offered players as young as nine the chance to recreate the experience of furnishing a home, hunting for deals, using credit cards, and managing debt. GAMEPLAY The object of the game was to furnish an apartment in the most budget-friendly manner. This was accomplished by moving along the game board and stopping to acquire household items on a pre-printed shopping list. There were 5 stores on the board: 1 pet shop, 2 furniture stores, and 2 department stores. Each player began with $1,000 in cash and a credit card with a $1,000 limit. The person with the highest spin started the game and served as the game’s banker. Players moved their pawns according to the number indicated on the spinner. At designated stops along the board, players entered stores to do their shopping. Items could be bought for cash or credit. Players were required to purchase the following items for their apartment: 2 pets; an armchair, bed, desk, dresser, kitchen set, lamp, and sofa; and a blender, washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher, iron, radio, refrigerator, stove, television, and toaster. Prices were included on price cards located in each store. Players could choose to pass on a purchase if they felt it was too expensive and could find a bargain with some luck during a future turn. In addition to domestic purchases, red “penalty” stops on the board unexpectedly separated players from their money. Such stops had players paying Mehr sehen