The Intergalactic Department Store Part 3: The Milton Bradley Game

I remember encountering the Milton Bradley board game based on Lost In Space for the first time. It was on our yearly family vacation up north. We were taking a break in a shopping center in Pennsylvania. I didn’t know the game existed, so it was a pleasant surprise. The money I had saved for a souvenir was quickly allotted to its purchase. One thing that irked me was that the Robot wasn’t represented anywhere on the box or inside the game. And where was Doctor Smith? Looking back I would guess that the project was initiated before the final changes to the show had solidified. Licensed companies may have only had the pilot film to go by. The Aurora model kit that followed shortly also lacked Smith and the Robot (added to the larger version of the kit as a decal on the back of the Chariot), who were added just before the show went into production.

The MB itself is just your typical board game, not distinguishable from any of the other games they produced and applied the identity of other shows or characters onto. The value of the piece is the colorful, stunning art on the box and board.

Even more elaborate was the 3D Remco game, which had generic space figures and a dimensional playing surface you built from die-cut lithographed cardboard. I never had that game as a child, so while I find it a nice collectible, it could never have the connection to fond memories that the MB game does.