THIS WEEK

The Maine State Museum in Augusta will celebrate Maine’s role in the evolution of the board game when it hosts an illustrated talk, “Milton Bradley and the Checkered Game of Life,” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. David Richards, interim director of the University of Maine Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, will talk about the life of Mainer Bradley, who was born in Vienna and is credited with launching the board game industry in North America.

Additional Photos

“Milton Bradley and the Checkered Game of Life” is the title of an illustrated talk about the father of the board game by historian David Richards. Courtesy photo

“Little Green Heron” by Hannah Ineson, from “Local Colors” at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. Courtesy photo

Bradley released his first game, “Checkered Game of Life,” in 1860. It sold 45,000 copies in the first year. The Milton Bradley Co. continued to dominate the production of games through the 1900s, with more recent, familiar games such as “The Game of Life,” “Candyland,” “Battleship” and “Operation.”

“Milton Bradley is proving to be an interesting subject, both to me and to audiences who remember their own favorite Milton Bradley games,” Richards said.

The museum will display board games from its collections during the talk, and attendees are invited to bring their own Milton Bradley games to show during the evening.

A graduate of Bates College, Richards received a doctorate in history from the University of New Hampshire. His dissertation became the book “Poland Spring: A Tale of the Gilded Age, 1860-1900,” which analyzes the history of the famous Maine resort and water source.

The Maine State Museum is in the State House Complex off State Street in Augusta. For information, call 287-2301 or visit mainestatemuseum.org.

For its first exhibition of the season, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay collaborates with the River Arts Gallery of Damariscotta to present “Local Colors,” featuring interpretations of Maine by midcoast artists. A reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

The exhibition in the Visitor Center continues until May 24. The work encompasses a variety of subjects and styles. Among the pieces are Joelle Feldman’s pastel “Lilacs,” depicting an armful of blooms in a tin bucket; Liliana Thelander’s “Beets Are Ready,” an acrylic of just-harvested beets; and Susan Zimmerman’s oil “Into the Secret Garden,” showing children in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.

The exhibition represents a partnership between the gardens and the nonprofit organization River Arts. For information, call 633-4333, Ext. 101, or visit mainegardens.org.

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