Pay Day (board game)

Pay Day is a board game originally published by Parker Brothers, now a subsidiary of Hasbro, in 1974, and currently marketed in the United States by Winning Moves Games. It was invented by Paul J. Gruen of West Newbury, Massachusetts, one of the more prolific board game designers of his era, working together with his brother-in-law Charles C. Bailey, and it became Gruen's most commercially successful design, reportedly outselling Monopoly during its first year on the market. The game simulates a single month of personal finance for two to four players, who move around a calendar-style board representing the days of the month, collecting a paycheck, paying recurring bills, and choosing whether to take out loans or investments as chance cards present unexpected expenses and windfalls along the way, with the player holding the most money at the end of the simulated month winning. Its light, accessible theme of everyday money management, combined with straightforward rules aimed at family play, has kept Pay Day in print in various editions for decades after its original release.