Published by Milton Bradley in 1960, the Men into Space board game put players in command of a fleet of rockets tasked with delivering supplies to the moon.
The board game was based on the Men into Space television series, which aired for a single season in 1959/1960. The science fiction drama followed members of the U.S. Air Force as they ventured into deep space, with missions aimed at the moon and Mars in search of life beyond Earth.
GAMEPLAY
Players divided their four pawns onto two tracking ranges: Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg, each with its own orbit path on the game board.
To launch their rockets into orbit, players completed staging positions. By spinning and reading the outer ring, a player could spin “Malfunction” or “Into Orbit”. A “Malfunction” required another attempt on the next turn, while “Into Orbit” granted an additional spin. On that second spin, players read the inner dial and moved their vehicle into orbit by the number indicated.
Coloured dots along the orbit path marked key points on the journey to the moon:
Red dots: Danger zones indicated encounters with comets, cosmic dust, radiation belts, or meteorites. Landing on a red dot required the player to draw an action card and follow the instructions, which could move their rocket forward or backward. Each card included both an instruction and a space fact.
Black dots: These marked intersections along the orbit. Landing on a black dot allowed the player to advance their rocket one extra space.
Yellow dots: Two yellow dots near the orbiting space station allowed players to re-enter their original orbit path and move ahead one additional space.
The rocket pawns were designed to stack, enabling “piggybacks”. If a rocket landed on the same space as an opponent’s, it was placed on top. The opponent carried both rockets forward on their next spin, after which the top rocket separated and continued independently.
A rocket had to land on the moon by exact spin. The first player to land their fleet of four rockets on the moon won the game.
IN THE BOX
A complete game included a game board illustrated with an astronaut flanked by two launching space rockets under the shadow of the moon, four sets of rocket-shaped player pawns (red, green, blue, and yellow), action cards, and a spinner. Game instructions were printed on a platform inside the box.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
The Men into Space television series spawned a novel of the same name written by prolific science fiction writer Murray Leinster, a toy space helmet produced by Ideal Toy Company, and a comic published by Dell. The mysteries of outer space have long fascinated children and adults alike. Toys and games such as Major Matt Mason Space Station from Mattel, Lost in Space Helmet from Remco, Orbiting Spaceway from Kenner, Space Blaster from Coleco, Star Wars Electronic Battle Command Game from Kenner, and the more contemporary 2001: A Space Odyssey – The Board Game from Maestro Media (2025) encouraged imaginative play and dreams among the stars.
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