Short answers, pulled from the story.
George Swinnerton Parker created the game Banking in 1883 while he was sixteen years old. He stood in his Salem, Massachusetts workshop to develop this title which used 160 cards to predict financial outcomes.
General Mills purchased Parker Brothers in 1968 to mark the end of eighty-five years of family ownership. The company later merged with Kenner in 1985 before Tonka acquired Kenner Parker Toys Inc. two years later.
Parker Brothers spent fifteen million dollars establishing a book publishing branch in early 1983. Their first titles featured Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake franchises and total sales reached three point five million units within months.
Merlin launched in 1978 as an electronic handheld device that sold seven hundred thousand units before Christmas that year. Sales totaled one hundred million dollars in 1979 after Parker Brothers reverse-engineered Atari hardware for cartridges.
The Pastime brand produced hand-cut wooden puzzles from 1908 to 1958 before closing officially in 1958. Die-cut puzzles phased out during the late 1970s while Salem, Massachusetts housed many examples of early games like Young People's Geographical Game.