What can we learn from old board games?

Enquiry question

Investigate the sources

1. Source 1: The Little Teacher, 1908

   1. 

      The Little Teacher

      Let's play at school.

   Look at the source

   • What is this game called?
   • How does the picture tell you what the game is about?
   • From looking at the picture, how were children taught at that time? Is this different from how you learn in school?
   • What other information does the picture give us about life in 1908?
   • We do not have a board design for this game. Can you suggest how this game could be played?
   • Do you think this game would be popular with children and parents or guardians? Explain why.

2. Source 2: Royal Coronation, 1901

   Queen Victoria died in 1901 after a reign of 64 years. Her eldest son, Edward, was crowned as King Edward VII at the age of 59. His wife Alexandra also became Queen. A coronation is a special ceremony when a king or queen received the crown. They were also given the orb (a globe with a cross on it) and a sceptre (a staff or wand) held in the hand. All these objects represented the power and authority of the new king or queen.

   1. 

   Look at the source

   • Can you describe the picture in the centre of the board?
   • Look at the pictures around the edges of the board. Make a list of all the places you see.
   • Why do you think these places are included? (Clue: Check the name of the board game again, and discuss with a friend or helper)
   • Why do you think the game has the British flag pictured on the board?
   • How do you think this game was played?
   • Why do you think it was called ‘Royal Coronation: The game for all true Britons’?
   • Why do you think this game was made? (Clue: Find out the meaning of the word souvenir)

3. Source 3: Ups and Downs of Life, 1899

   1. 

   2. 

   Look at source 3a

   • What is the name of this game?
   • What can you see in the picture?
   • How does the picture help you understand what the game is about?
   • Who is meant to play this game?
   • How does the picture try to persuade you to want to play it?

   Look at source 3b

   • Look at the board, how do you think you would play this game?
   • What do you think the rules could be?
   • What can we learn about the following in Victorian times?
     • Fun and entertainment
     • Travel and transport
     • Marriage
     • School punishment
     • Clothing
   • What does the game suggest is the main ‘up’ or goal of life?
   • What are some of the ‘downs’?
   • Do you think these ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ are similar or different for us today?
   • Discuss with a friend or helper what other sources would help you to find more about Victorian entertainment and leisure.

4. Source 4: Scout Equipment game, 1912

   This is a different sort of game. It is interesting because it was made by a company that sold cough syrup. The makers have included their name in the title of the game. The game is based on the Scouts, an organisation that started five years before.

   1. 

      OWBRIDGE’S SCOUTS EQUIPMENT GAME

      INSTRUCTIONS: A game for two players. First carefully cut out the pieces forming the two figures of the boy scouts. Each player in turn spins the disc which indicates the piece he is to lay on the plain outline of the scout, but he must start with the Hat and place each succeeding piece to touch the last; for instance, should the indicator point to boots, before the stockings are laid on the figure the player forfeits that turn. The player who completes the equipment of his scout first, wins the game.

      OWBRIDGE’S LUNG TONIC

      FOR COUGHS

      FOR COLDS

   Look at the source

   • This game includes instructions. Can you make them into a simple list that explains the rules?
   • Can you explain how Owbridge is trying to sell or advertise their lung syrup (cough or cold mixture) in the game?
   • Why do you think they chose to show their product in this game?
   • What does this game tell us about life in the 1900s?
   • If you made a similar game based on clothing or a uniform what would you choose?

5. Source 5: The Merry Anglers’ Board game, 1904

   1. 

   Look at the source

   • What is this game called?
   • Can you work out the meaning of the word ‘angler’?
   • How many different types of fish can you see on the board?
   • Look at the bottom left-hand corner of the board. Now can you work how this game was played?
   • What school subjects could this game be trying to teach children who might have played it?
   • What do you think of the design of the game?
   • Do you think people would play this game today?

6. Source 6: Noah’s Ark board game, 1908

   1. 

   Look at the source

   • Have you heard about the story of Noah’s Ark? Try and find out or ask your teacher or helper.
   • Look at the board for this game, how do you think it would be played?
   • Why do you think this game is based on the story of Noah’s Ark?
   • Do you think that people would play this game today?

7. Source 7: Railway Bookstall game, 1908

   This is the lid of a children’s game that is not a board game.

   1. 

      The Railway Bookstall

      The Children’s New Game of Shop

      Complete with model copies of the principal

      Newspapers

      Magazines

      Weekly papers

      Novels

      Money

      Show bills

      Pot of Stickphast’s for Billposting

   Look at the source

   • What is this game called?
   • How can you work out what is inside the box?
   • How would children play this game?
   • Does this game reveal anything about what people enjoyed reading or were interested in?
   • Is the game trying to teach children anything?
   • Would children play this sort of game today?

8. Source 8: Sugar and Salt, 1898

   This is an example of a game where we only have the design from the lid and we don't know how it would have been played. Perhaps you can work it out.

   1. 

      Sugar & Salt

      Across the mountains to Klondyke

      A side-splitting game for all ages.

   Look at the source

   • What do you think this game could be about?
   • What does Klondyke refer to?
   • How might the game be played?
   • How and why would people find it funny?

Extension activities

• Compare the board games in this lesson to other board games in the past such as Tudor Backgammon, Nine Men’s Morris or Chess for the Anglo Saxons.
• Design a class board game based on a race to a particular destination for players using local route near you (a walk to school, or park, part of your town or historic site).  According to what square you land on, your journey could face hazards, an instruction to move backwards e.g. getting stuck in traffic, or find something blocking the route. Instructions to move forward could feature on a square, e.g. an offer of a lift from a friend. 
• Find out about Victorian and Edwardian toys and games, for example: spillikins, ‘Ring Taw’ marble game, dolls and doll’s houses, zoetrope, hoops, spinning tops and jack-in-the boxes. Compare these toys and games to those of today. What are the similarities and differences?

Background information

An enduring pastime

According to the Guardian newspaper in April 2020, ‘sales of board games and jigsaw puzzles soared 240%’ in the first week of lockdown against COVID-19. Clearly, they offered a great way for families to spend time together at home.

Similarly, Victorians and Edwardians enjoyed board games and were familiar with games like chess, backgammon and draughts. Another traditional board game, Ludo, which originated from India in the 6th century known as pachisi, came to Britain in 1891, patented by Alfred Collier. A form of ‘Monopoly’ called the ‘Landlord’s Game’ was invented in 1903, and later became ‘Monopoly’ when copyrighted by Parker Brothers in 1935, then Hasbro in 1991.

Board games were highly valued as a form of entertainment for Victorian or Edwardian children as they were not too physical or noisy, allowing them to be ‘seen and not heard’. They could be played at home with the whole family or a group of children under the watchful eye of a parent or governess. They offered a change from the usual ‘parlour games’ that the Victorians favoured such as ‘Charades’ or ‘Pin the tail on the donkey’.

Board games in the Archives

Many board games, not on sale today, were devised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and some of their designs are held at The National Archives. The board games used in this lesson are very interesting as historical sources as they can reveal something about the society that made them.

Marriage goals

Family and marriage were highly valued by the Victorians, and board games based on the end goal of marriage were not unusual. For example, in a board game called ‘Maricout’ (1882) players had to move around the board facing a range of setbacks during courtship. It emphasised Victorian values rewarding players who landed on squares holding specific virtues, including honesty and humility and highlighted the importance of acquiring, wealth and status in society – epitomised by the acquisition of carriages and servants. Another game called ‘The New Game of Married First or Wedding Bells’ (1904) followed a similar approach.

Games for education and moral instruction

Edwardian board games were often educational and covered topics like history, science or geography. There were games based on the life of Dick Turpin: ‘The Game of Dick Turpin’s ride to York’ (1904), or the ‘Game of Scouts’ (1909), the ‘Boer War Game’ (1900) or even one called the ‘Game of Lord Gordon-Kitchener’ (1900). There was a somewhat tasteless game about the Titanic entitled: ‘The new game across the Atlantic, from Liverpool to New York without touching icebergs’ (1912).

Some games signalled moral values such as good behaviour, for example ‘The Little Teacher game’ (1908) and the importance of work. The game of ‘Temperanzo’ (1909) was designed to warn against the perils of drink and the importance of taking the pledge for adults. Children could play at shops with ‘The Play Town Post Office game’ (1909) or with ‘the Railway Bookstall game’ (1908). Other games were based upon nursery rhymes or fairy tales where the winner triumphed over evil characters during the course of the game, such as the ‘Enchanted Forest’ (1911).

Manufacturers’ innovations

New printing techniques meant companies could produce a wide range of board games fairly cheaply. The games were often very colourful and highly illustrated to make them appear more attractive to children. Sometimes instructions were printed on the board itself. The designs often involved a race with other players along a circuit or path in some shape or form. Counters or buttons were used to move along the board.

The number of moves was determined by teetotum or spinning top marked with letters or numbers to show the result of each spin. Dice were not often favoured as they were associated with gambling. Some games incorporated hazards or rewards, like in ‘Snakes and Ladders’ when players were sent backwards or forwards. In more sophisticated games, the players picked up cards that aided or impeded their progress in terms of ‘disasters’ or ‘windfalls’ according to the theme of the game.

Further information

In pictures

Tom Smith’s Christmas crackers

Confectioner Tom Smith invented the first Christmas cracker in the 1840s. These box labels show how he used popular themes to sell more crackers.