Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The History of the Game of the Goose and its Variants, from its earliest appearance to the end of the 19th century
- Part II The Legacy of the Game of the Goose in the Modern Era
- Conclusion
- Glossary of technical terms
- Figures
- Literature quoted with abbreviated titles
- Index of Games
- Index of Subjects
12 - Countries where the Game of the Goose was less in evidence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 November 2020
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The History of the Game of the Goose and its Variants, from its earliest appearance to the end of the 19th century
- Part II The Legacy of the Game of the Goose in the Modern Era
- Conclusion
- Glossary of technical terms
- Figures
- Literature quoted with abbreviated titles
- Index of Games
- Index of Subjects
Summary
This chapter brings together some notes on countries where the Game of the Goose was known but where its influence appears to have been of only minor significance. These countries have not been fully researched and more investigation is certainly warranted. Nevertheless, these brief notes may serve to illustrate that the spread of the Game of the Goose was not strictly limited by the boundaries of the countries treated in previous chapters.
The Game of the Goose in Scandinavia
The Game of the Goose was certainly known in Scandinavian countries. An interesting reference is contained in an 18th century account of travels written by William Richardson:
The City of Copenhagen is irregularly and too closely built… The palace is a heavy inelegant building: and the gardens of Rosenberg exhibit nothing but narrow lanes between high hedges, and dull canals. I do assure you, and the fact may be of service to those who gaze on the outside of a palace with admiration, that in a room in the mansion of the Danish Princes, where we were told, the King and his Ministers held councils of state, we beheld – the Royal Game of the Goose.
This will no doubt have been an elaborate goose board, rather than a simple printed sheet. Nevertheless, Richardson evidently did not hold the game in high regard.
The oldest surviving printed game of the Goose type from Denmark appears to be the Abespil [Game of the Monkey] published by J. R. Thiele, dated 1787 on the sheet (Figure 12.1). It is a classic Game of the Goose, except that the geese are replaced by satirical figures of monkeys in human guise.
Evidently a range of printed games was available in 19th-century Denmark. The Nordisk boghandlertidende [Nordic Bookseller Gazette], Volume 9 lists the stock of the bookdealer F. Chr. Pio, of Copenhagen. There are several entries which are race games of the Goose type, including:
Abe-spil [Monkey Game: board, rules and two dice, 18 kroner].
Det nye Abespil [The New Monkey Game: beautiful board with box, 60 kroner].
Det nye Gaasespil [The New Goose Game: board, rules and two dice, 15 kroner].
Det nye Robinsonspil [The New Robinson Game: beautiful board with box, 60 kroner].
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cultural Legacy of the Royal Game of the Goose400 Years of Printed Board Games, pp. 273 - 278Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2019