The Virtual Museum of Childhood
We hope to use this website to help promote
our love and interest for collecting Games & toys and
other collectible childhood treasures, around the world. We intend to build and make it available as a
reference site for other researchers, dealers and collectors
seeking accurate information on their collection.
VINTAGE BOARD GAMES
Manufactured Board games became increasingly popular during the 20th century and even in our present century some have successfully made the transformation into becoming a computer game. Still, for many there is a tactile pleasure in playing on a board with real pieces. This combined with their attractive artwork and nostalgic appeal has created a growing market for these highly collectible vintage games.
Board games of one form or another have been played since the dawn of civilization and probably before. One of the earliest games discovered was that of "Senet". It was found among the funerary possessions of a pre-dynastic burial dating back 5000 years ago in Egypt. Another board game resembling "Mancala" was found at Ain Gazal Jordan, dating back 7800 years. Although their educational value in personal development and social skills have long been recognised and sometimes overemphasized, above all else they are fun to play. The vintage board games themselves, are either based on luck, like "Snakes and Ladders" or involve strategy like "Chess". As children we are usually attracted to the first but as we get older, we tend to prefer the thrill of using our skills to compete with diplomacy or cunning.
Snakes & Ladders
The most popular version of this vintage board game owes its existence to Jaques of London, who produced this game based on an old Indian (India) game called "Dasapada" which utilized the 10 x 10 square gaming board that was used for a variant of chess.
Ludo
This game appeared in England in 1896 and was a simplified version of the traditional Indian game of Pachisi.
Race Games
Race games are usually based on a circuit where the players compete by rolling dice to control their moves. The boards are often themed and have forfeits or bonuses along the way to make them more interesting.
Steeplechase is based on a form of Horse Racing that derived its name from the Church Steeple at the centre of the cross country course. When the race was formalised to a track meeting, they included the fences and ditches from these country races. The most famous of these is now the Grand National run annually at Liverpool since 1837.
Speedway is based on the thrilling sport of Motorcycle Racing and is an updated version of the same race game. Here the mechanised transport has superseded the horse. All board games are a fascinating record of social history as well as been entertaining.
Please browse through our pages and we hope you enjoy our presentations.