Two weeks ago the Princeton Board Games Club visited Special Collections to look at a selection of Cotsen’s board games. Here they are battling it out over Election: The Game of the Day, a 1950s board game very loosely based on Monopoly where players try to win seats in the House of Commons. The battle for voters in Coventry and Bedford was spirited.
But when they walked into the large classroom, they made a beeline to the game shown in the foreground of the photograph and asked what it was? 
The playing surface appears to be a drawing covering four sheets of paper which have been mounted on board, varnished, and hinged with fabric. The only evidence for the materials that were used if the label shown to the left pasted on the back. The creator didn’t sign the front anywhere obvious, although it’s possible a name could be concealed somewhere among all the figures. Sometimes the rules for published board games are printed down the vertical sides, but this feature was not copied. Perhaps they were written out and made into a little booklet. The tokens and dice probably went missing decades ago.
Was this pastime based on Snakes and Ladders or is it a variation of the Game of the Goose, the most popular race game of all? There’s no way to know unless players line up at the castle in the upper left hand corner and advance down the track.
[Antique Manuscript Board Game]. [London?, 1920s?]. (Cotsen)
Among the obstacles to advancement is a fiery salamander, who will detain a play until a six is thrown. There two dragons to avoid… Land on number 25 (notice that there’s one in bold in a circle and another above) and the knight kills the lion waiting to maul travellers and the the player can jump over the scaly brute to number 35. The second dragon can be slain if Excalibur is pulled from the stone at number 93. Otherwise it will eat the unfortunate player who lands on number 94, eliminating him or her from play. The satyr facing it is perhaps piping a tune to improve its digestion. The elves to the right look disinclined to intervene. 
Tramp through the Forest of Sherwood and meet Dick Turpin, the highwayman, who will relieve the player of unnecessary baggage. Avoid him and there’s a chance of nabbing the Seven League Boots that will skip ahead to number 73.
Hurry down to the sea and sail a tall ship around Neptune and bypass Long John Silver on Treasure Island.
Turn north to head for home, a stately country home. Perhaps it is a picture of a real place, the actual site where this quirky shared world cum board game was made. So far there aren’t enough clues to figure out who drew the game board, although it seems a good guess that the person lived in England before the first World War and was very familiar with the classics of Victorian literature. When it’s digitized and up in the Cotsen module of DPUL, the board game club can figure out how it’s played!
