Game Information

1899: Bodleian Library

1900: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002708/19000103/070/0004

(none)

(no catalog number shown on game)

(none)

(ONE SHILLING)

[title THE
BOER
WAR
GAME]
(PATENT.)

AMUSING AND INSTRUCTIVE

Cover shows two men in a tug-of-war; mountain in background; graytone and red cover; no publisher name on game.

war, Boer War

medium-sized leaflet (pale yellow, 4 sides)

4⅝ inches wide — 3⅝ inches high — 1 1/16 inches deep

11.7 cm wide — 9.2 cm high — 2.7 cm deep

75.0 grams

2.6 ounces

The top label has a red border and then a black outline along with a gray background. The label is printed in graytone and red.

"(ONE SHILLING)" (black) appears at upper right.

A man wearing a military-style outfit (tan with black highlights, long red socks with black lines around them) and hat is shown at left, holding on to a rope in a tug-of-war with another man at right, who is wearing a top hat, suit, and long coat, all in dark gray. A closed black umbrella with a brown handle is on the ground by the man at right.

In the rear (to the right of the man at left) is a mountain with snow on it, with slopes leading to the right rear.

Below the rope in the background is a creek or small river.

The title starts at top, just left of center, with "THE" (black serif, at an angle upward). Below and to the right of the "E" in "THE" is "BOER" (red with black outline and black shadow down and to the right, in a slightly rounded font on a concave baseline), which is shown above the rope. Below the rope, and a bit to the left, is "WAR" above "GAME" (in the same red and black font style). "(PATENT.)" (black) appears below "GAME" in much smaller letters, but in the same font style.

Above "BOER" is an illustration of an explosion.

"AMUSING AND INSTRUCTIVE." (black, rounded, in a barely serifed font) appears across the bottom.

At lower left, above the "A" in "AMUSING", is a head portrait of a man wearing a wide hat (all shown in graytone) in a circle surrounded by a red ring.

red

Red with no design.

gray with red underlabel edges

The game includes 4 cards (3" wide by 1 3/8" high), each in a different color and with the name of a location printed (in black) on one side (the other side in blank): "LADYSMITH." on deep purple; "MAFEKING." on yellow; "PRETORIA." on white; and "BLOEMFONTEIN." on red. As each of the cards have been played, pinholes appear in them.

4 small flags (5/8" wide by 1/2" high, made of paper) on metal pins (1 1/2" tall with 1/8" pinheads) come in the game: 2 have the British Union flag, and 2 have the Boer Republics flag (with a vertical green bar at left; and three horizontal bars at right: red at top, white below, and blue at the bottom (which is the Dutch flag)).

In copy 1 of the game examined, bone squidgers (1" in diameter) come in: purple, yellow, white, and red (faded). Winks (5/8" in diameter) come in: 2 very deep purple, 2 bright deep purple, 2 pale purple, 1 dull bright yellow, 2 dull yellow, 3 darker yellow with gray marks, 1 offwhite, 5 white, 5 red, and 2 pink.