Game of Goose (1587)

Game Image 419cd83f96531da30196538a7b274b51_thb.jpg 🔎
Playtime: 20
Min. Age: 5
Players: 2 - 6
Publisher: Galt Toys, Kids Games Ltd, Cayro, The Games, Playbox, Nürburg Spiele, Carlo Coriolani, XVIe, Dominioni Editore, Egel-Spelen, Daniel Mercier Chocolatier & Créateur, Ricon, Johann Trautner, H. Overton, Diabolo, Palet spil, J Vlieger, (Public Domain), Clementoni, R. H. Laurie, Wild Horse, Jeux Stella, Selecta Spel en Hobby, Marigó, Louvre Editions, Société Générale Polishes, Papita, Role of Honour Games, Djeco, Galison, Robert Sayer, Editions ATLAS, Koster Brothers, Majora, Reclame Uitgaven De Beukelaer, (Unknown), MB Spellen, ABC Nürnberg, Carrom Art, Tomland, Oehmigke & Riemschneider, Carlit, Schmidt France, University Games, Bookmark Verlag, Jumbo, Nathan, Watilliaux, Johann Raab, Pellerin & Cie, Martin Fritz, Nederlandse Spellenfabriek B.V. Amsterdam, ΕΠΑ (EPA), Christian Janicot, ABRA, Otto Maier Verlag, David Funck, Klee, Peri Spiele, Verlag J. A. Steinkamp, White Horse, Mulder, Selecta Spielzeug, Ravensburger, Verlag G.N. Renner, Saussine Editeur, Waldpost Spiele-Verlag, Fratelli Fabbri Editori (Fabbri Editore), Zwan, Peliko Oy, Spear's Games, Sala, Schmidt Spiele, Douwe Egberts, Galleryplay, Jeu Jura, ASS Altenburger Spielkarten, John Bowles & Son, Berliner Spielkarten, La Petite Boîte, Tietz und Pinthus, Το Καλό Παιχνίδι Α.Ε., Jos. Scholz, Abel Klinger, Reader's Digest, Clown Games, HEMA, Rubinstein, play time, ERA Aux Fruits D'Orient, Georg Nikolaus Renner, Hausser, Epinal, Noris Spiele, Diset S. A., Brückner Spiele, (Self-Published), Inovac Rima SA, Borras Plana S.A., King International, René Ackermann, John Wallis, Sio, Editrice Giochi, MB Juegos, Società Editrice Internazionale, Altap, Chupa Chups, Brimtoy, Ludens Spirit, Mon Petit Art, Tactic, Kadon Enterprises
Designers: (Uncredited)
Artists: Claude Deschamps, Mauro Gariglio, Séverine Prélat, Michael Holzbecher, Eugen Osswald, Florence Thuillier, Sébastien Chebret, Yasmin Imamura, Martin Jarrie
Mechanics: Events, Race, Track Movement, Dice Rolling, Lose a Turn, Roll / Spin and Move

The Game of Goose is an ancient children's classic, possibly tracing its roots all the way to the Ancient Egyptian game of Mehen which was played in early Old Kingdom times.

Francesco de Medici in Italy sent a copy of this game to King Felipe II of Spain during the 16th century.
It became one of the most popular games in Europe during that time.

Circa 1600, Benoît Rigaud's heirs printed in Lyon "Le Jeu de l'oye, renouvellé des Grecs, jeu de grand plaisir, comme aujourd'huy princes & grands seigneur" [sic] "le pratiquent" - Le jeu de l'oie, renewed from the Greeks, game of great pleasure, as today princes and great lord [sic] play it -, the oldest French copy known.

Father Claude-François Menestrier describes the game in his "Bibliothèque curieuse et instructive" (1704) : 'There's another type of game, that seems easier to learn, and easier to play; it's the game of goose so common and it is said to come from the Greeks, though nothing can be found about it in their authors. This game is much easier than cards game, because it's always wholly displayed to the players, and, being in the form of a snail or spirally folded snake, it's appropriate to print the things that one wants to learn...'.

The game became an instant hit in France in the 1600s, and engendered a lot of variants (educational, commemorative, ...) up to the present day.

It turned up later in England about 1750, according to Whitehouse, under the title "Royall & most pleasant game of the goose - Invented at the Consistory in Rome and are printed and sold by H. OVERTON at Ye White Horse without Newgate where all sorts of Fine Prints and maps are Sold and Framed at Reasonable Rate".

By 1851 it had been copied by the American publisher J.P. Beach of New York who entitled it The Jolly Game of Goose. An 1855 edition was called simply The Game of Goose.

It is a simple game of racing, using a spiral track with lovely illustrations. The main principle is one shared with Snakes and Ladders as well as the later Game of Life: virtue is rewarded and vice is punished.

Schmidt Spiele rates their Gänsespiel for ages 5 and up.

Bibliography
Whitehouse, F. R. B. (1971) [1951]. Table games of Georgian and Victorian days. Birmingham: Priory Press Ltd.
'Jeux de princes, jeux de vilains', edited by Eve Netchine, Bibliothèque nationale de France / Seuil (2009).

--gameplay description from Wikipedia:
The board consists of a track with consecutively numbered spaces (usually 63), and is often arranged in a spiral with the starting point at the outside. Each player's piece is moved according to throws of one or two dice. Scattered throughout the board are a number of spaces on which a goose is depicted; landing on a goose allows the player to move again by the same distance. Additional shortcuts, such as spaces marked with a bridge, move the player to some other specified position. There are also a few penalty spaces which force the player to move backwards or lose one or more turns, the most recognizable being the one marked with a skull and symbolizing death; landing on this space results in the player being sent back to start. On Spanish boards the reverse is usually a Pachisi board.

Many themed versions of the game have been created, depicting topics as diverse as ice skating, Richard Nixon, and sewage pumps. These can be valued for their historical or artistic merits even by those who have no interest in the game itself, with some editions having been sold for thousands of dollars at auction or displayed in museums.



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The game was also published under these names: I personaggi della Commedia , Ganzenbord 3D , Het nieuwe ganzenspel , Nederlandsch Ganze Spel , Piraña wildwaterspel , Jeu de L'oie et Petits Chevaux , Das Gänsespiel , Gänsespiel , Jogo do Ganso , Gänseliesl , Het Efteling Spel , Juego de la oca , Il gioco dell'oca di Milano , The Game of the Goose , Europe Game , Det nya gåsspelet , Gässpelet , Il Gioco dell'Oca del Lago di Como , Auf dem Gänseanger , Grand Jeu de L'Oie , Het Out-Hollandse Ganzenbord , Leeuwenspel , Das Grosse Gänse Spiel , Gåsspelet , Le Jeu Des Bons Enfans , Gänse-Spiel , El juego de la oca , The Royal Game of the Goose , Jogo da Glória , Het echt ganzenspel , Gänse Spiel , Piggelmee , El joc de l'oca , Het Oud Hollandse Ganzenbord , Joc de l'oca , Ganzebord , The New and Favorite Game of Mother Goose and the Golden Egg , Jeu de l'Oie , Il Gioco Dell' Oca Dilettevole , Royall & most pleasant game of the goose , Kva-Kvaak hanhipeli , Löwenspiel , Oud-Hollands Ganzenbord , Reise in die Ewigkeit , Jeu de l'oie du RCCH: Rugby Club Cherbourg-Hague , Het Apenspel , Het Samson Spel , La Oca Loca , Le Jeu de l'Oie , Jeu de l'Oie F.C.Grenoble Rugby , Le Jeu d'Oie , Neues Gänse Spiel , Jeu de l'oie des archives départementales du Gard , Goosegame , Το παιχνίδι της χήνας , Nouveau Jeu De L'Oie , Neues Gänsespiel , Ganzenbord , Jeu du Chemin de Fer ou du Jeu de l'oie ferroviaire , Reuze Ganzenbord , Das Khurtzweillige Fortuna-Spill , The Royal Game of Goose , Oud-Hollandsch Ganzenbord , Das kleine Gänsespiel , Het Nieuw en Vemaecklyck Gansespel , Het Ganzenbord , Goose Game , Zodiac Race Classic Game Bandana , Oudhollands Ganzenbord , Het Aloude Ganzenspel , Lustiges Gänse Spiel , Le Jeu du Crocodile Nîmois , Das neue Affenspiel , De school gaat uit , Jeu de l'Huile de Table des Chartreux , The Game of Goose set around Lake Como , Il Gioco di Jules Verne , Drillepind , Das lustige Affenspiel für Jung und Alt , Ganzenbord Assen , Comme du Buerre , Il dilettevole Gioco di Loca , Giuoco dell'Oca , Jeu de l'oie: Un petit tour au musée du Louvre , Gåsespillet , The new and marvellous game of the goose, or, one man's morris-off , Ein Neu-Erfundenes Ganss-Spiel , En voyage avec Vauban , Ganzenbord spelkleed , Game of Goose , Il Gioco con le Oche , Il Gioco dell'Oca , Jeu de l'âne Noirmoutier , Gioco dell'Oca , Jeu de l'Oie: Pédagogique – Sur la culture du Cacao , Laurie's New and Entertaining Game of the Golden Goose , Die große Überfahrt: Gänsespiel , Oud Hollands Ganzenbord , Wilde-Ganzenbord

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ag.gameitem.lastUpdated: 2025-04-22 09:58:32.931