A Tour Through the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions (1855)

A Tour Through The British Colonies and Foreign Possessions is from an original hand coloured lithographic game published in about 1850 by John Betts of London. The game is a whistle-stop tour around the world from London via Africa, India, Japan, the West Indies, the United States of America, Canada, and finally, a race back to London. The first part of the journey includes the choice of two routes. The overland journey visits the city of Alexandria and the sea cruise calls in at Sierra Leone and the Cape. With 36 stops along the route, the visitor participates in a remarkable, colonial experience of the world. The game includes a box, mounted color map, reproduction rule book and catalog, The Historical Games Collection catalog, four re-created pawns lightly tipped in colors, and a six sided teetotum (spinner - dice were considered at the time as something used for gambling). Game play involves spinning, moving your pawn the appropriate number of spaces, and then reading the educational paragraph about the colony or possession you have landed on. The reproduction edition's rulebook notes: "These rules are copied directly from the originals and reflect the moral and social outlook of early 19th century imperialist peoples. The facts and attitudes are often wrong, intolerant and patronizing and should be read from a historical perspective."