Churchill Checkers (1943)

This all-wood game was published in Canada in 1943, clearly cashing in on the popularity of the British wartime Prime Minister. The solid wood board shows a circle with 4 concentric rings divided by 10 radii. There is a centre space marked with a Crown, and each of the 41 resulting spaces has a hole into which a wooden peg can be placed. There is a hole in the side of the board stopped with a cork in which 20 pegs are stored. Each player starts with 10 pegs, placed in the outer two rings of half the circle. The pegs start with a plain side up, and are marked with the player's colour (red or black) on the other end. Players move alternately, either clockwise, counter-clockwise or toward the centre. As in normal checkers, they must jump over an opponent into a vacant space if able to do so. A piece moving or jumping into the Crown space at the centre flips into a King, which is then allowed to move and jump outward as well as inward. A piece in the Crown space is safe, and only a King can jump back into the Crown space and continue jumping. Normally, a player wins be eliminating the opponent's pieces, but there also are rules for a "losing" game where the objective is to give away all your pieces or create a situation where you are unable to move. While the rules show the publisher as London Novelty and Display Products, the box says it was manufactured by Robinson Industrial - Crafts Limited, also of London, Canada.