The Art of Play: The George III Golden Jubilee Game, 1810

The Victoria & Albert Museum

I like this. I don’t know how it works, but it looks fun. Here, we see a very, very colorful board game from 1810. It is a continuation of the Historical Pastime game which chronicled English history from the Norman Conquest to the accession of George III. This version of the game celebrates George III’s Golden Jubilee.

The board consists of one hundred fifty playing spaces which detail the major events of the reign of George III. The accompanying rule book, takes a lot of time and effort to praise the king in the most florid of language, but, conversely does not shy away from listing some of the less-than-stellar moments in his reign. I wonder if his insanity is mentioned…

Fun for the whole family!