I thought it would be fun to share a collection of pictures of board games. These are illustrations and pictures of antique game boards.
Board games seem to have had a bit of resurgence in popularity lately especially with the younger generation. Board game cafes have popped up lately, there is even one in my own town. Many pubs have a collection of board games that are free to use for their customers.
Personally, as a family, we have an extensive collection of board games from “3 person chess” to “Go International Travel“. Not to mention seven different versions of Monopoly from the London Olympics edition to the Hong Kong and Newcastle versions.
We actually love playing vintage board games. For example, Go International Travel is a 1960’s travel board game complete with traveller’s cheques, visas and money in many European currencies that no longer exist.
Board games actually date back to the Egyptians 3100BC with Senet, Backgammon dates from 2000BC, Chess 1300BC and Snakes and Ladders 200AD.
One of the newest board games I have spotted is a reflection of the current times and is called “Pandemic“. It’s a cooperative strategy game, it will be interesting to see if it will become a classic.
I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures of old game boards. I particularly love the boards with vintage pictorial maps on them.
How to Download Pictures The Board Games
Click on the title of the vintage game board you want to download. A higher resolution image will open in a new window on your browser. If you then click on that game board with your mouse, you will have the menu option to save the image to your device.
1. The Road To Washington
Print showing gameboard for a game “The road to Washington” 1884 from the Library of Congress. A dice game with “Washington” at the top and “Grand Central Depot” near the bottom with connecting routes through the cities of “Philadelphia”, “Newark”, “Baltimore”, “Boston”, “New Haven”, “Dover” where you “lose next turn”, “Cincinnati”, “Chicago”, “Richmond”, “St. Louis” and “New Orleans.” When a player lands on a city, except Dover, he moves his game piece to a designated city.
2. The Owl Game
This is a picture of a Dutch Board game, the Owl Game. A circular board game with compartments containing objects, animals and dice. In the middle is an owl with a mirror. Below the game board, the rules of the game are in three columns.
3. Around The World In 80 Days
Another Dutch Board game (1876), with 80 numbered boxes with scenes from the story of Jules Verne: Around the World in Eighty Days. In the center is a representation of a world map with the travel route.
4. Peace
Dutch board game (1907) on the occasion of the second Peace Conference in The Hague and the start of the construction of the Peace Palace. Heart-shaped goose board-like game with squares numbered from 1 to 63. In the midfield, the rules of the game are in letterpress.
Above the board, there are two trumpet-blowing angels of peace; further images of the journey of the various heads of state and a fantasy representation of the Peace Palace yet to be built.
5. Picture of Zoology Board Games
Picture of a vintage board game in the form of a circle with numbers numbered from 2 to 117, with vertebrates and invertebrates. Four hunting scenes in the midfield. In the corners around the circle images with lines of Cats.
6. 1876 French Celestial Map Game Board
You will find more wonderful vintage Celestial maps and antique zodiac maps here.
7. Trouble In China – French Board Game
1900s French game board map – Les troubles en Chine. There are some vintage maps of Asia and China on Picture Box Blue.
8. 1932 Picture of Japanese World Map Game Board
This game board has a wonderfully illustrated pictorial map of the world on it. It reminds me of some of the Chase Pictorial World Maps.
There is a wide collection of vintage Japanese illustrations and prints on Picture Box Blue.
9. Pictures of Board Games – Atchin
A vintage Dutch board game called Atchin (1974). Atchin is the old name of present-day Aceh in North Sumatra. The object of the game is to capture the Kraton (Sultan’s Palace). Three representations of Dutch soldiers and Indonesians. Right under the rules of the game in letterpress.
10. Monkey Game
A picture of a Monkey board game from the collection at the British Museum.
Game-board in an octagonal shape with compartments numbered from 1 to 63 arranged in a spiral, some bearing pictures of monkeys; in each corner, monkeys wearing clothes; in the centre, six monkeys playing musical instruments, the rules at the bottom.
11. Flower Parade Game Board
1898 picture of a flower parade for a board game.
A Dutch rectangular board game with 88 numbered squares. In the center a large image of a flower parade during the inauguration celebrations following the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina in The Hague. Pictured is the first prize winning chariot. Wilhelmina and Emma watch from a stage then. On the left, the rules of the game are in letterpress in two columns.
12. Pictures of Board Games Chinese Game
This is a picture of a circular game-board from the British Library collection. There are sixty-three fields for cutting out; head and shoulders of a Chinese man at the centre, directed to the right, smoking a pipe, surrounded numbered fields, some with Chinese figures and buildings; below, numbers between 1 and 15 for cutting out; No.34 d from a series.
13. 1890 USA Map Game Board
The game rambles through the USA. It is an instructive geographical game for the young. The board game showing a map of the United States of America as it appeared in 1890.
14. George Washington Snake Game Board
A picture of a game board with red, gold, and blue spaces, numbered between 1 and 122; on the board are illustrations that are numbered and correspond to the blue “starred” spaces, which are action spots, the player landing on one follows the instructions given with the corresponding illustration, and moves accordingly.
At the beginning of the game is a portrait of George Washington and at the end, a rustic looking homestead, identified as the “home of the Washington family”.
15. Eiffel Tower Game
Illustrated board game with circles numbered 1 to 63, walking over the Eiffel Tower. Goose board-like advertising game, on the occasion of the world exhibition in Paris in 1889, for Blooker’s cocoa.
Left and right two columns with a girl on them. The girl on the left carries the French flag, the girl on the right carries the American flag. In the background on the right is the Statue of Liberty. Rules of the game in letterpress in the middle of the page.
16. New Company Game
An illustrated board game with a spiral with compartments numbered from 1 to 63, with figures from the novel ‘The fate of Klaasje Zewindow’ (1865-1866) by Jacob van Lennep.
17. 1912 Pictorial Game Board of a Plane Trip Around the World
If you like this aeroplane themed pictorial game board then you will probably enjoy these vintage airline posters and maps.
18. Japanese Chess
A Japanese woodcut showing a pot with spring anemones and dwarf plum blossom standing on a game board of a Japanese variant of chess, shôgi. The stones in this game are also called ‘horses’, hence this design in this print series, published for the new year of the horse in 1822. With two poems.
There are some watercolour paintings of toys in the Index of American Design.
If you enjoyed these pictures of board games then you might enjoy these other pictorial collections on Picture Box Blue.
Donna @ Modern on Monticello
Tuesday 9th of November 2021
These would be perfect to frame for a family room or basement game room. You share such wonderful vintage images! Thanks for linking up each week. #HomeMattersParty
claire
Thursday 11th of November 2021
Thank you, that is a great idea for a den or games room.