The Great Game of Britain

I've just realised that this is the first of my 'board games' that actually includes a board. Apologies if I've inadvertently bothered anyone's pedant sensibilities. Hopefully this fab double-sided board will help make amends.

The Great Game Of Britain is a lesser known gem in the sphere of board games. The basic idea is to race around the British rail network, visiting six destinations (3 x near, 3 x far) before returning to London. Of course racing around the British rail network isn't straightforward, so whenever you change lines, travel across London or need to switch to a ferry (for instance, to get to the Isle of Wight) you pick up a hazard. You also encounter signal failures - in the game you know, rather than suspect, that these are the work of malevolent forces hell-bent on frustrating you.

Other than selecting your route, and deciding how evil you want to be (trapping someone in Cornwall is generally a good ploy), there's not a lot of strategy involved. Most of the game depends on the luck of the draw and the roll of the dice - if you have to visit both Penzance and Stornoway you're most likely stuffed. But this makes it a good game to play as or with kids.

It's educational too. My geography leaves a lot to be desired, yet thanks to this game the location of certain UK towns and cities is indelibly imprinted in my mind. Each of the location cards provides a snippet of tourist info - just in case you were dubious of the value of visiting Peterborough for example.

The loveliest thing about this game is the double-sided board. You can choose whether to play on modern tracks or to go back to an age of steam. As children we shunned the charm of yesteryear, preferring the clean lines and recognisable counties of the modern board. In hindsight, it strikes me that this was great preparation for a career in qualitative research.

Sadly, I haven't managed to uncover any trivia on this one. It doesn't even rate a listing on wikipedia. All the great photos in this post have been taken from this ebay listing.

Comments

[Harriet]

What happened to the game mousetrap (and no I could never understand why there was a west end play named after a boardgame but then I led a sheltered life)?

I spent hours of fun with my sisters playing this game. That was until lost a plastic pience and the game could not be assembled!

[Harriet]

oh alas my spelling was not improved by mousetrap either

[helenltaylor]

Mousetrap (like Operation & Mr Frosty) was one of those toys/games I never owned and always wanted to play when visiting friends who had them.

From memory, the 'lost piece of plastic' was a common problem.

[Richard]

Having spent many hours with you playing this game sis, i would like to point out you only seem to remember the games that you always won!
What about polar bear & fish as a better example?

[williamdeed]

I used to own The Great Game of Britain, but in my family we called it The Train Game.

To this day, despite never visiting the town, I have a great fear of Aviemore.

[helenltaylor]

Rich - I don't remember polar bear & fish having an outcome at all.

If that means you usually won and the polar bear ate the fish at the end of the game, it seems rather cruel. No wonder I've blocked it out.

[David Illingworth]

I have been playing this game for over 30 years since it first came out. It still never fails to get the adrenaline going. The most fun part is the interaction between the players and the debates on why it is more sensible to pick on someone else.

I can't understand why this is not a multi-million best-seller.

BTW the victorian side of the board is not nearly as much fun as the modern side, which is why our victorian place cards are still pristine.

[Alan]

A friend here in California has had the game since the '70s, and we've found it to be a great party game. The more the merrier. And although I've never been to Britain, I've become familiar with the locations of at least a few cities. I wish I could buy my own copy, especially the one with the double-sided board.

[JAF]

We used to have this game many years ago, and it wasn't called "The Great Game of Britain" in our house. It was invariably called "That B&*%!y Game" - usually by my father, usually after getting stuck in Cornwall or having to visit the sheepdog trials at Perth!