Board games from the city of Vijayanagara (Hampi ... - Gioco dell'Oca.

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B OARD G AME S TUDIES 6, 2003
“carnival’s procession” was typical Nazi cynicism making a joke out of the Exodus story
from the Bible. (2) The fact that the expulsion of the Jews has been made a subject of the
procession seems to fit very well into the general theme and graphic imagery of the game
and may have inspired the games anonymous author.
There are two types of game pieces. The “men” clearly represent the German Police
and can be identified by the coat and belt drawn on the pieces, as well as the cone like
hat, buttons and boots which appear very similar to the uniforms worn by the German
police at the time (Berenbaum 1993). The pieces are made of painted wood, and measure
5.8 cm x 1.8 cm. (figure 2). The “hats” are 3.5 cm in height, 1 cm in diameter and
are made of paper and may have yellowed with age. The faces on the hats are drawings
of grotesque stereotypes of Jewish facial features similar to those drawn on the game
board. One copy of the game has a leather beaker for throwing dice but Mr. Barkow
was uncertain whether this came with the game or was added by the anonymous donor.
Game Rules [as translated from the German] (figs. 3 & 4) (3)
“JEWS OUT!
The up-to-date and outstandingly jolly party game for grown-ups and children.
From 2 to 6 players can take part in this extraordinarily amusing and up-to-date
family game.
Equipment: 1 die, 6 figures and 36 little hats. Each player takes one of the figures
numbered 1 to 6.
The method of play is as follows:
Each player rolls the die and places his figure on the start-square of the street whose
number is equivalent to that of the number thrown. Whoever occupies Street One is
the leader and plays first. Each in turn then rolls the die and moves his figure the appropriate
number of spaces towards the central square. If, having crossed the town wall, he
lands on a square marked with a Jewish house, he gets a hat from the game leader and
caps his figure with it. On his next throw he starts moving his figure back towards the
collection-point and hands the hat back in. If a player has thrown a six (for example) and
is now three spaces away from the collection point, he can hand the hat in and then go
forwards three spaces. This coming and going between the town wall and the central
square continues until one player has got six hats over to the collection point. Having
handed in his sixth hat, he then goes back over the numbered squares to the central
square. The first to do this wins First Prize. The other players can either carry on playing
for position, or divide the remaining prizes among themselves according to how
many hats they managed to collect.
Another method of play:
When a figure has been capped, the person playing it continues moving forwards,
according to the number thrown, towards the central square. If he there encounters
another figure with a hat or hats, he can capture its hat or hats and bring them back to
his own collection point. In following this method of play, it is possible for a player who