The Noble Game of Elephant and Castle or Travelling in Asia (1822)

The Noble Game of Elephant and Castle was first published in 1822 as a hand coloured engraving by William Darton of London. The game is played on a magnificent board depicting an elephant surmounted by a howdah (ornate carriage) with an Indian mahout (driver). The mysteries of the Orient are discovered through a grand tour from the Frozen Ocean in the Arctic wastes of north Russia thence south through Asia into India, China, and Japan. The game was published at the height of the British Empire and outrageously describes the appearance, customs and culture of the region's peoples, comparing their way of life to that of the British. The game comes in a box with a mounted full color reproduction board, reproduction rules, Catalog of The Historical Games Collection, four "travelers" (pawns) - each lightly tipped with a different color, 16 counters (chips, each with the rose face lightly colored to match pawns), and a teetotum (top with eight sides, numbered 1-8 - dice being items of gambling). Each player spins and moves their pawn a number of spaces, attempting to progress to 25 by exact count. Each space has a description in the accompanying rule book to be read aloud, describing the scene from an area of Asia. The counters are used to mark off missed turns assigned by the descriptions. The rules note: "These rules are copied directly form the originals and reflect the moral and social outlook of early 19th century imperialist peoples. The facts and attitudes are often wrong, intolerant and patronizing and should be read from a historical perspective."