A Gaggle of Geese
The two games here have nothing in common apart from the geese, such hugely
significant birds in the medieval period that they gave their name to two
board games. Fox and Geese is a two-player game of skill and strategy, Goose
is a fun race game of chance for up to six or seven players.
Fox and Geese
Fox and Geese is an asymmetrical game, both players having different
objectives and different men. One player leads a fox whose objective
is to kill all the geese by jumping over them. The other player leads
the gaggle of geese whose objective is to corner the fox and stop him
escaping.
Fox and Geese is an ancient game played in the traditional form throughout
the medieval period but then in various enlarged and more complex forms
in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Wooden board (8x8”) with spherical fired clay pieces in a leather
pouch - £25
Leather board (8x8”) with conical fired clay pieces in a leather
pouch - £10
Goose
This
is a race game, a simple game of chance that may be played for money
or just for fun. It is said that it was invented for Francesco de Medici
who gave it to the miserable Phillip II of Castile to cheer him up.
Phillip was soon afterwards to lose his Armada so was probably quite
glad of a bit of entertainment. John Wolfe, who described the game
as ‘The Newe and most Pleasant Game of the Goose’ registered
it in London in 1597. Any number of people may play though in reality
if more than five or six play the board becomes a bit crowded.
Leather Goose board with six wooden counters and two dice in a leather
pouch - £30
Dice box - £5