Board Games of the First World War

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Could you play a board game about the First World War, during the First World War?

In this episode Jessica, Chris and Angus talk to Holly Nielsen (PhD student at Royal Holloway, London) about board games during the First World War. As a result we learn about games converted into wartime themes, the benefits of the war to the British toy industry, the dangers of channelling the dead in a superstitious household, and what’s leapt to the top of Jessica’s ‘wish list’.

References

Owen Davies, A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith During the First World War. OUP, 2018
Krom (T. J. Edwards, 1916)   
Recruiting for Kitchener’s Army (Valentines & Sons, c.1914)
The Dash to Berlin (BritishIndoor Games Company, September 1914)  The Game of the Way to Berlin (Children’s Magazine, December 1914) 
The ‘Strand’ War Game (The ‘Strand’ Magazine, 1916)

Other episodes

My Soul, A Shining Tree

What does the First World War look like when it arrives not as a battle, but as an invasion of home, family,

A Very Long Engagement 

What does the First World War look like when the story is driven not by battles, but by loss, hope and unanswered

The Choral

Can a film about the First World War work without trenches or battles?