COMBINATION GAMES' BOXES
JUNIOR COMBINATION BOARD (Milton Bradley)
18
JUNIOR COMBINATION GAMES (Milton Bradley)
SENIOR COMBINATION GAMES (Milton Bradley)
TREASURE CHEST OF 15 GAMES
52
GAME CHEST (Transogram)
SUPERSTARS (Palitoy)
PARKER
OLYMPIC PENTHATLON (Parker)
SAMMLUNG SCHÖNER SPIELE (Stomo Spiele)
25 JUEGOS REUNIDOS (Corominas)
CARRERAS MISTERIOSAS
BERWICKS COMPENDIUM
OF GAMES (Slow Bike Race)
IL GRANDE LIBRO DELLO SPORT
JUEGOS
REUNIDOS PLASTICAS SANTA ELENA
TOUR DE FRANCE GIRAC (MALLETE DE JEUX AJA)
¡A
JUGAR! (Editorial Romà)
LEARNING GAMES, ADDITION 1-19 (Frank Schaffer Publications Inc)
Simple cycling games are sometimes found to be part of games compendiums. Some are better than others... The best of them can be considered games on their own, though they share a box with other games. This is generally the case in Sports' boxes like DOMENICA SPORTIVA, DOMENICA SPRINT or Spika's SPORTMAGAZIN. Other games are realeased both as part of a combination box and as an individual release (OLYMPIA, Spika's SPORT-MAGAZIN -a different one-).
The rest of them are not worth much as cycling games. It must be remembered, though, that the first known cycling games was published in a combination box called "THE BICYCLE RACE AND SKATING RINK" (Milton Bradley, 1885), which contained 5 games (Bicycle Race, Skating Rink, Hop Scotch, Ct's Promenade and Carrom)
Another early example examples is found in these Junior Combination packs by Milton Bradley. They first appeared in 1905 and were avilable until the 60s, at least.
The rules, of course, were very simple...
The same game was released in multiple formats over the years. Im MB's Senior Conbination box, or in a cheap "Treasure Chest of 15 Games" (not an MB release)
Compare the boards and spinners (MB's on the left). Rematk that MB's track is twice as long. The rules of these games are identical though, to the ones shown above.
This one is not a copy of the former, but it's still too simple:
back to game list
Quite more interesting is this English 70s game, based on a popular TV programme. The rules work better than expected.
This Parker Olympic Pentathlon, on the other hand, is disappointing. The players race each other on 5 tracks simultaneously. The rules for the five races are the same. Yatchting or cyling, running or swimming, what difference does it make?
The "Sammlung schöner Spiele" case is worse: I do have it in my collection, or rather I have part of it (the part you see to be precise). This box was made by Stomo Spiele, who also made Vier Länder Tour. The riders are similar to the ones in Vier Länder Tour. Unfortunately, I do not have the rules booklet, and I only have this board. Does it look like the board of the cycling game? I would bet that it is not (For instance, the starting field has 4 positions while there were six -though only three remaining- cyclists in the game. Besides there are not specifically cyclist elements, apart from the road, which could belong to many other sports). If somebody can offer more info on this one, it will be welcome!
Here is a nice one: under the denomination "Juegos Reunidos" (usual Spanish denomination for games' combination boxes), Corominas released a series of boxes in 1962. The smaller one was of just 5 games, the bigger one of as many as 40 games. In some of the boxes was included this simple cycling game called "Bajando el puerto", "En descendant le port", "Walking Down The Port". The rules were trilingual, really strange in Spain at the time. The game is rmarkable since it is the only game I know that represents a downhill race.
That one is quite strange: I would not file it under "cycling games". The box looks like it's a car race (though on the sides you can see a cyclist and a horse), the title means "Mysterious Races", and the rules are better suited to a horse race. Besides the included horses are better than the cars or cyclists (compare the pictures. By the way the cyclists in this one are very unstable). This game can be played solo, or else you can bet on the outcome, since there is nothing that the players can do. The rules are: Place all counters (cars, cyclists, horses) on the starting line (marked "Salida") Throw the two special dice. Each dice has a side in a different colour, and each colour is marked "X" on one of the dies and unmarked on the other. The counters move one step forwards if their unmarked colour is thrown on the dice and one step backwards if their colour is marked with an "X". The first counter to advance 6 fields and thus reach the end of the board is the winner. But if a counter reaches the opposite end of the board (by going back six field) he is out of the race. If the race is too long (which is quite possible), a couple of markers (not shown) are provided to place alternate finishing and elimination lines.
BERWICKS GAME COMENDIUM
Sometimes the games are too childish to qualify as "cycling games". This one comes from a 1950s game compendium by Berwicks Toy Co Ltd. The last rider to arrive is supposed to win (which was a XIXth century type of competition, actually). Strangely, though the game fits nicely in the box, its rules are not in included in the booklet, so I am not really sure it really belongs to the box.
This is a huge italian 1990s children book featuring 5 sports simple games.
JUEGOS REUNIDOS PLASTICAS SANTA ELENAThis is some kind of games compendium produced in Spain during the 1990s by ·Gráficas Santa Elena" (or at least they printed it). I do not have the box, but there are some games (which I found inside another Spanish games compendium). One od them is a simple cycling race.
TOUR DE FRANCE GIRAC (MALLETE DE JEUX AJA)
This so-called Tour de France game was actually produced as a boxed gae (there at least two different editions). Nevertheless I found it inside a quite luxurious game wallet by AJA. I am not really sure if it belonged to the wallet originally.
¡A JUGAR!
This one was published by Editorial Romà, Barcelona (Spain). While the drawing on the cover (left) suggests a different kind of game, what's found inside is what you see on the right.
Another children's game. This one is a 1997 learning game by Frank Schaffer Publications Inc., from Columbus, Ohio.
