This is a 75th anniversary reissue of 1904's "Neues Lustiges Rad-Fahr Spiel von Julius Beck". I must admit that, when I received it, I doubted that there really was a 1904 original game; I thought that it was just a retro-looking modern game. Later, I saw the game in Erwin Glonnegger's "Das Spiele-Book" (the bibliography is somewhere else on this site), and I understood that the game really had existed. Nevertheless, the game pictured in that book is the modern version.

UPDATE 2023: Siegfried L. informs me you can find some pictures of the 1904 version of the game on Boardgamegeek. He also explains that the board contains three different games that can be played separately or consecutively.(By the way, the rules are in German and Dutch, at least in the modern version of the game). Thanks a lot for the information!

 

 

A normal and a special die.

   

Siegfried also remarks that the riders are heading the wrong way in that picture. Ouch!
I promise I will take new pictures of this game.

This reissue goes so far as to include fake metal coins.

UPDATE 2026: 

My friend Daniela Merela, collector extraordinaire of everything related to German bicycles, has recently found a copy of the original game and has sent some pictures. Thanks!!!

 

The original game (box, board, and implements)

The original box (left) compared to the 1979 reissue.

 

On the other hand, Siegfried L. has sent some very interesting remarks:
 

 

The publisher, of course, was Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg, who later changed the name to "Ravensburger". The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier in 1883 as a subsidiary of a bookshop. They published books and games; their first board game was "Reise um die Erde" from 1884. After WWII, Ravensburger became the biggest German games publisher. The "Neues Lustiges Rad-Fahr Spiel" was Maier's 74th game (in 20 years), as stated by the number on the box.

 

 

The designer of the game was Julius Beck (*1852, †1920), an author and editor who lived in Munich. Beck was a friend of Lothar Meggendorfer and worked together with him on several occasions, e.g. the "Münchner Humoristische Blätter" ("Munich's humorous pages"), a satirical magazine. However, Meggendorfer was not involved in the "Neues Lustiges Rad-Fahr Spiel".

 

 

The artwork of this game is from Eugen von Baumgarten, an artist who also lived in Munich and was another friend of Julius Beck. Baumgarten worked as a painter, illustrator and graphic artist, e.g. for the "Münchner Humoristische Blätter" and the Munich "Jugend" magazine, which gave its name to the "Jugendstil" (German "Art Nouveau"). Baumgarten directly signed the box cover.

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