A highly detailed and colourful board game, transporting the players through over a millennium of English history and monarchs.



In addition to a set of rather complicated rules involving the cutting-up and distribution of certain tokens, the principle aim of the game is to race to the centre of the board via 54 squares. Each of these depicts vignette of an important moment in British history, from the reign of Egbert, ‘the first king of all England’ up to that of Victoria. Players could win rewards or face forfeits during the race, allowing them to skip squares or forcing them to return.



The first version of the board game appeared in 1820, according to Whitehouse, when the board featured King William IV at its centre. His portrait, however, was erased for the present edition, which seems to have been made after, or perhaps for, the accession of Victoria in 1838. The accompanying booklet, however, may not have been updated since the latest historical date included is that of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.



Edward Wallis (1787-1868) is described in contemporary street directories as a ‘Dissected Map & Puzzle Maker’. His father John Wallis was a very successful games and map publisher until his death in 1818 when the business was inherited by his two. Edward retired from business in the mid-1840s by which time he also owned a timber yard in Clerkenwell, presumable for the production of puzzles.