1970s Carved Wood Solitaire Puzzle Board - 34 Pieces

Details

Description

Made in China, this is a vintage late 1970s polished wood solitaire game board that comes with a complete set … Read more Made in China, this is a vintage late 1970s polished wood solitaire game board that comes with a complete set of glass marbles, most in hues of blues and greens, as well as a few that have a hint of orange and white swirls.

There is much in literature about the history of Marble and Peg Solitaire games and there is a French engraving of Princess de Soubise that is dated 1697 that depicts her playing. One legend says that Solitaire was invented by Pelisson, a French mathematician, as a means of entertaining Louis XIV. And another posits that a French nobleman who was imprisoned in the Bastille during the revolution invented the game of peg solitaire. Subsequently these puzzle-solving games were popularized by the British during the Victorian and Edwardian eras and the game boards were fashioned in all types of woods and metals, as well as creating polished wood or glass marbles.

This board measures 8 3/4 in diameter x 1" in thickness (and the set includes 33 glass marbles)

Rules of the game: This version of Solitaire consists of 33 holes (see photos) of which 32 holes are intended to be filled with resting marbles (leaving the center hole empty) - To start the game, a player places the marbles in the holes leaving the center hole empty; then moves are made strategically by taking any marble, jumping over another single marble, and landing in an empty hole.. Moves may be in any horizontal or vertical direction but must be in a straight line. Each jumped over marble is removed from the board (and can be placed in the surrounding outer beveled rim - see photos). The game ends when 31 marbles have been removed leaving only one in the center hole See less