A Motor Ride (1910)

This roll-and-move game features a winding yellow track on top of a green (grassy) background. It's "a jolly game for 2, 3, or 4 players." From the Powerhouse Museum "The game is significant because it uses scenarios familiar to Australian country motorists during the first half of the twentieth century, when Australian roads were largely poor, gravel sections and steep hills made conditions treacherous, and cars were unreliable. The poor road conditions sometimes saw cars needing major repairs to axles and springs. Another very Australian obstacle on the road was a flock of sheep. The game reflects the poor state of the roads and the uncertainty of arriving at your destination without some mishap occurring. The aim of the game is to progress from the petrol station at the 'start' and travel to the gate marked 'home' via 100 squares numbered 1 to 100. Players move from the start to finish as quickly as possible by taking it in turns to throw the dice. Along the way various motoring obstacles, calamities, and misadventures including punctures, collisions, wrong turns, road blocks, flocks of sheep, bridges under repair, gravel on the road, broken springs, steep hills and axle trouble must be negotiated. These all require the player to miss throws or return to the start.

There is several versions of this game and several board sizes produced. The earliest version was registered in 1910 and most likely continued till the late 1930s or early 1940s. In the first version the designer cryptically placed the date of publishing in the number plate of the car closest to home.