Football board game, Cup Final, with die and dice shaker and twelve playing pieces in the shape of footballers, made in England 1952

A thick, card board folded in half. Dark green paper is fixed to the back of the board, peeling away in places near the centre fold. The unfolded board has the game play printed onto paper, glued to the board. The game is made up of rectangles forming a path which spirals round into a circle and each loop of the circle gets smaller until it reaches the middle where there's a picture of a trophy and the inscription 'The CUP' underneath.

Each loop of the spiralling circle is made up of different, brightly coloured rectangles. At the beginning of each loop there's a black rectangle with white inscriptions. Starting from the rectangle that begins the game on the first loop, these inscriptions are: 'START ROUND 3' / 'START ROUND 4' / 'START ROUND 5' / 'START ROUND 6' / 'START SEMI FINAL' / 'START FINAL'. At intermittent points round the concentric circle there are white rectangles with black writing providing football themed playing instructions, for example 'FOUL. GO BACK 3' / 'GOAL KICK. ADVANCE 1' / 'BAD LIGHT STOPPED PLAY'. 'RESTART ROUND 6.'

In each of the four corners of the board there are scenes of two or three footballers in action, the bottom right image includes a referee with whistle and wearing a blazer.

The game has a red, wooden die, a green plastic dice shaker and twelve playing pieces in the shape of footballers, made of card. Each footballer has a different coloured or patterned shirt, numbered one to twelve on both sides. The players' backs are depicted on both sides so they have no fronts, therefore no faces. All playing pieces, except footballers numbered 4 and 5, are slotted into thin metal stands to enable them to remain upright whilst moving round the board. Some of these metal stands have the inscription 'Made in England' on their base. There is one loose metal stand.

Given by Christina Shore

This 1950s football game was owned by Christina Shore and played with during her childhood.

The game is based on the FA Cup tournament, arguably the most keenly contested competition in English football. In the 1950s football was returning to its pre-war popularity and dominance as a spectator sport following the suspension of top flight tournaments during World War Two.

'Cup Final' has the same gameplay mechanic as Snakes and Ladders. The rules, which are missing from this set, included league tables which date the game to the 1952/53 season (information from www.oldfootballgames.co.uk) The game would have been boxed.

The use of card for the playing pieces was due to the ongoing shortage of metal following the end of the war.

The playing pieces are faceless, showing backs and numbers on both sides, which was most likely a cost saving measure by the game manufacturer. There are no manufacturer inscriptions on the board, only 'Patent applied for.'

This 1950s football game, 'Cup Final' was owned by a young girl who spent her early childhood in London.

The game is based on the FA Cup tournament, arguably the most keenly contested competition in English football. In the 1950s football was returning to its pre-war popularity and dominance as a spectator sport following the suspension of top flight tournaments during World War Two.

With its simple snakes and ladders gameplay mechanic, detailed graphics and brightly coloured board, 'Cup Final' would have appealed to young football fans wanting to compete at home to win The Cup.

'Cup Final' is unusual in that it's a board game, rather than a table game which is the more usual form for games based on sports.

B.52:1 to 16-2015