Promotional folding parlor game from the famous British chocolate company. Folds to 8 3/8 x 3 5/8 inches, opens to 8 3/8 x 7 1/4 inches. Printed and illustrated self-wrappers, loose as issued. Small split along central fold, very light toning, overall very good. Bournville [Birmingham]: Cadbury, n.d. (circa 1910-1925).

This rare promotional item from Cadbury is a portable, tabletop version of the game of quoits, a traditional game which involves the tossing of a metal, rope, or rubber ring over an upright peg, usually set at a distance. The game dates back hundreds of years, but the rules were first published in the British sporting and country magazine 'The Field' in April 1881.

This version opens up to a playing surface with roundels showing Bournville's various recreational spaces, which alternate with blue and red spaces printed with different numbers between zero and nine. In the center of the board is a pop-up "peg" in the form a cocoa tin, and accompanying the game is a cardboard ring or "quoit", which the players try to toss over the central peg.

The rules printed on the back of the gameboard read, "Stand the open board on the floor or table, then each player in turn throws the ring from the toe mark and if he succeeds in throwing it over the BOURNVILLE COCOA Tin, he counts the number at which the arrow points as his score. When any player reaches 25 he has won the game." The illustration to the front shows a young boy and girl demonstrating how to play the game, with a tin of Bournville Cocoa beside them.

The game emphasizes the importance of health and nourishment overall. The roundels on the gameboard highlight spaces of exercise and fresh air, such as the men's fishing pool, the girls' gymnasium, the men's cricket ground, and the girls' swimming baths. The printed information on the back of the board specifically mentions that the cocoa is made in "a factory in a garden", and emphasizes the "delicious nutritious and strength-giving properties" of Cadbury's chocolate and cocoa, which is prepared "from the finest cocoa, under healthy conditions by British workpeople in the Garden Village of Bournville. It is a Cocoa of undoubted merit, of great nourishment and a safe stimulant."

A scarce example of a promotional item from one of the world's most famous chocolate makers; as of January 2026, OCLC does not locate any holdings of this game.

Book ID: 53610

Price: $1,350.00