Card game — Together, Perth (Ontario), 1974
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1974
Card game in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number B.134:1 to 5-2009), made in Perth (Ontario), dated 1974. The museum's brief description reads: A co-operative game 'Together' made by Family Pastimes in Canada in 1974.
Museum description: Boxed card game. A white cardboard box with an orange pattern on it. The title 'Together: a co-operative game' is printed across the front in black text. Two sets of cards; one blue and one yellow. They are rectangular and each have an illustration and a word printed in black ink. The yellow set represent 'good' traits such as kindness and medicine whilst the blue cards show 'negative' traits such as crime and famine.
There are 47 yellow cards and 23 blue cards. The playing pieces are each a small coloured square. The colours include white, green, black, blue, yellow and orange. Blue sheet of paper folded in half with instructions printed on in black ink. A white sheet of paper folded in half with instructions printed on it in black text. The museum records it as Card and paper, measuring Length 23.9 cm; Width 13.9 cm; Depth 4.4 cm; Width 41 mm; Depth 67 mm; Width 25 mm; Depth 25 mm; Width 215 mm; Depth 115 mm; Width 224 mm; Depth 112 mm.
These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The strategy game and the race game are the two main types of board game. The race game appears in all sorts of guises: educational, moral, competitive and fun. A race game involves two or more players competing against each other in order to win. However, this is a co-operative game, which encourages teamwork, creative thinking and problem solving. 'Together' was made by Family Pastimes; a small family business who make the games in small quantities as a labour of love in their farm house in Canada. They believe that children should 'play as friends, not as enemies' so the games they produce help foster the spirit of co-operation. They claim that the initial impulse to play a game is social and believe it is ironic that in most games we spend all our effort competing against one another.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- card, paper
- Dimensions
- Length 23.9 cm; Width 13.9 cm; Depth 4.4 cm; Width 41 mm; Depth 67 mm; Width 25 mm; Depth 25 mm; Width 215 mm; Depth 115 mm; Width 224 mm; Depth 112 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Card and paper
- Place recorded
- Perth (Ontario)
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'Together / a co-operative game / about / solving / world problems.'; 'Together (c) 1974, Jim Deacove / A CO-OP SIMULATION GAME FOR GROUP USE'
Identification
- Museum object name
- Card game
- Museum object number
- B.134:1 to 5-2009
- Museum system number
- O1154945
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.