Card game — Kan-U-Go, The Crossword Card Game, England, 1934
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1934
Card game in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number MISC.69-1977), made in England, dated 1934. The museum's brief description reads: Boxed card spelling game, Kan-U-Go, published in England by Porterprint in 1938.
Museum description: Design: cards each with a printed letter in the centre, repeated in opposite corners and a number (value) in remaining corners; backs printed in red on white to show a knight on horseback. The museum records it as Printed card, measuring Height 6.3 cm; Width 4.5 cm; Height 7.9 cm; Width 11 cm; Depth 2 cm. 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
Rewards: see rules Forfeits: see rules No. of Players: 2 to 7 Equipment required: 48 cards together with 2 Kan-U-Go cards each printed with a star. box - card covered with red paper printed in dark blue and white to show titles; inside divided into two compartments to house the cards Rules: see attached photocopies. The playing rules are generally simple, with players having a choice of one of four moves. Each player is dealt 10 cards and the remaining cards placed in a pile face donw but with the top card exposed. The players take it in turn to try to form a complete word from the cards in their hands. The word is placed face up on the table and the players discard one of their cards and take either the exposed card or a blind one. Players can add to words already formed, for example, changing `mother' to `smother' or substitute letters, for example removing the `e' from expert to form export. As the game proceeds a crossword is formed so that after the fourth person's turn the table looks somewhat like a Scrabble board.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- card
- Dimensions
- Height 6.3 cm; Width 4.5 cm; Height 7.9 cm; Width 11 cm; Depth 2 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Printed card
- Place recorded
- England
Identification
- Museum object name
- Card game
- Museum object number
- MISC.69-1977
- Museum system number
- O26666
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.