War as Child's Play: Patriotic Games in the British Mandate and Israel

The history of game playing overlaps the history of humanity. One of the expressions of human activity has always been "war games." What is, for instance, the game of chess, whose origin is probably in the Far East going back several thousands years, if not a war to the bitter end between rival monarchies equipped with rooks and knights and assisted by an army of pawns.¹ The respectable bourgeoisie has reconstructed battles and military moves using troops of carefully designed toy soldiers since the second half of the 18^th century, when lead soldiers were mass produced all over Europe.² Playing with lead soldiers had also become an occupation for well-to-do children throughout the 19^th century and was regarded as vital for teaching patriotism and good social order, and even as a necessity for adolescents who were about to serve in the army. At the beginning of the 20^th century, in France, these lead soldiers were named "educators for future war"—tools for the teaching of a chapter of past history looking towards the future.³ The development of printing and graphics technologies during the second half of the 19^th century, and duplication abilities added an additional feature to the world of board games. These were already very popular in the ancient world, but the new ability to produce cheap colorful lithographic printing, and the emphasis on the design of the game-box joined in the creation of the concept of the child's world as a separate entity with definitions and needs of its own, and brought about the creation of alluringly designed, inexpensive and widely accessible children's games made of paper and cardboard.⁴

Hand-in-hand with "classic" board games, whose vitality had been preserved in spite of changing trends and heroes, board games also existed which were based on real wars and military movements, and were very popular, though for a short term due to the obsolescence of the national memory, or worse, because of the advent of a new war.⁵ So, for example, the French player of the "Goose Game" at the end of the seventh decade of the 19^th century was "demanded" to pay a fine if his dice landed on Bismarck or the Prussians; and during the First World War, in the "Penalty Game,"⁶ due to the changing and difficult times, he had to chase, at least nominally, Wilhelm the 2^nd around the board in the image of Marianne.