The Colonization Game

This bizarre board game, published in France in 1941, aimed to teach young Frenchmen about their empire.

It is featured in an exhibit at the Getty about exploration and encounter. Curator Isotta Poggi writes:

Made in France at the outbreak of World War II, the game sought to educate children about the colonial world supporting the French economy. With tokens printed in vivid colors to represent places and natural resources in regions colonized by the French, from North Africa to Oceania to southeast Asia, this game encapsulated the mighty business opportunities that lay ahead for adventurous explorers willing to embark for faraway colonial lands.

As described in the rules at the center of the board, the underlying purpose of the game was to admire, through play, the greatness of the French colonial undertaking. The colonization of a land was symbolically achieved first by hoisting the French flag on its soil, then by the establishment of a hospital, a school, and ultimately a harbor. But the ultimate win was to export the rich natural resources of the colonies back to France by boat. Images on the game provide a vivid picture of the vast variety of resources, including animals, plants, and minerals, that the colonies provided to France from all around the globe.

Above, tokens of colonial achievement.

Two of the possible obstacles, paresse (indolence) and disease.

Resources. My favorite detail is that

Once the cards representing a colony’s major exports had been won, the colony was considered “exploitée,” and was out of the game.

The winner, of course, is the player who successfully exploits the most colonies and brings the most resources back to la France.

Very large image of the board game here.