The Royal Pastime of Cupid or Entertaining Game of the Snake

The Game of the Snake is an adaptation of the Game of the Goose Game of Goose. It is a simple roll and move game played with two dice, with spaces that cause you to move back, lose a turn, etc. If one reads the rules which are printed on the game board, there is also an element of gambling as well as elements of an early party or drinking game.

The game starts by the players agreeing on "what to play for," "which is to be lay'd down and then you must throw who shall play first." Some spaces require the player to put up an additional wager: "He that throws upon 38 must feast with Cupid paying his share, that is, as much as he stak'd down first, and must remain there till his Companions have play'd once about." If you land on space 30 you have to wash yourself in the fountain "until dispac'd by some other." If you land on 59, the bottle space, the player is "to drink a Glass and pay a stake till his turn comes to throw again."

The earliest known version was published in Antwerp, ca. 1620, by Pieter de Jode as "El Juego Real de Cupido". A copy of this version, published for the Spanish market, can be seen in the British Library (ref: Maps * 999(1) See also: https://www.bl.uk/picturing-places/articles/the-royal-game-of-cupid-a-17th-century-board-game). A French translation was published in Paris, ca. 1640, by the widow of Charles Petit as "Jeu Royal de Cupidon" (private collection http://www.giochidelloca.it/scheda.php?id=1240 ) and a version was published in Amsterdam, ca. 1625–1640, by Claes Jansz. Visscher. This version, "Het Nieuw slange Spel anders Genaemt Koninclycke Tytkorting van Cupido" ("The New Snake Game, otherwise known as the Royal Pastime of Cupid"), introduced the peasant dance as the central motif, which was reproduced in some later English editions. A copy can be seen in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-OB-77.369).

The earliest known British edition was published ca. 1690–1700 by John Garrett at his shop "next the stayres of the Royal Exchange in Cornhill", London, with the peasant dance motif. A copy of the Garrett edition is included in the George Clarke print collection, Worcester College, Oxford (http://prints.worc.ox.ac.uk/about.html).

William Dicey published an edition ca. 1736–40 from his press in Bow Churchyard, London, using the same design. An example of the Dicey edition can be found in the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera, Bodleian Library [where it is incorrectly dated "1794"]: (http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/p/6ff20133-45bb-4276-a090-cc2b2851ffba).

A different design was employed in the edition published by Laurie & Whittle, 53 Fleet Street, London, in 1794. The central motif shows cupid sharpening his arrow. A copy of the Laurie & Whittle edition is included in the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera, Bodleian Library (http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/p/7e4aa3bb-b2e6-4f0a-9055-f3418ff9dd94). This edition was published in a later state by R. H. Laurie (Laurie's son) ca. 1850. An example can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A E.1747-1754 http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26286/the-royal-pastime-of-cupid-board-game-r-h-laurie/). James Lumsden & Son of Glasgow also used this design in an edition published ca. 1810–1830. A copy of the Lumsden edition is also included in the John Johnson ephemera collection (http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/p/278f99e8-623d-45a0-93e4-631277631bef).

A third design was used by the Bowles family. The first Bowles edition was published by Carington Bowles, St Paul's Churchyard, London. The game is included in Carington Bowles's "New & Enlarged Catalogue" published in 1784, so we can estimate a similar publication date for the game (it is not included in the earlier Bowles catalogue, published by John Bowles & Son, in 1753). A later state of this edition was issued Carington Bowles's son, Henry Carington Bowles, who traded from the St Paul's Churchyard address as Bowles & Carver between 1793 and 1830.

While the coiled serpent design is reminiscent of the ancient Egytptian game Mehen, there is no evidence of any relation between the two other than the spiral track. The same can be said of the relation between this game, as well as of Mehen and the Game of Goose being related to the Phaistos Disk, which dates to about 1600 BCE and which some have theorized may be an ancient board game. We are sure, however, that "The Royal Pastime of Cupid, or Entertaining Game of the Snake" is an adaptation of "The Game of the Goose".