"Black-out"

This game was dated by the vendor at 1939, but the board bears no publisher or date marks, only a proud "Made in England". Certainly it was published just pre-war or early war, since it's objective (other than fun) is clearly to familiarize players with all of the people and equipment needed to deal with the bombing of London.

The game features a striking black board with an outline of the west end of London and its major streets. The objective is to move one's car from one corner to the opposite corner, either between Marble Arch and Charing Cross or between Hyde Park Corner and Holborn. There are four cardboard cars with wooden stands enabling one player to start from each corner.

The game is played with a deck of 52 cards, four each of 13 different people, signs or pieces of equipment: Red, Amber and Green Crossings; Road Refuge; Fire Alarm; Auxiliary Fire Squad; Air Raid Warden; Policeman; War Auxiliary Policeman; Fire Fighting Equipment; Sandbags; Fireman; and Sand Buckets.

The streets are littered with barriers, each of which requires one of the 13 card symbols to get past. Plotting a winning course across blacked-out London therefore requires not simply finding the shortest route, but the best route available with the cards obtained.