1. The Game of the Goose is played on a square board made up of 63 consecutively numbered spaces, arranged in a spiral towards the centre of the board.
2. Some spaces allow a player to move the same number of spaces twice in the same move (a goose), some spaces will require a player to start from the beginning (a skull) and some spaces allow players to take a shortcut to a specified space (a bridge).
3. The Game of the Goose requires two dice.
4. Each player selects one BEAD, the colour of their choice.
5. BEADs are placed on the space numbered 1.
6. The youngest player begins and then turns move in a clockwise direction.
1. In turns, players roll both dice and move their BEAD forward the sum of the dice.
2. When starting, if a player’s first roll consists of a 6 and a 3, the player moves their BEAD to space 26. If a player’s first roll consists of a 4 and a 5, the player moves their BEAD to space 53.
3. If a BEAD lands on an occupied space, the player who was on the space originally is removed and placed on the space that their opponent started that move from (the 2 BEADs swap places).
4. If a BEAD lands on a goose, the player can move the same number of spaces a second time in the same move.
5. If a BEAD lands on a skull, the player must move their BEAD back to space 1.
6. If a BEAD lands on a bridge, the player can move their BEAD forward 2 spaces.
7. Players must land exactly on space 63 to win, if they roll more their BEAD must move towards 63 and then back until the count on the dice is finished.
To win the game, a player must be the first to land on space number 63.
1. The Game of Goose, also known as the Royal Game of Goose, is the earliest commercially produced board game - recorded in Italy as early as the end of the 15th Century.
2. The exact origins of this game are unclear - Some people connect the game with the Phaistos Disc (because of its spiral shape), while others claim that it was originally a gift from Francesco I de' Medici of Florence to King Philip II of Spain sometime between 1574 and 1587.
3. The basic form of the rules has remained remarkably consistent over the years.