A Compendium Of Games

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I found more old creative writing notes, this time from an old unwritten article, this time dating from 2008. I wrote down my happy memories of receiving a cheap compendium of games as a Christmas present in my childhood. Compendiums were basically a box set of multiple games, with pieces often doubling up for different games. There would be a cardboard Chess board which was also used for playing draughts. Playing pieces were two dimensional pressed card pieces. There would also be a Snakes & Ladders board with Ludo on the other side, a set of dice, a little dice shaker and two packets of playing cards which can of course be used for multiple games. For some reason the cards came with an extra ace, which seemed to be an incentive to cheat though I expect there was an intention by the game makers that it be used for card trick conjuring of some kind. Apparently some snakes and ladders sets are now replacing the ladders with cats and snakes with pigs because snakes and heights might be scary for children. Groan! There was a cardboard snooker set with the balls moved like tiddlywinks by being clip-flicked into one another. The green ball was purple for some reason. I think I just ignored that game. Such compendiums were simple, economical and great fun. In the computer age, they are probably as obsolete as the rest of my childhood’s delights. Arthur Chappell