The Goose Game has ancient origins, already in 1500 the most traditional of board games path was given by Francis I de’Medici to Philip II King of Spain, a pastime defined as “new and very enjoyable”. The two sovereigns must have had the same passion as the admin of the Instagram profile Giochi dell’oca, a collection of stories and trivia related to the famous pastime.
Evidence from the de’Medici era confirms that some elements and symbols handed down over time already appeared, from dice to the skull, up to the bridge and especially the goose. The possibility of creating decorated and personalized courses over the centuries has then given rise to a great variety of forms, from those inspired by comic strips to others as detailed as real works of art. After the first boards printed in England in the seventeenth century and the subsequent spread of the game, versions were created on every theme, inspired by political events or great novels.

Some identify ancient Egypt as the place where the first Goose Games were born. The Mahen would be in fact an ancestor of the game, a pastime to worship a god-serpent subdivided in squares. Even the ancient Chinese game of Shing Kunt t’o was made up of a spiral board with 99 numbered squares.
Made for every occasion and by unsuspected brands, the “Giochi dell’oca” have a curious history full of anecdotes, divided into numbered boxes in which to stop and discover funny moments in the history of a game that has inevitably been part of the childhood of many. On Instagram are told many of these stories, go take a look.