Fox and Geese is an old Scandinavian game dating from the Middle Ages--a descendant of Tafl. A reference is made to it in the Icelandic saga ''Grettis'', which was written around 1300. Since then it has spread all over the world and has countless variations. On an Internet search I found a version called ''Coyote and Hens'', which is played by the Papago of Arizona, and a customer told us she had bought a set in Scotland called ''Wolf and Sheep'', where the sheep pieces were covered with wool. The Cree of Saskatchewan play a similar game called Musinaykahwhan Metowaywin (Playing Leader), and a game from Taos, New Mexico translates as ''Indian and Jack Rabbits''. The disctinctive feature of the Tafl family of games is that (unlike most board games) the two players have unequal numbers of pieces, with different powers of movement and different objectives.
While the game takes a lot of strategy, the moves are simple enough for young children. One player is the fox, and the other player is the geese. The object for the fox is to capture the geese; the object for the geese is to trap the fox so it cannot move. For complete rules, see our Games Rules page.
This wooden Fox and Geese game is handcrafted in pine, and comes complete with 11'' square board (signed and dated), a fox piece, 13 geese pieces (all individually crafted and hand painted), a cloth pouch for storage of pieces, and complete rules. $40
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