Help to ID a primitive game board w 16 x 16 checkerboard layout. Halma?

[purplefever]

Hi All, this is my first time here. I just bought a primitive game board at an estate sale with a 16x16 checkerboard on it, about 18"x13". Looks like three pieces of joined wood, slightly higher in the center when looking end on.

The only game I could find that uses that number of squares is called Halma, invented in the 1880s. Can anyone confirm that or recognize what other game it could be?

An odd detail, there are small rectangular punch marks on the top side that don't go through. Was this board used as a work surface for a craft?

Thanks,

Bill

[fab_finds4u]

In the 80s I used to find weathered wood and make checker boards out of them to make primitive decor exactly like that.  I had a few authentic ones I used to copy but I got so good at making them look aged that you couldn't tell if they were made last week or made in the last century.

[purplefever]

The estate this came from had mostly items 100 years old or more. Not worried about the age, curious about the use or the specific game, if made for one.

Bill

[lacemaker3]

@purplefever, the punched holes appear to predate the checkerboard markings, so this appears to be a case of a piece of joined wood being repurposed for something.

The checkerboard markings were added to the wood, after the punch marks. If the squares are a standard size (i.e. one inch squares) then it might have been used as a standard-sized grid for some purpose.

Given the non-standard layout, I don't think that it would be valid to assume that this is for a game. It might just be decorative. The board could be much older than the applied markings.

[purplefever]

Hi lacemaker3, I appreciate your insights. The squares are a 3/4" grid. If you look closely, they weren't done with a rule, slightly irregular.

Like your red pony avatar.

Bill

[priused]

Well, there goes that theory. If he squares were 1" or 1 and 1/2" square, then I would have guessed that this might have been a quilting template. But a 3/4" square would be too small for a quilters square (yes, I know it could be done, but probably not).

So, if it was a game board, it might have been a one-off. Someone trying to develop something new.

[lacemaker3]

I can't find any references to any other game that uses a checkered board with 16 squares per side except for Halma. In all these discussions about the game, and its origins, you would think that other games would be mentioned, if these game board geeks were aware of them.

https://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Halma.htm

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/103104/hoppity-urban-myth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halma

Fun fact: Apparently, Chinese Checkers was originally developed in Germany, as Halmastern, or "Halma Star", based on the game Halma, with a completely different star-shaped board. It was renamed and repackaged to make it more interesting for the USA market.

[purplefever]

priused: Thanks for contributing. Bill

[purplefever]

lacemaker3: That's extraordinarily interesting, went to all three links. I'm on boardgamegeek all the time, a member there. I used to sell alot of board games.

Lol, you're great at research. The fact that Chinese Checkers is not only German, but based on Halma blew me away.

I did list the board last night and it has a bid. Thanks again. 😁

Bill