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Thursday 11 October 2012

Friegur: The 1930s German version of War-Chess?

As a result of my recent blog entry about WAR-CHESS I had a comment from Brian Carrick that this appeared to be a forerunner of a German wargame that was published in 1934 and called FRIEGUR.

Since then Nigel and Ian Drury (both long-term members of Wargame Developments) have been in contact about a copy of FRIEGUR that came onto the auction market some time ago. Apparently is was expected that it would reach a price of anything up to 4,000 Euros (!), but having seen the condition of the game in the copy of the catalogue that Ian Drury emailed to me, I can see why!



It would seem to me that it would not be very difficult to reproduce the board or playing pieces ... and had I the time, I might be tempted to do so ... but as later blog entries will indicate, I have something else I am trying to do at present.

16 comments:

  1. Nice find.

    One wonders if the black pieces are allowed to beat up the red pieces while they are still in the box.

    Of course in the yet to be discovered Russian version, the red pieces would be sending some of the black pawns off for "re-education".

    ;)

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  2. Pat G,

    Very amusing ... and I wonder if the choice of colours was deliberate or just made by chance?

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like your Portable Wargame! Just not as good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Phil Broeders,

    They do have some similarities ... but I hope that PW is just a little more aesthetically pleasing to look at.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fascinating looking game set - and the condition of the box, pieces and board is amazing considering its age. Definitely a collectors' item. I wonder how the game played?
    Cheers,
    Ion

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  6. Archduke Piccolo (Ion),

    For something that is nearly 80 years old it was in remarkiably good condition.

    As to how it played ... well if WAR-CHESS is anything to go by, the rules must have been quite simple. The complexity would have come from the different tactics employed by each player.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  7. My dad has an original Friegur game and would like to sell it. Is this something you would be interested in?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ThiefMaster,

      How much does he want to sell it for?

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. ThiefMaster,

      A reasonable price, if it is in good condition, but more than I can afford. I’ll mention the sale and price on my blog.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. Sure, that's amazing! I uploaded some photos he took here: https://imgur.com/a/qpKKD9W

    We're from Germany btw, so shipping outside Europe may be pricy depending on the country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ThiefMaster,

      Thanks for the link. The photographs will be very helpful.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. Some details he sent me:

    Pawns made of tin
    Painted in colors
    Spare pawns included
    Game board very well-preserved
    Original player's guide and setup plan
    One flag replaced (aluminum, no Nazi symbols)
    Case lid has some damage
    from around 1937

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ThiefMaster,

      Thanks for the additional information.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. This has prompted me to dig out my old game of Tri-tactics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whiskers,

      I can see why. There is certainly a resemblance between the two boards.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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