JEU DE L'OIE DU TOUR
Padriq / Le Herisson, France, 1970

 

This game was included in a Tour de France special issue of the weekly humour magazine Le Hérisson in 1970. Le Herisson ("The Hedgehog") was founded in 1936 and lasted, with different changes in format and even in name, until 1997. In 2015 the magazine was revived, though in electronic format only. When this game was published, the magazine was quite big (60 x 42 cm), and it was printed on green paper. Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with your screen's colour calibration. The pictures are actually greenish.

 

The rules are those of a simplified version of the game of goose, including the reverse overthrows on square 63. We find a "goose" (in this case, an "H" for "hedgehog") every other 9 fields, but not the intermediate gooses at squares 5, 14, etc.
 

 

There are no traces of the other game of goose hazards (inn, well, maze, prison, death) either, just the necessary rule for a first throw of nine.

Explanation for Spaniards: In the rest of the world the game of goose is played with two dice; there is no such rule as "de oca a oca y tiro porque me toca", but you need a special rule for a first throw of nine, hence the two dice spaces at 26 and 53.

Explanation for non-Spaniards: Playing the game of goose with only one die is so deeply ingrained in Spanish culture that nobody in Spain will believe the above explanation, regardless of the evidence. The rule "de oca a oca y tiro porque me toca" (upon landing on a goose space, jump to the next goose and throw again) is non-negotiable.

 

The list of illustrators who collaborated with Le Hérisson over the years is quite impressive, including well-known names such as Pellos, Sempé, or Cabú. However, it is not the case with the illustrator/creator of this game. I have not been able to identify him. Nobody with a similar name appears on Jean-Michel Linfort's "Grand livre des illustrateurs, des dessinateurs et des caricaturistes du Tour de France". What is worse, I am not even sure I have read the signature correctly. If you are able to help, please contact me.

A cycling hedgehog

Price of magazines in 1970 in different countries

This special issue of the magazine has 24 pages, and it includes many other cycling-related articles, illustrations, and (non-board) games.

More games (though not board games) in the magazine

1970s doping (or maybe anti-doping) hysteria

Some of the pre-Tour favourites

Thanks, Marc, for sending this game.

Description written in April 2026.
 
 

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