Moon Phase Advertising: A Clever Card Game from 1910

Newt
May 7
3 min read

Another game from the patents! A forgotten game of lunar phases, clever marketing, and gambling from the Edwardian era: GB Patent No. 6201 from 1910, a "New or Improved Card Game and Apparatus therefor" created by Alan Henry Stern and Louis Claude Joseph Boilraigue. This obscure patent describes an innovative game that combines lunar imagery, advertising, and gambling elements in a way that perfectly captures the spirit of its era.

Unlike many card games that use standard playing card imagery, this game revolves around phases of the moon and incorporates early 20th-century advertising techniques. The inventors were clearly ahead of their time in understanding how games could serve as marketing vehicles.

The Game Concept

At its core, the Moon Phase Advertising Game uses two packs of 48 cards each. One pack features large moons in various phases (new, first quarter, full, last quarter), while the other displays small moons. What makes this game unique is that each card bears an advertisement on its back—a different one for each card in the large moon pack, with duplicate advertisements appearing on the small moon cards.

The game mechanics involve dice rolls determining whether players pass cards to others or discard them, with the ultimate goal of being the first to get rid of all cards. Gambling elements are incorporated through a staking system where players bet on different moon colors.

Realizing the Game

To recreate this game without access to authentic early 20th century advertisements, I've adapted a clever solution inspired by another historical game called Great Guns by Jaques. Each advertisement takes the form of an alliterative three-word slogan, where all words begin with the same letter:

"Allingham's Aqueous Ale"
"Blenkinsop's Brilliant Blacking"
"Cameron's Colourful Capes"
"Dixon's Drip-dry Drapes"

These fabricated vintage-style slogans capture the linguistic playfulness of early advertising while being relatively simple to implement on printed cards.

Leading to this set of 48:

The moon phases come from an old French Atlas,

and the colours are best estimate of period colours. Here are all 8 phases for all 6 colours:

The Components

The full game requires:

Two packs of 48 cards (one with large moons, one with small moons)
Six coloured mats (one for each moon color)
A "throw out" mat for discarded cards
A "fines" mat for penalties
Three dice and betting counters

The patent explicitly specifies these components, and while producing the complete set would be challenging, the cards themselves can be created through print-on-demand services, with supplementary materials provided as printable PDFs.

If you want to buy a copy of Moon Phase Advertising, it is available printed on demand at Make Playing Cards here.

How to Play

The game combines elements of chance and strategy. Players begin by rolling dice to determine the dealer, who distributes eight large moon cards of the same colour to each player. After receiving cards, players place stakes on colours of their choice, with stake amounts determined by dice rolls.

On each turn, players roll three dice three times. Any aces (1s) rolled require passing a card to the player on the right, while sixes allow discarding cards to the "throw out" mat. Players failing to roll aces or sixes pay a penalty counter to the "fines" mat.

The first player to discard all cards wins the accumulated fines. But there's a clever twist at the end—players must search for the duplicate advertisement matching the final discarded card, and the color of that card determines which color's stakes are won.

This is a printable game sheet

Historical Context

This game emerged during a fascinating period in gaming history. The Edwardian era (1901-1910) saw increased leisure time among the middle classes and growing popularity of parlor games. Simultaneously, advertising was becoming more sophisticated, with companies seeking new ways to embed their messages in everyday life.

The inventors, Stern (described as an "Artist") and Boilraigue (a "Professor of Languages"), clearly understood this intersection of entertainment and marketing. Their game represents an early example of what we might now call "advergaming" or branded content.

The Legacy

While there's no evidence this game achieved commercial success, or even whether it was ever manufactured, the patent itself provides a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century game design and marketing innovation. The Moon Phase Advertising Game combines elements we now recognize in modern card games, promotional materials, and gambling activities.

By recreating this game with period-appropriate styling and thematic elements, we can experience a small piece of gaming history that might otherwise remain forgotten in patent archives.

If you're interested in trying this game yourself, I've created print-ready card designs and downloadable mats that capture the essence of this clever century-old creation.