Town Musicians of Bremen Themed Board Game

The presented game was published in 1926 by Verlag J. W. Spear & Sons, Nurnberg. The main attraction of the game is a splendid design by Otto Kubler (he created illustrations as well), who was already an established painter and illustrator at the time. It's a simple game for up to four players (there are four animals on their quest to become town musicians of Bremen), and four figurines, shaped like animals (a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster) come in the box.

As with all board games, it has a specific set of rules, but in essence, it's a race. You have to leave your starting position (by throwing a regular dice with six faces) and reach the goal as fast as possible. You have to be faster than everybody else, anyway. Some fields on the board have special meanings, but we won't go into details. You can already imagine you have to wait at certain points, throw a specific number, or skip a few fields if you are lucky. All such fields are associated with the fairy tale about the Bremen Town Musicians (for instance, you meet a dog, or somebody else) to add an original experience.

If you don't know how the fairy tale goes, here are the main points:

- The miller notices his donkey is becoming old and not as strong as he used to be. He decides to sell him to the glue factory. The donkey is not happy with his idea (who would be) and runs away. He believes he can find a place for himself in Bremen, a town known for opportunities. Bremen, by the way, had an independent status for most of its more than 12 hundred years of history. The donkey is willing to try his luck as a town musician.
- On his way, he meets a dog, a cat, and a rooster. One by one, they join the donkey and are already ready to become a band. They don't have any experience in music, but their alternative is just one - death.
- While they travel, the day is almost over. Bremen is still far away, and they need a place to spend the night. They enter the woods.
- In the woods, they spot a light. They approach the light and find a cottage. The cottage is occupied by robbers who are ready for dinner. Their place is loaded with stolen goods.
- The animal looks into the cottage through the window. The donkey stands in front of it, the dog climbs on his back, the cat steps on the dog, and the rooster flies on the top.
- When the robbers see their construction, which in the dark looks like a scary creature, they run away. The animals can enter without a problem and enjoy the dinner. Then they go to sleep. Each animal finds its spot.
- Later, the robbers decide to check what is going on with their place. It's full of precious stuff, after all. They send one of them as a scout to explore the situation.
- When the robber's scout comes back, the light in the house is already off. He spots a cat's eyes in the heath. The scout believes it's glowing coal.
- The robber bends to blow in the coal but the cat jumps up and scratches him. The robber tries to withdraw but is bitten by the dog at the doors. Then a cock attacks him from the roof, and finally, a donkey kicks him in the yard.
- The robber returns to his gang and describes the events as a series of attacks by different monsters. The robbers don't want to return to their cottage anymore, and the animals can stay there as long as they want.

For further exploration of the tale, we recommend visiting Lessons from Bremen Town Musicians.