Vintage Rotolette Football Board Game

About the Item

Vintage "Rotolette" football board game in wood box with roulette wheel made by Rotolette Manufacturing of Seattle, WA, circa 1930s. Set is complete with wooden box and instructions. The board measures 23.5" x 9" x 1.5" and is in very good vintage condition. The game comes in a solid wood box where he lid is lifted off to form the playing field with individual yard markings and eight lines running the length of the field lettered A-G. A wooden bar on a slider is used to mark the position of the ball, and there is a metal 10-yard marker that slides up one side of the lid. The base has a large mechanism in the center, with a brass spinner embedded in a wooden wheel with 19 spaces numbered in a random order. The wheel in turn has a knob that is used to rotate the wheel against numerically ordered numbers on the surrounding board. There are six small windows on each side of the wheel, with the offense to the left and the defense to the right. The offensive player has three play options (line buck, forward pass or end run) as well as three kicking plays (kick-off, goal kick and punt). The defensive player has a matching set of windows. The offensive player calls a play, spins the spinner, and then rotates the wheel so that the spun number on the wheel aligns with the same number on the outer circle. He then reads the initial results of the play from the appropriate offensive window. The defensive player then spins, using the wheel to produce additional results in the matching window. For instance, an offensive pass play might read "25 yds A", a gain of 25 caught at the sideline. The defensive window would then indicate whether the pass was complete, incomplete, intercepted or triggered an offensive or defensive penalty. The game proceeds and scores using normal football rules. The intricate double spinner and interlocking wheel mechanism is unusual, as is the solid wood construction. But except for the limited offensive play calling options, the results are essentially random. Nice early hard to find game! #2735

Dimensions:

Height: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)Width: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Depth: 9 in (22.86 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Metal,Paper,Wood

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

Early 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1930s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.