Masterpiece board
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640): Le Chapeau de Paille
Today’s game is more about great works of art than actually being one itself. But I figured that a collection of great board game art ought to feature somewhere a board game about art. In fact, there are several games that fall into this category. But it is this game that seems to stand as the contemporary exemplar, dating originally back to 1970, with at least three editions released since then in multiple languages. It appears that each edition has a different collection of artwork cards therein.
Meyndert Hobbema (1638-1709): The Avenue, Middleharnis
Giovanni Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768): Venice: A Regatta on the Grand Canal
I have not played Masterpiece myself, but having read the rules, there really is not much to them, or the game play. A gamer friend of mine scores it at a mere 3 out of 10, which places it in about the same category as (or barely above) traditional Monopoly in terms of gaming interest. It might be worth taking it for a spin one night with family members, where the goal is simple socialisation rather than having compelling board game experience.
Alesso Baldovinetti (1426-1499): Portrait of a Lady in Yellow
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519): Cartoon: The Virgin and Child with SS.Anne and John the Baptist
The interest here of course is in the artworks displayed in the game. Twenty-four individual paintings by great Masters, printed on postcards. When each becomes available through the game play, the paintings are set up set up in little stands to be on display, as part of each player’s collection and available for auction. In most cases the player auctions for the paintings are blind, so really the game value of each is largely a guess. But the players’ appreciation of the pictures themselves would no doubt influence the subjective, perceived value of each one, and maybe this is where some of the gaming interest and fun comes in.
Everyone’s tastes are different of course. It would be too much to reproduce here the entire 24 artworks from the game, so shown here are just a few that I like…
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