Totopoly, a board game by John Waddington Ltd (1938).

Manufactured by John Waddington Ltd.

‘Patent applied for’ on rules.

Briefly the idea of the game is that racehorses are leased by players, and trained by them for the race. Players have the opportunity of leasing horses at first option, that is through the deal and later the chance arises to lease additional ones in the auction sale. In the same way players will acquire temporary ownership of a racing stable, veterinary surgeon’s practice or forage merchant etc.

When all the horses and businesses have been sold, the training of the horses then commences.

Players may have to get trainers’ reports on the progress of their horses, and it will be found when training has finished that some horses have made more progress than others by acquiring advantage cards, and have therefore more chance of winning the race.

Whilst it is possible by careful play in the race for any of the horses to win, the black ones have more chance than the red ones, the reds more chance than the yellow ones, and the blues least chance of all, but it may be found that during training a blue or yellow horse has improved so much that it has an equal chance with the blacks and reds. Naturally, the horses with the most chance in the first place and those that improve well in training, will be backed the most on the Tote.

But as in real racing, an outsider can always prove to be a big surprise.