Sugoroku is a dice game played on a paper game "board". This sugoroku has 13 squares, each with an attractive, realistic color drawing of a Japan Pro Baseball star or a baseball scene. With each roll of the dice, a player's piece is moved
around the board until he reaches the center and is declared the winner. Sugoroku depicting various themes (not just baseball) were quite popular, especially during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
This sugoroku was never used. The
artwork on the piece is spectacular. The artist's name, Masao Yokota, appears in the lower right corner. The player images are very realistic--more so than on most early menko cards. Players depicted on the game board with names included are all Hall of Fame Members: Victor Starffin, Kaoru Betto,
Makoto Kozuru, Fumio Fujimura, Michio Nishizawa, Tetsuharu Kawakami and Hiroshi Oshita. Several more unnamed players (non-HOF) appear, including Shissho Takesue.
What makes this sugoroku particularly special is that of the
dozens we have seen over the years, this is the first one that includes the big Russian, Victor Starffin.
Size: 21 1/4" x 15"
Condition: Ex/Mt to Nm. All sugoroku are produced for sale by the manufacturer with several folds, and this sugoroku is no exception.