The printed board game reached new heights of beauty and ingenuity during the nineteenth century. The century began with a golden age for upmarket board games, finely engraved and often with glowing hand-colour. But these expensive games faced competition from the new process of lithography and by the end of the century mass produced games from the steam-press were flooding a European-wide market. There were games on almost every conceivable theme, whether on serious subjects like geography or history, or on the crazes of the moment. The games often relied on dice or a numbered spinning top called a teetotum, with no choice of move.
