The dice are rolled. The pawn lands on the square of a small angel, between the squares of the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Jesuit college. The celestial creature explains to us: “In 1608, the Jesuits opened a college in Reims”.
This mascot will follow the players throughout the game of the goose game. With the 63 squares that fill the board, the angel retraces the history of the city, from Roman times to the present day.
“The goal is to read the game like a comic book. So we tell known facts about the City of Coronations; from Caesar who considers it the capital of Gaul to the construction of the Porte de Mars and its castle, or even the baptism of Clovis…”describes Frédéric Garcés, of Illustrator, who is behind the concept.
– Frederic Garces
I think that this playful way of learning the history of the city can help to enhance the heritage of Reims – Frédéric Garcés
The rules are the same as the traditional game: get to the end of the squares first. A small variant is added: the texts in the bubbles drawn are important! It is therefore necessary to remember this in order to answer the questions correctly.
“We tested it as a family; we love playing it! exclaims the illustrator. We are fans of board games, we buy them all the time. It’s a moment of sharing and where we can disconnect from our screens, as in the past…“
A four-handed board game
– Frederic Garces
It is the illustrator Frédéric Garcés and the designer Flory Gary who have joined forces to create this goose game on the history of Reims. The 53-year-old wanted to bring together the two worlds he loves so much: comics and board games.
This desire to mix his two passions follows a particular order. During the confinement, the Opéra de Reims then commissioned him to do a game of the goose in a comic strip on the construction of an Opéra. After a positive reception, Frédéric Garcés decides to adapt it for a new project. “I was not born in Reims, but when I arrived in 2000, I was fascinated by the cathedral. I like it a lot and I think I’m not the only one.”
If Frédéric Garcés participated in the drafts and in some layouts of the set, the finishing of the drawings is by the hand of his niece, Flory Gary. The young 21-year-old student also produces many illustrations that depict the cathedral of Reims. His works are available in several shops in the city and at the Tourist Office.
– Marie-Amelie Masson
More than sixty pre-orders
Although the game concerns the city of Reims, many pre-orders come from all over France: Limoges, Strasbourg… Frédéric Garcés is delighted!
These are people attached to the history of the city of Reims which has a very great importance in the history of France, although they are not from here. – Frederic Garces
The game will not be marketed until November in Reims shops. The time for the two creators to raise enough funding. To carry out this project, the illustrators have launched a call for donations, in the form of pre-orders, via the Ulule participatory platform.
In two weeks, they raised more than 4,000 euros out of a target of 6,000 euros! 78% of the money will be used for the production cost of the set, the rest will be split to remunerate the authors and the platform. It is possible to give by choosing several services. Count at least 33 euros for the goose game and a postcard designed by Flory Gary.