Children's board game "The Second Round", Adeloyada publishing, Israel, 1956. Strategic board game - battles between Israeli and Egyptian soldiers in Sinai - published two months before Operation Kadesh, see below. Complete game.
The Adeloyada company, which operated in central Israel in the fifties and early sixties, distributed this game about IDF battles in Sinai. The curious and interesting detail is that the game was produced and distributed two months before Operation Kadesh! The IDF authorities also thought there was something strange about this, and summoned Yosef Perez, the owner of Adeloyada, to investigate the matter. "The game you produced is too similar to the real operation", they accused him, "Where did you get such information?" Perez denied any espionage involvement in producing the game, and explained that the idea was born during a visit to the US. Two army friends he met there suggested a war game template between East and West, a pattern that was common in those Cold War days. Perez liked the idea and adapted it to the familiar reality in our Middle East. And why did he decide that the imaginary campaign would take place on a map of Sinai, where the game pieces would move by vehicle and foot towards the Suez Canal? Very simple, he explained: To Israel's east the potential battlefield is very narrow, and does not allow for many game moves. The Sinai Desert, on the other hand, is a huge area that enables extensive maneuvering and movement. The game so closely resembled the actual campaign that took place after its release, that some of the cards contain instructions such as: "Evacuation of the Sinai Peninsula by both sides, Israel towards its borders, Egypt towards the Suez Canal", or for example: "UN intervention, no naval action in Suez Canal". (See on the subject: "Yekum Tarbut - the online arena for Hebrew culture").
The game is complete in all parts and contains : game board in the shape of a map of Israel including the Sinai Peninsula 50x34 cm, 33 game cards, dozens of soldiers - infantry, armored corps represented by tanks, navy ships, and air force planes, and the instructions sheet. The game's goal is to destroy the enemy's forces, to gain a strategic advantage, where the side that conquers the opponent's capital is the winner. The game is in effect a state of war between two countries whose results depend on the considerations and strategies of its players. Box: 35x25 cm with price tag affixed. Good - very good condition.
