Le Jeu du Juif, (coloured engraving)

The Game of the Jew is a board game similar to 'Le Jeu de l'Oie' and was a popular variant of the Game of Seven, a stakes game played with two dice. The aim is to win the stakes placed by the other players. These European board games, frequently with educational purposes in addition to entertainment, originated probably in Italy at the end of the 16th century and spread through Europe, reaching their apogée of popularity in France in the 18th and early 19th centuries; the verse here indicates an element in the 'Game of the Jew' of anti-semitism, stating: 'How sweet it is to seduce a pretty Israelite girl: Its such a lively feeling, when one plays the game of the Jew';