This is another game from François Cardinet's collection. It is a promotional game for Tana, a company that produced shoe care products. The game was offered with the purchase of 2 cans of shoe cream.

Both the name of the game, which actually is "Tour of Belgium AND of Luxembourg", and the rules are written in the three official languages of Belgium. I don't know why I favoured the French name when I added this game to the website a few years ago. As you can see, the Dutch name is the first you read on the upper part of the board, but the French rules are on top of the Dutch ones. I will do my best not to break this delicate balance this time.

 

 

 

The rules are printed on the board. As you can see in the pictures, the original owner made a pocket for the riders with Scotch tape, which was probably not the best idea; not only were the riders unsafe in it (two out of four have been lost), but he also damaged the German text.

This game board, as it is with the riders removed, measures 40 x 33.5 cm. Were it complete with the riders (see below) it would measure 44 x 33.5 cm.

 

 

 

According to the defunct HONGS website, the inscription "8 '56", readable on the bottom centre of the board, would be the date of the game. I confess that I may not have reached the same conclusion by myself, but I accept theirs, especially since it is quite plausible. The look-and-feel of the game is perfectly consistent with it being made in the mid-fifties.

 

 

 

The HONGS website mentioned eight riders, though in the picture they featured (scroll down to see it) there were only four. My guess is that they counted every cyclist as two, since they are drawn twice so they can be seen from both sides when folded. Unfortunately, only two of these riders remained inside the envelope in the bottom-left corner of the board.

 

The riders are 23 mm long. Quite oversized, aren't they?.

As you would expect, the game is a simple roll-and-move game.
 

 

Tana's shoe cream.

 

Though not that many people polish their shoes anymore, the Tana brand still exists, though not as an independent company. Tana shoe care products are manufactured by SC Johnson these days.

 

According to the rules, the race started in front of the Tana headquarters in Bruxelles, rue Uyttenhove, 45-47. Of course, Tana is not there anymore; this address is now the site of the "Eglise Internationale de Bruxelles".

Lovely (unsigned) graphics

Picture of the game with four riders, taken from the HONGS website. Notice the teetotum, which could be used instead of a die.

There was a companion Ronde van Nederland game (a copy of which, from Fred Horn's collection, is also featured on the giochidellocha.it website). This picture (with five riders) is taken from the HONGS website. On the lower right side we are able to read "Dit spel is verkrijgbaar biz Uw schoenleverancier bij aankoop van 2 potten Tana" (which confirms, as said above, that you got the game from your local shoemaker with the purchase of 2 cans of Tana).

 

Thanks, Mathilde, for gifting me your father's collection of cycling games.

Description rewritten in July 2026.

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