The game is currently available in the Kosmas bookstore network!
The Museum has prepared a new, expanded edition of the family board game Across the Iron Curtain. The game is based on the original version of Across the Iron Curtain. The second, expanded edition in Czech was prepared by the Platform of European Memory and Conscience and the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century. The game is not only a good tip for intelligent family entertainment, but also an excellent addition to school history lessons. It is suitable for adults and children from the age of ten.
Players take on the role of smugglers to help refugees from Eastern Europe get to the West in eight different ways. Compared to the original version, the booklet contains several authentic stories of successful and unsuccessful attempts of Czechoslovak citizens to cross the state border. The game can be purchased through the Kosmas bookstore network and in the next few days also through the Alza sales network.
The project was financially supported by the Capital City of Prague. Prague.
In the video and photos below you can see the contents of the pack and what it looks like during gameplay.
Photo gallery
The game was played by our colleagues Tereza and Kryštof and the photos were taken by photographer Marta Myšková.
Game annotation
From the end of the Second World War until 1991, Europe was violently divided into East and West. The East was ruled by totalitarian communist regimes characterised by violations of all basic human rights. In the West, advanced democratic states based on the principles of free political competition, respect for human rights and the rule of law emerged. The communist states erected an 'iron curtain' on their external borders with the free world - a heavily guarded barrier stretching from the Barents Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
Totalitarian states have kept their citizens isolated, unfree and oppressed and have prevented people from moving freely. Travel to Western democratic countries was only possible with the approval of the secret police. Some people managed to escape across the Iron Curtain under dramatic circumstances, but many never made it to the free world. In the educational board game "Across the Iron Curtain", players play the role of smugglers to help refugees from Eastern Europe reach the West in eight different ways. The game is inspired by true stories, through which the player will better understand the reality of life under communism and the reasons why people chose to make the perilous journey. The game manual contains authentic stories of people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The pack contains: game plan, 110 playing cards, 24 tokens, 30 playing pieces in 6 colours, booklet with instructions and authentic stories of escapes across the border.