Mille Bornes (; French for a thousand milestones, referring to the distance markers on many French roads) is a French designer card game. Mille Bornes is listed in the GAMES Magazine Hall of Fame.

History

thumb|left|An oversize kilometer marker () alongside [[Route nationale 7|RN 7 in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire (Nièvre, France)]]

The game was created in 1954 by as 1000 Bornes. It is almost identical to the earlier American automotive card game Touring, designed by William Janson Roche in 1906. One additional feature is the ' ("counter-thrust"), whereby bonus points are earned by holding back a safety card (such as the puncture-proof tire) until an opponent plays the corresponding hazard card (in this case, the flat tire). The game's name is derived from the approximate length of the RN 7 (a national route) connecting Paris with the Italian border.<!----> The box for the original 1954 edition carries the strapline ("Canasta of the Road"), highlighting its similarity to Canasta. The cards are illustrated and hand-lettered by , a graphic designer from France. With canasta having fallen out of favor, the regular 1960 edition advertised its connection to bridge: the rulebook included an introduction written by Pierre Albarran, and the game was billed as a favorite of world champions Pierre Jaïs and Roger Trézel.. All Dujardin games were rebranded as 'Schmidt International'. However, Schmidt had problems in Germany and, in 1985, decided to withdraw from the joint-venture. The Sarfati family trust () became sole owner of the Dujardin games, which were finally returned to their original brand. The headquarters in La Teste were moved to Cestas, 10 miles from Bordeaux, in 2009 shortly after the company was acquired by in 2007. Dujardin, who has produced the game continuously since 1954, did so in Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche, which is north of Toulouse.<!-- Some Mille Bornes decks are printed in both English and French. The Spanish version Mil Hitos, distributed by Heraclio Fournier, was very popular in Spain during the 1970s. In the Netherlands there is a predecessor to this game, Stap op, marketed as early as 1939, which deals with cycling instead of driving. The hazards and distances are different, but the mechanics of the game are exactly the same.

The current U.S. version, published by Asmodee, a French manufacturer of games, has removed all French language from the printed cards. The rules still include the "Coup Fourré"; however there is no explanation given for the "counter thrust" translation.

Objective

The premise of Mille Bornes is the players are in a road race. Each race—or hand—is 1000 miles (or kilometers) long. For two- or three-player games the goal is shortened to 700, with an option for the first player to complete that distance to declare an extension to 1000 miles. Mille Bornes is played with a special deck of cards. There are hazard, remedy, safety, and distance cards. Each hazard is corrected by a corresponding remedy, and can be prevented from happening in the first place by a corresponding safety. The target distance is reached by playing distance cards.

List of cards

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:100%;"

|+Cards (and quantities) in Mille Bornes&nbsp; Some versions of the game include non-playable cards which list the playable cards and summarize the scoring.

  • 1981 Games 100 in Games
  • 1982 Games 100 in Games
  • Family Games: The 100 Best

See also

  • Touring (card game)
  • Grass (card game)

References

  • Mille Bournes at SourceFiles.org game description, rules, and strategy notes (archived)
  • [irc://irc.globalgamers.net:6667/Milestone Milestone on irc.globalgamers.net]; milestone on Internet Relay Chat
  • Mille Bornes at ExpressShare.com Freeware Mille Bornes for Windows by Bill Sanders
  • Notes and pictures of the distinctive deck artwork by Joseph Le Callennec and other versions