Big 5 Animal Peg Solitaire

A beautifully crafted peg solitaire board game by Amazing Africa Gifts sports pegs crafted as Africa's Big Five. The board has a frame consisting of intricately designed African scenes and wildlife. The solitaire pieces are initially sculpted by hand, then cast in polystone, and finally painted by hand in exceptional detail. This board game captures the wild spirit of the Big Five, and is perfect for that special person, or as a collector's item with which to spoil yourself.

The standard game fills the entire board with pegs modelled on the Big 5, which are:

• Lion
• Leopard
• Elephant
• Rhino
• Buffalo

The objective is to empty the board of all pegs except one in the centre of the board.

Made from high-quality and durable polystone with hand-painted pegs and board, this is truly a work of art.

Amazing Africa Gifts crafting and material details

The unique pegs, board and board frame are all hand-crafted. The peg and board designs are carved by hand to create molds which are then used to cast the pegs and board themselves from polystone (a mixture of ground stone and resin) by hand. The pegs and board frame are then painted by painted by hand by our South African artists using Winsor and Newton oil paints.

The board has a felt base underneath to ensure durability.

The full set takes approximately four (4) hours for our craftspeople and artists to create, with allocation of time between for drying of the paint.

Set sizes

• 33 holes in the board (1 will is empty)
• 32 peg pieces per set (Big Five wildlife - Lion / Leopard / Elephant / Rhino / Buffalo)
• Height of animal-themed pegs: 3.2 cm
• Base diameter of pegs: 1.2 cm
• Size of circular solitaire board: 28 cm diameter x 3 cm height
• Packed size: 31 cm x 31 cm x 7 cm
• Weight fully packed: 2.5kg 

More about the Big 5

The Big Five consists of the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo, and the term was first used by big game hunters who hunted in Africa. These five magnificent animals are often described as the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot in Africa, but more recently has become the term used by African safari tour operators and game lodges.

An interesting fact: South African banknotes (currency is the Rand) released in 1990 and later feature a different big 5 animal on each denomination.

The Big 5 can be found not just in Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia Zimbabwe), but also in Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Malawi.

Any visit to Africa must include a safari to witness these truly amazing animals and then, of course, you can take home our Big Five range of gifts to keep that memory close to your heart!

More about solitaire

Peg solitaire is also called Solo Noble and is thought to have originated in Madagascar. A similar game called Bainvita is also found in India and surrounding countries. First evidence of written rules of the game along with board designs was published in the August 1687 edition of the French literary magazine 'Mercure galant'.

The standard game uses pegs to cover the board except for the central hole, and the player aims to empty the entire board until only one peg remains. Adjacent pegs are moved over one another at right or perpendicular angles. The peg over which a player moves another peg is then removed.

There are two types of boards, the English and the European. Our sets use the English board and does not have the additional four holes of a European board.

Some complex mathematical strategies have been developed to master this game, but to be honest, we just enjoy playing it to relax and enjoy ourselves, especially with these beautifully crafted animal pieces and board.

FREE SHIPPING FOR USA:

We offer free shipping for USA customers for order over $50. Please note that for customers in other countries shipping will be calculated on checkout. Please refer to our shipping policies page for further details.

SALES TAX, VAT, AND CUSTOMS DUTY

Please note the above price excludes sales tax, VAT or customs or import duties. United States customers will have sales tax added upon checkout where required, and South African clients will have VAT added. For the rest of the world you may incur import duties that are for your account.