by Bruce Whitehill
Zulu Blowing Game, 1927, Zulu Mfg., Battle Creek, Michigan
The Zulu Blowing Game from 1927 came with a 24″ long cardboard blowgun which shot long sharp darts, somewhat similar to skewers. The box reads, “Completely harmless,” but the darts could easily pierce a double-thick cardboard shipping carton. 
The exact title of the game is the “Zulu Blowing Game (Junior)” — I wonder what size the “Senior” edition was (though I suspect there may never have been such a thing). I also wonder why the game was called “Blowing” game and not “Blow Gun” game, since all the other references are to blow guns.
The game came with a sheet dated 1924 containing the legend of the blow gun and including three black and white illustrations of native Africans.
The Zulu Game Company was apparently a small company that produced a series of unusual games in the late 1920s. Since the name of the company matches the title of its most popular game (judging from the number of copies seen as opposed to other Zulu Co. games), one might assume that the the Zulu Blowing Game was the company’s first game, since inventors sometimes name a company after their one (and at the time, only) product; however, the Zulu Blowing Game is dated 1927, yet there is a 1926 game, City of Gold.
The company seemed to favor the exotic, as another of their games, also dated 1927, was Covered Wagon.
Since that game was patented by a Pennsylvania company, and since Zulu Manufacturing even did a mechanical puzzle, Criss Cross Mystery Puzzle (1927), it is probable that the company bought and manufactured products designed by other companies. This may explain the 1926 date on City of Gold.
Another Zulu Game Co. game is David Goes to Greenland, a rare game from 1928.
The game was based on the books David Goes to Greenland and David Goes to Baffinland by David Binney Putnam.
Zulu Blow Guns story booklet
Zulu Game Company is not a significant company in terms of game production, but it did produce some unusual and very attractive games. The company may have been in business only two or three years, and certainly does not seem to have survived the Great Depression of 1929. It was probably a very small company, and it’s doubtful whether more than a few thousand of any of their games other than the Blow Gun game were manufactured. All their games are now pretty scarce.
Zulu Blow Guns story booklet
