2023-12-26 06:10:01
Flemish games serve as real Proust madeleines for the inhabitants of Hauts-de-France. Found during festivals, fairs or in the estaminets of the north, these traditional games still appeal, still delighting young and old today.
Aeroballs, frog game, Dutch billiards… These names may mean something to you. And for good reason: these essential Flemish games have been part of the heritage of Hauts-de-France for centuries.
A tradition to which the company La Maison du billard, specialized in the manufacture of these wooden games for three generations, has attached itself.
The frog game consists of throwing pucks into holes, which earn more or less points. • © France Télévisions. Sébastien Gurak and Valériane Porcher
Armand Rogé, grandson of the founders, is now the manager of the company. In his workshop in Pas-de-Calais, in Sailly-sur-la-Lys, this wooden games enthusiast conceptualizes and manufactures traditional games from the region… And from his childhood.
The wooden game is something quite alive, we transform the material to make something that will last forever.
Armand Rogé, manager of the Maison du billiard
Since a young age, Armand has been immersed in this world of oak or ash wood, materials suitable for making these old-fashioned games which have always fascinated him. “There is an element of passion in this profession, very clearly, since the game, and the wooden game in particular, is something quite alive, we transform the material to make something that will last ad vitam eternam. We leave our trademark a little with our creations.“
The workshop of the company La Maison du billard, in the North. • © France Télévisions. Sébastien Gurak and Valériane Porcher
Each wooden game is manufactured by the company, with increased respect for pure tradition. Craftsmen use assembly techniques “old“, as their ancestors once did. “For example, I use the wooden dowel: I made miter cuts, sectioned at 45° which I will assemble with the dowels.“
Wooden dowels are used to hold the structure of wooden games, without using metal. • © France Télévisions. Sébastien Gurak and Valériane Porcher
The advantage of this technique? No need for screws or nails to hold the whole together, which creates an extremely resistant assembly, which will not succumb to the wear and tear of time.
This passion can also be found in the store with Clément Rogé, the youngest of the siblings, always ready to play a game, to showcase their production.
“The bounce board is a party game that will add a lot of dynamism to parties.“The aim of the game is simple: two players compete face to face, in front of a table divided in the middle by a board. The participants have five pucks and must get rid of them by sending them to the opponent through a hole very thin in the board, using an elastic band. “The first to no longer have a puck in their camp wins the game, and then we let the magic of the game work, and the atmosphere builds.“
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The bounce board creates a fast and intense clash, helping to set the mood at parties. • ©France Télévisions. Sébastien Gurak and Valériane Porcher
But traditional games don’t just focus on agility and precision: “In Flemish games, we find everything, strategic games, speed games, chance games… It is this diversity that makes them accessible to everyone and all tastes.“
It is perhaps this heterogeneity which explains the longevity of Flemish games, which have always been present in the region’s estaminets. Marie Verwaerde is manager of the Le Manoir estaminet, in Bailleul (North), where she offers her customers the opportunity to play these games while having their meal. “It’s like releasing a Seven Families game! When you offer a wooden game at the same time as the meal, it makes you want to share even more.“
Manon takes advantage of lunch to return to her childhood by playing Flemish games. • © France Télévisions. S. Gurak and M. Vanlaton
More than simple distractions, they are above all a reflection of the legendary conviviality of our region. “Their old side, the family memory that they recall, their timeless side… That’s what pushes me to continue playing it“, explains Manon, taking advantage of a dinner with a friend in the estaminet to start a game of old-fashioned games.
These are games that can be kept, it’s still quality, they don’t move, so we find them in the same condition as before and that’s what gives them their charm.
Manon, Flemish games lover
“And then these are games that can be kept, it’s still quality, they don’t move, so we find them in the same condition as before and that’s what gives them their charm.“
With Valériane Porcher / FTV
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