Kubasta Holiday Roulette (Movable Game Sheet) – Uncut 1978 Insert in Mlady Svet
Kubasta, Vojtech (designer)
Prague: [Mlady Svet], 1978.
Original uncut stand-up cut-out game designed by Czech illustrator and paper engineer Vojtech Kubasta, issued as an insert in a 1978 edition of the children’s magazine Mlady Svet. The game, titled Prazdninova ruleta (“Holiday Roulette”), features Kubasta’s characteristic bold graphic style and bears his “VK” signature at lower left. Sponsored by the Czech Savings Bank, this large-format game sheet (measuring approximately 9.5 x 12 inches) remains entirely intact and uncut, still bound within the original magazine, along with the separately printed game instructions.
This playful game was designed for children to assemble and play during their three-week stay at summer camp. The player is instructed to cut out the game, mount it on stiff cardboard, and fold it along designated lines. After cutting small target holes, the child spins a homemade top across the surface, scoring points depending on where it lands in one of several cut-out scoring holes. The instructions whimsically note that “because you cannot just run around and still there are times when you are resting in a tent or hut, I am sending you this interesting game,” and suggest awarding the winner “something yummy to eat.”
Condition: Fine. Game insert is complete, uncut, and pristine. Original binding staples intact; the magazine itself is bright and clean with only minor age-toning. A rare survival in unused condition.
Collector’s Corner:
In addition to his more widely known pop-up books and nativity scenes, Vojtech Kubasta created a few playful cut-out games and puzzles designed for use in magazines and educational supplements. Prazdninova ruleta (Holiday Roulette) was featured as a full-page insert in Mlady Svet in 1978, offering children a creative way to pass time at summer camp.
Several of Kubasta’s similar designs appeared in the Czech magazine ABC in the same era. One later example, Prazdninovy pozdrav pionyra (“Holiday Greeting from a Young Pioneer”), was described as a cut-out puzzle intended to calm parents—children could assemble and mail it home during their three-week stay at camp. These ephemeral creations, often discarded after use, are among the rarest surviving artifacts of Kubasta’s output. When found complete and uncut—as here—they offer collectors a vivid glimpse into Kubasta’s reach beyond the book format and into everyday childhood culture in socialist-era Czechoslovakia.
Reference:
Obrazkovy Svet. “Vojtech Kubasta.” Accessed July 2, 2025. https://www.obrazkovysvet.cz/vojtech-kubasta/d-1579/p1=56.