From billiard tables to marble games and from football tables to wooden pinball machines: collector Hans Reismann from Drenthe has brought together an impressive collection of old games over the years. A large part of this will soon be on display during the anniversary exhibition of Museum Collection Brands in Nieuw-Dordrecht, which will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary in 2026.
Since the 1990s, Reismann has mainly collected board and table games from the former Drenthe manufacturer Homas from Assen. There are now about forty copies. He lists wooden pinball machines, marble games (such as a yodel track), bingo games, but also tactical football games and a Tour de France game where you replay the cycling lap on a cardboard board. “It’s still fun, no matter how old you are.”
The seed for the collection was sown with a marble game called Benelux Tour. The game board shows the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, with collection trays at various locations. “I first came across it at my mother-in-law’s house,” says Reismann. “Later I found one myself. You launch the game with a marble and see where the ball ends up. Each place has a number of points.”
What started with marble games slowly grew into a broader collection. New games kept popping up at markets and fairs, which Reismann naturally bought. “Then you find out that Homas made much more than just the shuffleboard games they were best known for.”
Homas was founded in 1932 and existed for about fifty years. The games have not been made for decades, but are now popular collector’s items. For Reismann, origin plays a major role. “It was made in Assen, in my own province. That makes it extra fun. And of course there is nostalgia in it: the appearance, the recognizable image of what you used to play with.”
According to Reismann, board and table games also have something that digital entertainment, for example, lacks. “You have more interaction with the people around you. You are not just looking at a screen. And with old games there is also a bit of history.”
The collection is not yet complete. “Homas has also released bowling alleys, in different sizes,” says Reismann. “I’ve never come across that before, but that is the holy grail, yes.”
Since he has children, the collection was in the attic for a while. But in recent years the games have been brought out again, including for village halls and collectors’ fairs. They will soon get new life in the museum. “I feel very honored to have been chosen. There were many entries. It is great that Brands thinks this is worthwhile. I am sure that people will soon recognize a lot.”
Exhibition maker Marianne Bakker of Collectie Brands sees the games as a valuable addition. “We have a very nice program around our fifteenth anniversary and kick off with an exhibition about collecting,” she says. “That of course fits perfectly with this museum, which revolves around the collection of Jan Brands.”
Brands collected everything: from everyday utensils to historically special objects. In 2011, a museum around his collection was started. For the anniversary exhibition, the museum called on the public to register their own collections. “We have been inundated with responses,” says Bakker. “Ultimately we work with sixteen collectors. In addition to games, there are toys, old documents, paintings, salt shakers and model cars. It really goes in all directions.”
Bakker was not familiar with the Homas games beforehand. “But it is precisely the link with Drenthe that makes this such a nice addition,” she says.