The history of board games

Board games have been played in most cultures and societies throughout history.

It's a very interesting history because already played board games in prehistory

People started throwing dice and finished playing the Catan.

The first board game

(5000 BC)

Board games are actually pre-historic, meaning we had board games before we had written language. The first board game were dice. Dice are essential in most board games today and they were the basis of humanity's oldest games.

Other early origin dice games were created by painting a single side of flat sticks.

Board Games Become a Royal Pastime

(3100 BC)

Board games became popular among pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. Primarily, the game of Senet. The game was a very important thing for them and it had become a kind of talisman for the journey of the dead. Ancient Egyptians were strong believers in the concept of "Fate". It's thought that the high element of luck in the game of Senet was strongly tied to this concept. The Senet board itself is a grid of 30 squares, arranged in three rows of ten. There are two sets of pawns (at least five of each and, in some sets, more, as well as shorter games with fewer). Historians have made educated guesses for the actual rules of gameplay for Senet.

Board Games Get Tied into Religion

(3000 BC)

With the popular growth of board games amongst royalty, they quickly became adopted by the working class. Soon after, they became tied into religious beliefs. One such game being Mehen.

While a complete set of rules on how to play the game has never been found we do know the game represents the deity Mehen. The Sun Cult envisioned the god Mehen as a huge serpent who wrapped the Sun God Re in its coils (the game board itself mimics this).

At some point, perhaps even before the Old Kingdom, the game and the god became intertwined. The game became more than just a simple pastime.

Instructions: Players each begin with six marbles and one lion. Players start at the tail, along the outer edge of the board, and move towards the center where the snake's head rests. The players race to the center with their marble pieces. Once a marble reaches center, movement reverses and players move towards the start again. The lion piece is then put into play. This predatory piece is used to capture (eat) an opponent's marble pieces.

The First Evidence of Humanity's Longest Running Board Game

(2650 BC)

Many people think Backgammon (2000BC), which is one of the most important games of history, has been played the longest out of all board games, however it's actually The Royal Game of Ur.

-The Royal Game of Ur game board

The Royal Game of Ur is the game that has been played longer than any other in world history.

The game gets its name because it was found within the Royal Tombs of Ur in Iraq. There was also a set found in Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb. The Royal Game of Ur was played with two sets, one black and one white, of seven markers and three tetrahedral dice (4-sided dice).

The Ludus latrunculorum game board

The Influence of War Inspires Military Strategy Games

(1300 BC)

Ludus latrunculorum was a two-player strategy board game played throughout the Roman Empire. It has references as early as Homer's time and is said to resemble chess. Because of the limited sources, reconstruction of the game's rules is difficult, but is generally accepted to be a game of military tactics. Because of the large number of wars during 13th century BC, it's believed this was the influence on the games theme of military strategy.

It's theorized Ludus latrunculorum may have had an influence on the historical development of early Chess, particularly the movement of the pawns.

Instructions: The game has many pieces and is played on a checkerboard type pattern. The board is called the "city" and each piece is called a "dog". The pieces are of two colors, and the art of the game consists of taking a piece of one color by enclosing it between two of the other color.

Board Games Become Part of Childhood

(500 BC)

Board games were primarily played by adults in ancient cultures and with their deep roots in society, were quickly adopted by children. Although not technically a board game, one of the first games centered towards kids was Hop-Scotch.

The Hop-Scotch board is on the floor

About the game: The first references of Hop-Scotch date back to Roman Children around 500 BC. There are many variations of the game all over the world, but the general rules stay consistent. The first player tosses the marker (typically a stone, coin, or bean bag) into the first square. The marker must land completely within the designated square and without touching a line or bouncing out. The player then hops through the course, skipping the square with the marker in it.

Board Games Influence Over Eastern Culture

(400 BC)

While board games were in Asian society long before 400 BC, they were largely interpretations of Middle Eastern games. Liubo was the first board game to break this habit to become the first game developed by the Eastern world.

About the game: The game was played by two players. It is believed each player had six game pieces that were moved around the points of a square game board that had a distinctive, symmetrical pattern. Moves were determined by the throw of six dice sticks.

Tafl Games (The forunners of chess)

(400 AD)

TALF

Talf game board

Tafl games are a family of ancient Germanic and Celtic strategy board games played on a checkered board with two armies of uneven numbers.

Although the size of the board and the number of pieces varied, all games involved a distinctive 2:1 ratio of pieces, with the lesser side having a king-piece that started in the centre. The king's objective was to escape to the board's periphery or corners, while the greater force's objective was to capture him. The attacking force has the natural advantage at the start of each game. It's presumed this indicated the cultural aspect by mimicking the success of Viking raids.

CHATURANGA

Chaturanga game board

It's presumed Tafl branched off into an iteration called Chaturanga. Chaturanga is an ancient Indian strategy game developed in the Gupta Empire, India around the 6th century AD.

Chaturanga was played on an 8×8 uncheckered board, called Ashtāpada. The board sometimes had special markings, the meaning of which is unknown today.

Soon after, the game was turned into its European variant, Chess, which is played on the same 8×8 tile board. The earliest evidence of chess is found in Sassanid Persia around 600 AD. It's theorized Muslim traders came to European seaports with ornamental chess kings before they brought the game of chess.

The First Evidence of Mancala

(700 AD)

Mancala is usually referred to as a specific game, however it's actually a genre of game. This family of board games is played around the world and referred to as "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the gameplay. The word mancala comes from the Arabic word naqala meaning "to move". More than 800 names of traditional mancala games are known, and almost 200 invented games have been described. However, some names denote the same game, while some names are used for more than one game.

A mancala game board

About the game: Most mancala games share a common general game play. Players begin by placing a certain number of seeds, prescribed for the particular game, in each of the pits on the game board. A player may count their stones to plot the game. A turn consists of removing all seeds from a pit, "sowing" the seeds (placing one in each of the following pits in sequence) and capturing based on the state of board.

A Mancala board is typically constructed of various materials, with a series of holes arranged in rows, usually two or four.

The objective of most two and three-row mancala games is to capture more stones than the opponent. In four-row games, one usually seeks to leave the opponent with no legal move or sometimes to capture all counters in their front row.

At the beginning of a player's turn, they select a hole with seeds that will be sown around the board.

The Landlord's Game game board

The Landlord's Game (The forunner of Monopoly)

(1903)

The game board consisted of a square track, with a row of properties around the outside that players could buy. The game board had four railroads, two utilities, a jail, and a corner named "Labor Upon Mother Earth Produces Wages," which earned players $100 each time they passed it.

Catan's Influence in The States

(1995)

The Settlers of Catan was one of the first Eurogames to achieve popularity outside of Europe. Over 24 million games in the Catan series have been sold and the game has been translated in over 30 languages.

About the game: In Catan, players compete to establish the most successful colony on a fictional island called Catan. The game board, representing the island, is composed of hexagonal tiles of different land types.

On each player's turn, they roll dice (amongst other means) to see if the land they occupy produces resources, which they use to build roads, cities, and settlements.

By building settlements and gaining cards, players earn points leading to victory. Unlike most board games, Catan entices players to go outside the confines of strict rules - allowing them to come to their own agreements when trading resources and money with one another.

A summary of the history of board games: