History of board games: what was the first / oldest board game?
History of board games: what was the first / oldest board game?
In the last few years, board games have become increasingly popular. The trend cannot be denied, as evidenced by a quick search on Google or a look at the expansion of cafes with board games around the world. In 2012 , the Guardian claimed that we are now living in the “Golden Age of Board Games”, citing annual market growth of over 40% each year.
The widespread interest in gambling and the surrounding culture can certainly be attributed to the internet, which has strengthened fan sites, mass sales and even crowd-funded creations. This is evident from Kickstarter statistics, where board games are one of the most funded categories of mass-funded projects. YouTube is involved in this “renaissance of board games” with series like Will Wheaton Desktop which has sparked a new enthusiasm for gaming.
The recent rise in the popularity of board games - and board games in general - has led us to think about the origins of this leisure activity.
- What was the first board game?
- When did people start playing board games?
- What games have people played over the centuries (and around the world)?
As you will quickly learn, I am a huge historian and love to look at historical examples of ideas. Welcome to my history / board game nerdgasm. I hope you have fun with this exploratory look at the history of board games - and hopefully you will learn something too!
In the Stone Age, there were stones, probably also board games
Today's board game market is full of a variety of games: Strategy , Role Playing , Opportunity, Trivia , Educational , Summary, and more. The list goes on. The increasingly popular hobby of gaming is not a new phenomenon. People have been playing board games since the Stone Age (or maybe earlier) when people started living together in groups, a natural desire to have fun and compete inevitably created the first games of skill, strategy and chance.
Entertainment dates back millennia and has been shaped by culture and tradition, evolving over the centuries and appearing in many manifestations throughout human history. As you and your family gather around the table for a weekly gaming session, let’s take a quick look at the history and see where some of our favorite games come from.
Prehistoric board games? Thanks, archeology!
Games have existed before written history! Did you know that dice were the first game? Dice is a very simple game with different rules and variations that could be made of wood, bone or stone.
Sophocles claimed that Palamedes invented cubes around 1400 BC. N. No. And they certainly found cubic stones and clay cubes with numbers on their faces from that period. In fact, the dice have developed independently of many ancient cultures around the world - and much earlier!
Archaeologists have found board games from the Stone Age. A series of 5,000 small carved painted stones have been found in the 49-year-old Başur Höyük cemetery in southeastern Turkey. These are the oldest gaming pieces they have ever found. Similar pieces have been found in Syria and Iraq and point to board games originating from the Fertile Crescent.
In case you didn’t know, the Fertile Crescent, also known as the “cradle of civilization,” is located in the Middle East, where the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers created optimal conditions in which the earliest foundations of cities, learning, and development could flourish.
Other early dice games were created by painting one side of straight sticks. These sticks would be thrown in unison, the painted pages were considered to represent the player's "roll". Mesopotamian cubes were made from a variety of materials, including carved muzzle bones, wood, painted stones, and turtle shells.
Due to the lack of historical documentation, it is difficult to say which games were indeed the first to be played, but archeology has found clues that can give us a general idea of the earliest games in human history.
Gambling in the old days: I think some had time
- The King's Game Ur
- Senet
- Mehen
- Snakes and ladders
- mahjong
- Backgammon or Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum
- Ludus Latrunculorum
Backgammon originated in ancient Persia more than 5,000 years ago. Chess, Pachisi and Chaupar originate from India. Go and Liubo originate from China. Shax originates from Somalia. Bao (the game of mancala) is still played all over East Africa. Patolli originated in Mesoamerica, played by the ancient Aztecs, and the royal game of Ur was found in the royal tombs of Ur, which date back to Mesopotamia about 4,600 years ago.
The King's Game Ur
The ancient Royal Game Of Ur is probably the oldest board game (with a board) in the world. This game is at least 4,500 years old and was played by the Sumerians in the Middle East. It’s a basic racing game (similar to Backgammon) with very simple rules, but it may come as no surprise that it can have extremely complex strategic mechanics.
British museum historian Irving Finkle spent years researching this enigmatic game and was finally able to decipher the rules. It can now be played accurately and looks a lot of fun! Watch the official screening of the British Museum here:
Senet ("passing game")
The Egyptians played the board game Senet (Senate or Sen't), which was the ancestor of Backgammon. It is not known exactly how the game was played, but the popular assumption has derived some general rules that allow us, modern humans, to experiment. Senet is a racing game similar to the Royal Game of Ur and Backgammon. The board was divided into squares with counters. Players would rather throw sticks than dice. The senet was photographed on a fresco found in Merkner's tomb (3300–2700 BC).
Mehen ("snake game")
Also from pre-dynastic Egypt is a game called Mehen. The first evidence of the Mehen game is 3,000 years BC. It was very popular during the time of the Old Kingdom and remained in popular use in many dynasties. Mehena was played on a board that at first glance looks like a snail shell, but in fact represents a snake. The most detailed game pieces were designed as left. The set of pieces contained three to six play pieces and a few small marbles.
Snakes and Ladders (200 BC): An Indian Game of Good and Evil
Snakes and ladders originated in India as a game based on morality, where advancing on a board was teaching children about good and evil, and climbing ladders was good, and sliding on snakes was evil.
During the British occupation of India, the play found its way to the West, where Milton Bradley reworked it in 1943 in the US and renamed it “Chutes and Ladders”.
Mah Jongg ("sparrows" - named for his confidential "love of birds")
Mah Jongg or (Mahjong) is another ancient game that is still played today, even though it is about 4000 years old! As a carefully guarded secret of the Chinese aristocracy, it appeared in the West only in the 20th century.
The current version of the game - a four-player game played with tiles on the board - came from China in the 1920s and bears many similarities to the Rummy card game. Mahjong is usually played by four people, with tiles of different designs drawn and discarded until one player has a full hand of winning combinations.
When in Rome ... to play like the Romans? - Backgammon Roman Style
The Romans played the game Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (“game of twelve lines” or “game of twelve marks”), which was similar to modern Backgammon. The Roman emperor Claudius is said to have been a very enthusiastic player of the Tabula, the forerunner of the game Backgammon.
Although we know that the Romans loved it, it is about 1500 years before the whole Roman Republic.
Ludus Latrunculorum ("Robber Game")
Recently, archaeologists in Colchester, UK, have discovered the remarkably well-preserved board game Latruncui or Ludus Latrunculorum (the “game of bandits”). It dates back to Homer's time (12th century BC) and is said to be reminiscent of chess.
This game has already been discovered in parts and works throughout the Roman Empire (and in excerpts from Latin literature), but never fully or ready for the game as found in Colchester.
They excavated the entire game of 12 × 10 squares with 24 glass pieces, 12 white and 12 blue. Due to limited resources, reconstructing the rules of the game is difficult, but it is generally accepted as a game of military tactics. Game historians are still arguing about the mechanism of play of this archaic ancestor of strategy games.
Examples of ancient board games
Joy in the Middle Ages: if people were playing board games, it was NOT the "dark ages"
In the early Middle Ages, wealthy Saxon nobles played games similar to our concept of chess. Historians are not sure where and when chess was invented, but a popular assumption places its invention in India in the 6th or 7th century AD (or perhaps earlier). The popularity of the game eventually led to it being played in Europe until the 10th century.
Hnefatafl ("King's Table"): A game of the Vikings
The Vikings played a board game called Hnefatafl ("King's Table"). Hnefatafl and many versions of Tafla, called by different names, is a game in which the goal of one player is to direct the white king to escape, and black to surround and capture him (black game without a king). The pieces move perpendicularly, like dots in chess, and the capture is surrounding the figure on two opposite sides.
It is basically an abstract game that depicts a very specific war scenario with unequal sides. It is very similar to chess as an abstract military strategy game, but has been criticized for its slow offense and side power among participants.
Mancala (‘to move’): more fun than watching crops
Evidence of the Mancala Games was found by archaeologists in the Aksumite Ethiopians in Matara (now Eritrea) and Yehi (Ethiopia), dating from between 500 and 700 AD. The word mancala comes from the Arabic word naqala , which means “to move”. It is believed that Mancala originally played with seeds or stones and holes dug into the dirt, which makes sense when you consider how placing tokens in holes mimics the act of sowing seeds in the ground.
In agrarian civilizations, it makes sense to assume that a lot of games came from what people did most often. Be it farming, warfare or hunting, it proves that people play what they know! There are many versions of the game, in Egyptian pyramids, Saharan ruins and Neolithic settlements in present-day Kenya, evidence of Mancala boards has been found.
By the way, a good example of the modern game of ‘mancala’ is the Five Tribes . (A great game that is definitely worth adding to your collection.)
- For 2 to 4 players
- The game lasts from 40 to 80 minutes
- A gamer game that is fun for everyone
Nine Men of Morris: Shakespeare informs us that it was played on the ground
Archeology has been of great help to us in enlightening the social games of the past. Also in August 2018, archaeologists discovered a medieval board game in a secret castle crypt in Russia! The hidden chamber in Vyborg Castle, dating back to the 13th century, contained bricks that had a pattern imprinted in the grid before it was baked.
The game of brick is actually very well known and dates back to the Roman Empire. There are several names, including Mill, Merrills and Cowboy Checkers, and it is very reminiscent of Nine Men's Morris - a game that, like Checkers and Chess, involves chopping squares and small pieces called "men" involved in combat.
In the Tudors of England, higher strata of the board game were played, such as chess and Backgammon (a set of backgammons, identical to the modern version, was found on the wreck of Mary Rose).
Fox & Gosi
It was also known that the Tudors played Checkers (Drafts) and Fox & Geese. Perhaps a relative of Hnefatafl, Fox & Geese dates back to the 14th century in the UK and is a simple two-player strategy game where a fox tries to remove geese while trying to catch him.
Fox & Geese is played by one player who moves the fox and the other controls the goose password. A fox can jump and catch geese one by one if there is free space outside. Geese try to push the fox into a corner, while avoiding eating. The fox wins if it catches all the geese; geese if they can catch a fox.
The game was also popular in the 17th century when new rules were introduced, making it popular during the English Civil War. Later, during the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th century, more militarily oriented games emerged that developed from Fox & Geese.
Pachisi / Chaupar / Ludo
Pachisi (Parcheesi, Parchisi, Parchisi, Parchesi; also known as Twenty-Five) is the national game of India. The name comes from the Indian word “pacis” which means twenty-five, the highest score you could achieve in the game.
Indian Emperor Akbar I of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century is said to have played Chaupar with human pieces in large courtyards made of artificial marble. He was sitting on the platform in the center of the playground and throwing shells of caviar. In the red and white squares around him, 16 women from the harem, dressed in appropriate colors, would move on his instructions.
Pachisi boards played on the street are often made of fabric, 6 shells are thrown out to determine the moves, and the counters are made of wood in the shape of a beehive. Pachisi is a ‘Cross and Circle’ game, versions of which are appearing all over the world.
The beginnings of Pachisi and Chaupar are lost in time, but uncertain evidence suggests that forms of the game have existed in the Indian region since at least the 4th century AD. Both have hardly changed since Emperor Akbar played.
Game Mr.
Game of the Goose is the record of the first modern commercial board game. It is associated with ancient spiral racing games such as the Egyptian Mehen, and with artifacts such as the Phaistos Disc of Minoans.
The game is a simple racing game that is governed only by rolling the dice - the game pieces (often goose-shaped) move from the outside of the spiral towards the middle. Francesco de Medici (1500-1574), invented by France as early as 1587, donated the game of goose (Gioco dell'Oca) to King Phillip of Spain.
Although it was more of a game of pure entertainment, Game of the Goose adaptations with an educational purpose that teaches players about geography , history, and morality emerged. His influence also lasted into the 20th century, where similar racing games were associated with popular culture and current events.
New world, new games: Patolli
The games, however, were not limited to the old world. There is evidence that games are also a popular pastime in the New World (at least among nobles and elites)! In the Codex Magliabecchiano, for example, there are drawings of the Aztec god Macuilxochitl, who controls a game known as Patolli.
Patolli was played by the Aztecs during the Spanish arrival in Mexico. It was a game of chance and it is recorded that the nobles played it for high stakes such as precious stones and gold beads.
Patolli (or patole) was a cross-shaped board racing game. The pieces raced across the board according to the throws of five beans marked on one side and plain on the other. The full rules of the game did not survive, but board game historian RC Bell suggested a credible reconstruction for them.
Examples of medieval board games
FTW Language: A linguistic view of the history of board games
The English word “game” has not changed much in the centuries of linguistic development experienced by Indo-European languages. Even if we look back to the third century, the Gothic word “gamen” is still recognizable to the modern reader.
Board games in the Enlightenment and beyond (17th-19th century)
Traditional games such as chess, checkers, backgammon and dominoes continued to prevail throughout the European Renaissance and Enlightenment. With the invention of the printing press, new varieties of games emerged, such as games with themes and themes.
- Agon
- Conspirators
- shōgi
- Halma and Ugolki
Agon
Agon (or Queen's Guard, Queen's Guards, Royal Guards) is a strategy game for two players, played on a hexagonal 6 × 6 × 6 game board.
Agon may be the oldest board game on the hexagonal cell board, which first appeared in France as early as the end of the eighteenth century. The game gained its greatest popularity a century later when it was adopted by the Victorians due to a combination of simple rules and complex strategy.
Conspirators
Conspirateurs is a strategy board game for two or four players, probably invented in 18th century France. It may have originated after 1789 from the French Revolutionary War, "periods of feverish political activity with factions conspiring against each other."
The conspirators are similar to Halmi, Ugolki, Chinese Checkers and Salti, as the pieces jump without catching friendly or hostile pieces to make it easier to race to their targets.
Shogi (Japanese Chess)
Ko Shogi ("wide chess") is a version of shogi or Japanese chess. The game dates back to the 18th century and is based on xiangqi and go, as well as shogi. The credit for his invention goes to the Confucian scholar Ogyū Sorai.
The Tori Shogo (“bird chess”) is a version of the shogi (Japanese chess) invented by Toyota Genry in 1799, although it was traditionally attributed to its master Ōhashi Sōei. It was first published in 1828.
The game is played on a 7 × 7 board and applies the drop rule; it is the only traditional variant of shogi that does this. This is one of the more popular versions of shogi, whose popularity continues to this day! There were even tournaments in London and Royston in the 1990s and early 1990s.
Halma and Ugolki
Halma (from the Greek word meaning “jump”) is a strategy board game invented in 1883 by George Howard Monks, an American thoracic surgeon at Harvard Medical School.
The game board is checkered and divided into 16 × 16 squares. The pieces can be small checkers or countertops, or wooden or plastic cones, or men, reminiscent of small chess pieces. The colors of the pieces are usually black and white for two-player games and different colors or different differences in games for four players.
Ugolki is a version of Halma that is usually played on an 8 × 8 grid board with 16 playing pieces per player. It is said to have been invented in Europe at the end of the 18th century.
Due to the simplicity of the rules and the complexity of the strategy, it is clear that chess has stood the test of time. London hosted the first international chess tournament in 1851.
Examples of Enlightenment board games
Twentieth-century board games: a little closer to home
In the 20th century we see the invention of more recognizable games such as Scrabble , Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Game of Life, Cluedo (Clue), Sorry, Civilization, Candyland and Pictionary. These games were probably the primary means of growing up in your home and most likely the cause of your love (or extreme hatred) for board games today.
The source of monopoly
One of the most famous board games was invented in 1903 in America by a woman named Lizzie Magie. It’s called The Landlord’s Game and was played on a square board that had different ‘properties’ on the outside that players could buy for different amounts. He also had a prison, railroads, utilities ... sounds familiar?
Lizzie wanted to point out how rents enriched property owners while keeping tenants poor and preparing children for the unfair lives of adults. LOL. So now we know why Monopoly is the root of all domestic strife .
Conclusion: The game has begun!
Gambling is now a full-fledged industry with professional gamers, online shows, online RPG series, tutorials and shows for YouTube, indie games that make history with record crowdfunding, and festivals dedicated exclusively to board games.
The market is constantly growing with companies specializing in accessories for board games, shelving, storage, protective cases, scoring systems for mobile applications and music scores!
Not bad if you think that about 7,000 years ago we only had sticks, stones and a few ossuaries.
Maybe it’s just me, but in the continuities of human experience, especially positive ones, there is some deep consolation that shows humanity at its most accessible. Our ancient ancestors may have differed from us in many ways, but we still have common games of chance that connect us and help us understand the past.
We are all part of the same community through the centuries, we have enjoyed board games, we still play versions of ancient games and we will continue to compete, strategize, socialize and collaborate through the wonderful, flexible and timeless medium of board games.
What do you think? Do you know the history of your favorite board game? Which games would you like to try? Leave us a comment below and happy playing!
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