History of Board Games: Origins, Evolution & Famous Games Through Time
Man has been rolling dice and moving pieces on engraved stones even before he had developed any form of language, advanced mathematics, or even a simple fork.
Long before players could open a browser to play checkers online or turn on computer screens for entertainment, board games had already become an indispensable part of human culture. The history of board games can be traced back to ancient pharaonic burial chambers and even to today’s tabletop cafes.
FAQs
- The first board games had divine and divinatory purposes; other intentions behind the game were to examine an individual's future; it was also used to teach military strategy or as diplomatic tools by tradespeople when communicating in new lands.
- There have been many fragments of games dating back 5000 years but the oldest board game we know about, which is still around today, is Senet, which dates back to 3100BC.
- Some early board games also contained religious meaning and the Egyptians believed that playing Senet could give them an understanding of their soul and its passage to the afterlife.
- Non-structured, random, traditional games based on dice and stones eventually evolved into commercially produced, strategic games with elaborate stories, many different themes and player interaction.
