History Of Board Games

Board games are among the world’s oldest and most popular forms of amusement. 

The first board games were played about 5500 years ago according to archeologists. Ancient board games have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to the year 3500 BC and in the remains of the Jiroft Civilization in Iran which dates to the same time period. Archeological evidence indicates that board games were played throughout the ancient world in such divergent civilizations as Greece, Babylon, India and China.

The world’s oldest board game is Senet which has been found in Ancient Egyptian Tombs. Senet was played by the pharaohs and the Ancient Egyptians believed that a really good player could earn the favor of the gods and entrance to the afterlife. Senet sets were placed in tombs so the dead would have something to do on the way to the afterlife. Unfortunately the rules of Senet have been lost in the sands of time.  A number of companies still market Senet sets based on those found in Egyptian tombs. The rules these games are played by are a purely modern invention.

The first prohibition against the playing of board games was made by the Buddha who composed a list of games he would not play in the Fifth or Sixth Century BC. The list includes a board game that sounds a great deal like Chess.

One of the oldest widely played board games is backgammon, a backgammon set from 3000 BC was found in the Burnt City ruins in Iran. Backgammon type games were played by the Romans and the Ancient Chinese.

Unfortunately the rules to many ancient board games including Egyptian Senet, Roman ludus duodecim scriptorum and Chinese Luido have been lost. We know the Ancients played these games because board game and card games sets have been found in archeological digs we just don’t know the rules.

The Indian game Chaturanga believed to be the ancestor of Chess dates to the Fifth Century. The modern game of Chess evolved from this game in Southern Europe in the 15th Century after spreading there from the Islamic world. 

Modern Board Games appeared in the 19th Century when manufacturers began manufacturing and selling the games. The most popular modern board games are Monopoly, Clue and Risk which became popular in the Mid 20th Century. 

Currently German style board games which are much faster paced are very popular. Many board games are undergoing a resurgence because they can be played online.