Games - Board game

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	Games - Board game

A board game is any game played on a board (that is, a premarked surface) with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. Simple board games are often seen as ideal "family entertainment" as they can provide entertainment for all ages. Some board games, such as Chess, Oware, or Go, have intense strategic value and have become lasting classics.

There are many different types and classifications of board games. Some games are simplified simulations of real life. These are popular for they can intermingle make-believe and role playing along with the game. Popular games of this type include Monopoly
, which is a rough simulation of the real estate market; Cluedo
/Clue
, which is based upon a murder mystery; and Risk
, which is one of the best known of thousands of games attempting to simulate warfare and geo-politics.

Other games only loosely, or do not at all, attempt to imitate reality. These include abstract strategy games like chess and checkers, word games, such as Scrabble
, and trivia games, such as Trivial Pursuit
.

History

Board games have a long history and have been played in most cultures and societies; some even pre-date literacy skill development in the earliest civilizations. A number of important historical sites, artifacts and documents exist which shed light on early board games. The most of important of these include:

Senet
has been found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt, c. 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively . Senet is the oldest board game known to have existed. Also see for a photo of the actual fresco found in Merknera's tomb (3300-2700 BC).
Mehen
is another ancient board game from Predynastic Egypt.
The Royal Tombs of Ur contained, among others, the Royal Game of Ur
. They were excavated by C. Leonard Woolley, but his books document little on the games found. Most of the games he excavated are now housed in the British Museum in London.
Buddha games list is the earliest known list of games.

Timeline

3500 BC - Senet
found in Predynastic Egyptian burials ; also depicted in the tomb of Merknera.
3000 BC - Mehen
, board game from Predynastic Egypt, played with lion-shaped game pieces and marbles.
2560 BC - Board of the Royal Game of Ur
(found at Ur Tombs)
2500 BC - Paintings of Senet
and Han being played made in the tomb of Rashepes
2000 BC - Drawing in a tomb at Benihassan depicting two unknown board games being played (depicted in Falkner). It has been suggested that the second of these is Tau.
1500 BC - Liubo
carved on slab of blue stone. Also painting of of Knossos.
1400 BC - Game boards including Alquerque
, Three Men's Morris
, Nine Men's Morris
, and a possible Mancala
board etched on the roof of the Kurna Temple. (Source: Fiske, and Bell)
200 BC - A Go
board pre-dating 200 BC was found in 1954 in Wangdu County. This board is now in Beijing Historical Museum. (Source: John Fairbairn's ).
116 - 27 BC - Marcus Terentius Varro's (II, par. 20) contains earliest known reference to latrunculi (often confused with Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum
, Ovid's game mentioned below).
79 - 8 BC - Liu Xiang's (劉向) Shuo yuan, contains earliest known reference to Xiangqi
.
1 BC-8 AD Ovid's Ars Amatoria contains earliest known reference to Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum
and the smaller merels.
220-265 Nard
enters China under the name t'shu-p'u (Source: Hun Tsun Sii)

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Games - Board game

History

Timeline

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