
3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively, is the oldest board game known to have existed. Senet, found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt, c. Several important historical sites, artifacts, and documents shed light on early board games such as Jiroft civilization game boards in Iran. īoard games have been played, traveled, and evolved in most cultures and societies throughout history. History įurther information: History of games Ancient Ĭlassical board games are divided into four categories: race games (such as pachisi), space games (such as noughts and crosses), chase games (such as hnefatafl), and games of displacement (such as chess). The time required to learn or master gameplay varies greatly from game to game, but is not necessarily related to the number or complexity of rules for example, chess or Go possess relatively simple rulesets but have great strategic depth. Play components now often include custom figures or shaped counters, and distinctively shaped player pieces commonly known as meeples as well as traditional cards and dice. Rules can range from the very simple, such as in snakes and ladders to deeply complex, as in Advanced Squad Leader. Their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, such as checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, such as Cluedo. Pandemic is a cooperative game where players all win or lose as a team, and peg solitaire is a puzzle for one person. To show a few examples: in checkers (British English name 'draughts'), a player wins by capturing all opposing pieces, while Eurogames often end with a calculation of final scores. Many board games feature a competition between two or more players.

These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Young girls playing a board game in the Iisalmi, Finland, library in 2016īoard games are tabletop games that typically use pieces.
