History

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Senet is among the oldest known board games.

Ancient Greek hoplites playing a board game, ca. 520 BC, Olympia, Greece.

Another game board found in the Jiroft civilization.

Board games have been played in most cultures and societies throughout history; 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. Some of these include:

• The Jiroft civilization game boards
• Senet has been found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt, c. 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively.^[1] Senet is the oldest board game known to have existed, and was pictured in a fresco found in Merknera's tomb (3300-2700 BC).^[2]
• Mehen is another ancient board game from Predynastic Egypt.
• Go is an ancient strategic board game originating in China
• Patolli is a board game originating in Mesoamerica, and was played by the ancient Aztec.
• The Royal Tombs of Ur contained, among others, the Royal Game of Ur. They were excavated by 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.
• The Buddha games list is the earliest known list of games.

Timeline

• c. 3500 BC: Senet found under Predynastic Egyptian burials;^[1] also depicted in the tomb of Merknera.
• c. 3000 BC: The Mehen board game from Predynastic Egypt, was played with lion-shaped gamepieces and marbles.
• c. 3000 BC: Ancient backgammon set, found in the Burnt City in Iran.^[3][4]
• c. 2560 BC: Board of the Royal Game of Ur (found at Ur Tombs)
• c. 2500 BC: Paintings of Senet and Han being played depicted in the tomb of Rashepes^{[citation needed]}
• c. 1500 BC: Painting of board game at Knossos.^[5]
• c. 500 BC: The Buddha games list mentions board games played on 8 or 10 rows.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Chaturaji, played in India, starting position. Pieces with different colors (some shown as inverted) were used for each of four sides.

• c. 500 BC: The earliest reference to Pachisi in the Mahabharata, the Indian epic.
• c. 400 BC: Two ornately decorated Liubo game boards from a royal tomb of the State of Zhongshan in China.^[6]
• c. 400 BC: The earliest written reference to Go/Weiqi in the historical annal Zuo Zhuan. Go/Weiqi is also mentioned in the Analects of Confucius (c. 5th century BC).^[7]
• 116-27 BC: Marcus Terentius Varro's Lingua Latina X (II, par. 20) contains earliest known reference to Latrunculi^[8] (often confused with Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, Ovid's game mentioned below).
• 1 BC-8 AD: Ovid's Ars Amatoria contains earliest known reference to Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum.
• 1 BC-8 AD: The Roman Game of kings is a game of which little is known, and which is more or less contemporary with the Latrunculi.
• c. 43 AD: The Stanway Game is buried with the Druid of Colchester.^[9]
• c. 200 AD: A stone Go/Weiqi board with a 17×17 grid from a tomb at Wangdu County in Hebei, China.^[10]
• 220-265: Backgammon enters China under the name t'shu-p'u (Source: Hun Tsun Sii)^{[citation needed]}
• c. 400 onwards: Tafl games played in Northern Europe.^[11]

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Chaturanga: played in India.The position of the pieces at the start of a game.^[12] Note that the Ràjas do not face each other; the white Ràja starts on e1 and the black Ràja on d8.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Ashtāpada, the uncheckered 8x8 board, sometimes with special markers, on which Chaturanga was played.

• c. 600 The earliest references to Chaturanga written in Subandhu's Vasavadatta and Banabhatta's Harsha Charitha early Indian books.^{[citation needed]}
• c. 600: The earliest reference to Chatrang written in Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan.^{[citation needed]}
• c.1283:
  

  

  The game of astronomical tables, from Libro de los juegos
  Alfonso X of Castile in Spain commissioned Libro de ajedrez, dados, y tablas ("Libro de los Juegos" (The Book of Games)) translated into Castilian from Arabic and added illustrations with the goal of perfecting the work.^[13][14]
• c. 1930: Monopoly stabilises into the version that is currently popular.
• 1957: Risk is released.
• c. 1980: German-style board games begin to develop as a genre.

Many board games are now available as computer games, which can include the computer itself as one of several players, or as sole opponent. The rise of computer use is one of the reasons said to have led to a relative decline in board games.^{[citation needed]} Many board games can now be played online against a computer and/or other players. Some websites allow play in real time and immediately show the opponents' moves, while others use email to notify the players after each move (see the links at the end of this article).^{[citation needed]} Modern technology (the internet and cheaper home printing) has also influenced board games via the phenomenon of print-and-play board games that you buy and print yourself.

Some board games make use of components in addition to—or instead of—a board and playing pieces. Some games use CDs, video cassettes, and, more recently, DVDs in accompaniment to the game.

 

from =--->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_game