Today at the Addison Athletic Club, a group of us played a couple of board games — Family Feud and Which Came First? In Family Feud, you have to answer questions in the same manner that a previous audience has answered to win. So, “Name something people are afraid of” would have to include spiders, heights, other people, dying, the dark, ghosts, snakes, the IRS, being alone and their boss/getting fired. On the other hand, a “Which Came First” question example might be “Which came first: sliced bread or Betty White?” The answer is Betty White. She was born January 17, 1922, and sliced bread was invented in 1928. I have played my share of board games throughout my life including Clue, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, etc., and I find them to be very entertaining if you don’t get bogged down in the rules. I should never be a detective. I am never very good at Clue. I don’t amass many hotels, so am not a good real estate agent either. Trivial Pursuit I can do well at if it is geared toward my generation. So, the Baby Boomer edition is my game. I can remember playing Candyland as a child. Our edition had some plastic apparatus you attached to the game where things moved. It was a lot of fun. So, board games haven’t always been my forte, but they were entertaining. Let’s learn more about them.
According to Wikipedia, board games are tabletop games that typically use pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked board or playing surface and often include elements of table, card, role-playing and miniatures games.
Most feature a competition between two or more players. In checkers, a player wins by capturing all opposing pieces, while Eurogames often end with a calculation of final scores. Pandemic is a cooperative game where players all win or lose as a team, and peg solitaire is a puzzle for one person.
There are many varieties of board games. 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. Rules can range from the very simple, such as in Snakes and Ladders, to deeply complex, as in Advanced Squad Leader.
The time required to learn to play or master a game varies greatly from game to game, but is not necessarily correlated with the number or complexity of rules; games like chess or Go possess relatively simple rulesets, but have great strategic depth.
Ancient board games
Classical board games are divided into four categories of games.
Race games such as Pachisi
Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text Mahabharata under the name of "Pasha." It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move around the board based upon a throw of six or seven cowrie shells, with the number of shells resting with aperture upward indicating the number of spaces to move.
The name of the game is derived from the Hindi word paccīs, meaning "twenty-five," the largest score that can be thrown with the cowrie shells; thus this game is also known by the name Twenty-Five. There are other versions of this game where the largest score that can be thrown is thirty.
Tic-tac-toe, noughts and crosses or Xs and Os
Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English) or Xs and Os (Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with X or O. The player who succeeds in placing three of their marks in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row is the winner. It is a solved game, with a forced draw assuming best play from both players.
Tic-tac-toe is played on a three-by-three grid by two players, who alternately place the marks X and O in one of the nine spaces in the grid.There is no universally agreed rule as to who plays first, but in this article the convention that X plays first is used.
Players soon discover that the best play from both parties leads to a draw. Hence, tic-tac-toe is often played by young children who may not have discovered the optimal strategy.
Because of the simplicity of tic-tac-toe, it is often used as a pedagogical tool for teaching the concepts of good sportsmanship and the branch of artificial intelligence that deals with the searching of game trees. It is straightforward to write a computer program to play tic-tac-toe perfectly or to enumerate the 765 essentially different positions (the state space complexity) or the 26,830 possible games up to rotations and reflections (the game tree complexity) on this space. If played optimally by both players, the game always ends in a draw, making tic-tac-toe a futile game.
The game can be generalized to an m,n,k-game, in which two players alternate placing stones of their own color on an m-by-n board with the goal of getting k of their own color in a row. Tic-tac-toe is the 3,3,3-game. Harary's generalized tic-tac-toe is an even broader generalization of tic-tac-toe. It can also be generalized as an nd game, specifically one in which n equals 3 and d equals 2. It can be generalized even further by playing on an arbitrary incidence structure, where rows are lines and cells are points. Tic-tac-toe's incidence structure consists of nine points, three horizontal lines, three vertical lines and two diagonal lines, with each line consisting of at least three points.
Games played on three-in-a-row boards can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where such game boards have been found on roofing tiles dating from around 1300 BC.
An early variation of tic-tac-toe was played in the Roman Empire, around the first century BC. It was called terni lapilli — three pebbles at a time — and instead of having any number of pieces, each player had only three; thus, they had to move them around to empty spaces to keep playing. The game's grid markings have been found chalked all over Rome. Another closely related ancient game is three men's morris which is also played on a simple grid and requires three pieces in a row to finish and Picaria, a game of the Puebloans.
The different names of the game are more recent. The first print reference to "noughts and crosses" — nought being an alternative word for 'zero' — the British name, appeared in 1858, in an issue of Notes and Queries. The first print reference to a game called "tick-tack-toe" occurred in 1884, but referred to "a children's game played on a slate, consisting of trying with the eyes shut to bring the pencil down on one of the numbers of a set, the number hit being scored." "Tic-tac-toe" may also derive from "tick-tack," the name of an old version of backgammon first described in 1558. The U.S. renaming of "noughts and crosses" to "tic-tac-toe" occurred in the 20th century.
In 1952, OXO or Noughts and Crosses, developed by British computer scientist Sandy Douglas for the EDSAC computer at the University of Cambridge, became one of the first known video games. The computer player could play perfect games of tic-tac-toe against a human opponent.
In 1975, tic-tac-toe was also used by MIT students to demonstrate the computational power of Tinkertoy elements. The Tinkertoy computer, made out of almost only Tinkertoys, is able to play tic-tac-toe perfectly. It is currently on display at the Museum of Science, Boston.
Hnefatafl games
Tafl games — also known as hnefatafl games — are a family of ancient Nordic and Celtic strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Most probably they are based upon the Roman game Ludus latrunculorum. Names of different variants of Tafl include Hnefatafl, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd, Brandubh, Ard Rí and Alea Evangelii. Games in the tafl family were played in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Ireland and Lapland. Tafl gaming was eventually supplanted by chess in the 12th century, but the tafl variant of the Sami people, tablut, was in play until at least the 1700s. The rules for tablut were written down by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732, and these were translated from Latin to English in 1811. All modern tafl games are based on the 1811 translation, which had many errors. New rules were added to amend the issues resulting from these errors, leading to the creation of a modern family of tafl games. In addition, tablut is now also played in accordance with its original rules, which have been retranslated.
Senet
Senet
Board games have been played, traveled, and evolved in most cultures and societies throughout history. A number of important historical sites, artifacts and documents shed light on early board games such as Jiroft civilization gameboards in Iran. Senet, found in predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt, c. 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively, is the oldest board game known to have existed. Senet was pictured in a fresco found in Merknera's tomb (3300–2700 BC). Also from predynastic Egypt is Mehen.
Senet (cf. Coptic ⲥⲓⲛⲉ /sinə/ "passing, afternoon") is a board game from ancient Egypt. The earliest representation of senet is dated to c. 2620 BCE from the Mastaba of Hesy-Re, while similar boards and hieroglyphic signs are found even earlier. The game fell out of use following the Roman period, and its original rules are the subject of conjecture.
The senet gameboard is a grid of 30 squares, arranged in three rows of ten. A senet board has two sets of pawns, at least five of each. Although details of the original game rules are a subject of some conjecture, historians Timothy Kendall and R. C. Bell have made their own reconstructions of the game rules. These rules are based on snippets of texts that span over a thousand years, over which time gameplay is likely to have changed. Therefore, it is unlikely these rules reflect the exact course of ancient Egyptian gameplay. Their rules have been adopted by sellers of modern senet sets. Scenes found in Old Kingdom tombs, dating 2686–2160 BCE, reveal that Senet was a game of position, strategy, and a bit of luck.
Fragmentary boards that could be senet have been found in First Dynasty burials in Egypt, c. 3100 BCE. The first unequivocal painting of this ancient game is from the Third Dynasty tomb of Hesy c. 2686–2613 BCE. People are depicted playing senet in a painting in the tomb of Rashepes, as well as from other tombs of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties c. 2500 BCE. The oldest intact senet boards date to the Middle Kingdom, but graffiti on Fifth and Sixth Dynasty monuments could date as early as the Old Kingdom.
At least by the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1550–1077 BCE), senet was conceived as a representation of the journey of the ka or the vital spark to the afterlife. This connection is made in the Great Game Text, which appears in a number of papyri, as well as the appearance of markings of religious significance on senet boards themselves. The game is also referred to in chapter XVII of the “Book of the Dead.” A study on a senet board in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, dating back to the early New Kingdom of Egypt, showed the evolution of the game from its secular origins into a more religious artifact.
Hounds and Jackals
Hounds and Jackals — another ancient Egyptian board game — appeared around 2000 BC. The first complete set of this game was discovered from a Theban tomb that dates to the 13th dynasty. This game was also popular in Mesopotamia and the Caucasus.
Backgammon originated in ancient Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago. Ashtapada, chess, Pachisi and chaupar originated in India. Go and liubo originated in China. Patolli originated in Mesoamerica played by the ancient Aztecs and the Royal Game of Ur was found in the Royal Tombs of Ur, dating to Mesopotamia 4,600 years ago. The earliest known games list is the Buddha games list.
European board games
Board games have a long tradition in Europe. The oldest records of board gaming in Europe date back to Homer's Iliad written in the 8th century BC, in which he mentions the Ancient Greek game of petteia. This game of petteia would later evolve into the Roman ludus latrunculorum. Board gaming in ancient Europe was not unique to the Greco-Roman world, with records estimating that the ancient Norse game of Hnefatafl was developed sometime before 400 AD. In ancient Ireland, the game of fidchell or ficheall is said to date back to at least 144 AD, though this is likely an anachronism. A fidchell board dating from the 10th century has been uncovered in Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
The association of dice and cards with gambling led to all dice games except backgammon being treated as lotteries by dice in the gaming acts of 1710 and 1845. Early board game producers in the second half of the 18th century were mapmakers. The global popularization of board games — with special themes and branding — coincided with the formation of the global dominance of the British Empire. John Wallis was an English board game publisher, bookseller, map/chart seller, printseller, music seller and cartographer. With his sons John Wallis Jr. and Edward Wallis, he was one of the most prolific publishers of board games of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. John Betts' A Tour of the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions and William Spooner's A Voyage of Discovery were popular in the British empire. Kriegsspiel is a genre of wargaming developed in 19th century Prussia to teach battle tactics to officers.
The image is of John Wallis’ The New Game of Human Life published in 1790. The game is played as a journey through life from the age of 1 to 84. The Age of Man is divided into seven periods, each of 12 years: Infancy to Youth, Manhood, Prime of Life, Sedate Middle Age, Old Age, Decrepitude and Dotage. He passes through life in a variety of situations that are arranged in the order in which they generally succeed each other. The game is played with a teetotum, an early form of dice. The “Utility and Moral Tendency” of this game is described thus:
“If parents who take upon themselves the pleasing task of instructing their children (orothers to whom that important trust may be delegated) will cause them to stop at each character and request their attention to a few moral and judicious observations, explanatory of each character as they proceed and contrast the happiness of a virtuous and well-spent life with the fatal consequences arising from vicious and immortal pursuits, this game may be rendered the most useful andamusing of any that has hitherto been offered to the public.”
United States games
In 17th and 18th century colonial America, the agrarian life of the country left little time for game playing, although draughts or checkers, bowling and card games were not unknown. The Pilgrims and Puritans of New England frowned on game-playing and viewed dice as instruments of the devil. When Governor William Bradford discovered a group of non-Puritans playing stool-ball, pitching the bar and pursuing other sports in the streets on Christmas Day 1622, he confiscated their implements, reprimanded them and told them their devotion for the day should be confined to their homes.
In “Thoughts on Lotteries” in 1826 Thomas Jefferson wrote:
Almost all these pursuits of chance [i.e., of human industry] produce something useful to society. But there are some which produce nothing and endanger the well-being of the individuals engaged in them or of others depending on them. Such are games with cards, dice, billiards, etc. And although the pursuit of them is a matter of natural right, yet society, perceiving the irresistible bent of some of its members to pursue them, and the ruin produced by them to the families depending on these individuals, consider it as a case of insanity, quoad hoc, step in to protect the family and the party himself, as in other cases of insanity, infancy, imbecility, etc., and suppress the pursuit altogether, and the natural right of following it. There are some other games of chance, useful on certain occasions, and injurious only when carried beyond their useful bounds. Such are insurances, lotteries, raffles, etc. These they do not suppress but take their regulation under their own discretion.
The board game Traveller's Tour Through the United States and its sister game Traveller's Tour Through Europe were published by New York City bookseller F. & R. Lockwood in 1822 and claim the distinction of being the first board games published in the United States. The board is a map of the United States c. 1822, the westernmost states being Missouri and Louisiana. Because dice were frowned upon as instruments of the horrible vice of gambling, included a teetotum, a sort of spinner used to randomly yield a number from 1 to 8. This was used to determine the first player. Lines are drawn on the map to connect cities in a continuous path which players must follow. However, the cities are not named, but numbered. Upon arrival at a new city, the player must correctly name the place and — if playing the advanced version — its population or lose a turn and try again. The first to reach New Orleans — which had a population of 10,000 — wins.
As the U.S. shifted from agrarian to urban living in the 19th century, greater leisure time and a rise in income became available to the middle class. The American home — once the center of economic production — became the locus of entertainment, enlightenment and education under the supervision of mothers. Children were encouraged to play board games that developed literacy skills and provided moral instruction.
The earliest board games published in the United States were based upon Christian morality. The Mansion of Happiness in 1843, for example, sent players along a path of virtues and vices that led to the Mansion of Happiness or heaven. The Game of Pope and Pagan: The Siege of the Stronghold of Satan by the Christian Army in 1844 pitted an image on its board of a Hindu woman committing suttee — a historical Hindu practice in which a widow sacrificed herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre — against missionaries landing on a foreign shore. The missionaries are cast in white as "the symbol of innocence, temperance and hope," while the pope and pagan are cast in black, the color of "gloom of error, and ... grief at the daily loss of empire."
Commercially produced board games in the mid-19th century were monochrome prints laboriously hand-colored by teams of low-paid young factory women. Advances in papermaking and printmaking during the period enabled the commercial production of relatively inexpensive board games. The most significant advance was the development of chromolithography, a technological achievement that made bold, richly colored images available at affordable prices. Games cost as little as 25 cents for a small, boxed card game to $3.00 for more elaborate games.
American Protestants believed a virtuous life led to success, but the belief was challenged mid-century when the country embraced materialism and capitalism. In 1860, The Checkered Game of Life rewarded players for mundane activities such as attending college, marrying and getting rich. Daily life rather than eternal life became the focus of board games. The game was the first to focus on secular virtues rather than religious virtues and sold 40,000 copies its first year.
Game of the District Messenger Boy, or Merit Rewarded — published in 1886 by the New York City firm of McLoughlin Brothers — was one of the first board games based on materialism and capitalism published in the United States. The game is a typical roll-and-move track board game. Players move their tokens along the track at the spin of the arrow toward the goal at the track's end. Some spaces on the track will advance the player while others will send him back.
In the affluent 1880s, Americans witnessed the publication of Algeresque rags to riches games that permitted players to emulate the capitalist heroes of the age. One of the first such games — The Game of the District Messenger Boy — encouraged the idea that the lowliest messenger boy could ascend the corporate ladder to its topmost rung. Such games insinuated that the accumulation of wealth brought increased social status. Competitive capitalistic games culminated in 1935 with Monopoly, the most commercially successful board game in U.S. history.
McLoughlin Brothers published similar games based on the telegraph boy theme including Game of the Telegraph Boy, or Merit Rewarded in 1888. Greg Downey notes in his essay, "Information Networks and Urban Spaces: The Case of the Telegraph Messenger Boy" that families who could afford the deluxe version of the game in its chromolithographed, wood-sided box would not "have sent their sons out for such a rough apprenticeship in the working world."
Margaret Hofer described the period of the 1880s–1920s as "The Golden Age" of board gaming in America. Board game popularity was boosted — like that of many items — through mass production, which made them cheaper and more easily available. Although there are no detailed statistics, some scholars suggest that the 20th century saw a decline in the popularity of the hobby.
Market
While the board gaming market is estimated to be smaller than that for video games, it has also experienced significant growth from the late 1990s. A 2012 article in The Guardian described board games as "making a comeback." Other expert sources suggest that board games never went away, and that board games have remained a popular leisure activity which has only grown over time. Another from 2014 gave an estimate that put the growth of the board game market at "between 25% and 40% annually" since 2010 and described the current time as the "golden era for board games." The rise in board game popularity has been attributed to quality improvement — more elegant mechanics, components, artwork and graphics — as well as increased availability thanks to sales through the internet. Crowdsourcing for board games is a large facet of the market, with $233 million raised on Kickstarter in 2020.
A 1991 estimate for the global board game market was over $1.2 billion. A 2001 estimate for the United States "board games and puzzle" market gave a value of under $400 million, and for the United Kingdom, about £50 million. A 2009 estimate for the Korean market was put at 800 million won, and another estimate for the American board game market for the same year was at about $800 million. A 2011 estimate for the Chinese board game market was at over 10 billion yuan. A 2013 estimate put the size of the German toy market at 2.7 billion euros — out of which, the board games and puzzle market is worth about 375 million euros — and Polish markets, at 2 billion and 280 million złoties, respectively. Per capita, in 2009 Germany was considered to be the best market, with the highest number of games sold per individual.
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