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Senet is believed to be the oldest board game known to have existed. Evidence of its use is a tomb fresco of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertari playing the game.
Hounds and jackals is another board game played in ancient Egypt around 2000 BCE.
Dice have been used since before recorded history. Although illegal at the time, gambling was a favorite pastime of many Romans. Pictured is a pair of Roman dice made from carved bone, 1st century BCE.
Games of dice feature on many Roman mosaics and wall frescos, such as this dining room scene at El Jem in Tunisia.
Dominoes first appeared in China in the 1300s. The game as we know it today, however, originated in 18th-century Italy. By 1863, domino tiles were being set across tabletops throughout Europe and North America.
The Royal Game of Ur, a two-player strategy race board game, was being played in Mesopotamia as early as 2600 BCE. It's a precursor to backgammon.
Patolli and its variants were played by a wide range of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures and were known all over Mesoamerica. In this illustration, a game is being watched over by the Aztec deity Macuilxochitl.
The ancient Chinese board game of liubo was popular in the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). It involved two players who gamble using dice, counters, gaming pieces, and a marked board, the set made from earthenware with pigment and bone.
Chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. Its history can be traced back nearly 1,500 years to India and its earliest known predecessor, called Chaturanga. From India it spread to Persia and developed into Shatranj. In this image, Sasanian Empire King Khosrow I sits on his throne before the chessboard, while his vizir, or political advisor, and an Indian envoy are playing chess.
The game of Go was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. Pictured is a group of palace ladies playing the game in the Forbidden City, Beijing, during the Ming dynasty.
Nine Men's Morris may have been played as early as 1400 in Egypt. It was certainly popular in the Roman Empire, but the game truly developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
A classic board game enjoyed around the world, snakes and ladders originated in ancient India, where it was known as Moksha Patam. It arrived in modified form in Great Britain in the late 19th century. In the United States, the game is better known as chutes and ladders.
The first commercial board game to make an appearance in Great Britain was called called The Mansion of Happiness, arriving in 1800. It was created by children's author and gaming designer George Fox, inspired by tales of Christian morality.
One of many games produced in the US in the 1880s with a "rags to riches" theme, Game of the District Messenger Boy was one of the earliest American games to insinuate that social status is increased with the accumulation of wealth.
Monopoly eventually went on to be printed in 47 languages. And according to Monopoly Land, more Monopoly money is printed each year than real US dollars!
In 1892 this theme was expanded upon when Elizabeth Magie invented The Landlord's Game, essentially a realty and taxation board game and the inspiration for Monopoly.
In 1935, Charles B. Darrow (pictured) conceived Monopoly, one of the most successful board games in the world.
Another iconic game board that emerged out of the United States in the 1930s is Scrabble. It was invented by Alfred M. Butts, who based it on an earlier game of his own called Criss-Crosswords. He's pictured with a vintage Criss-Crosswords board and tiles.
Trivial Pursuit was the must-have board game of the early 1980s. It was invented in 1979 by Canadians Scott Abbot and Chris Haney. By 1984, 20 million copies of the game had been sold, and by 2010 global sales of the game had reached 100 million copies in 26 countries and 17 languages. It remains one of the best-selling board games of the modern era.
Sources: (New-York Historical Society) (Monopoly Land) (OEIS)
Risk owes its existence to French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse, who in 1957 came up with the idea of a game he called La Conquete Du Monde ("The Conquest of the World"). In 1959, American game makers Parker Brothers launched an English-language version called Risk. The game resonated with players because it appeared during the time of Cold War hostility between the US and the Soviet Union.
Milton Bradley's 1860 board game The Checkered Game for Life later became known as The Game of Life, modernized and redesigned in 1960. The game is now owned by Hasbro, the company that bought out the Milton Bradley Company in 1984.
The outstanding success of Cluedo lies in the fact that it's a murder-mystery board game that allows players to become home-grown detectives. The game first appeared in 1943, devised by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game is marketed as Clue in the United States. Numerous games, books, a film, television series, and a musical have been released as part of the Cluedo franchise, adding to its lucrative worldwide profile.
Pachisi, a game for two, three, or four players, also originated in India and is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross using cowrie shells. It first appeared in the 4th century CE. The modern games of Ludo and Sorry! are derived from Pachisi.
Sorry! was conceived in 1929 by English game designer William Henry Storey, who based the concept on the ancient Indian game of Pachisi. It's still being sold today.
In 1948, Candy Land appeared in toy stores across the United States and was an immediate hit with younger children. It was designed in hospital by Eleanor Abbott while she was recovering from polio.
Battleship was, er, launched in 1978, but was originally devised in 1967 by Milton Bradley. Its enormous appeal has spawned electronic versions, video games, smart device apps, and a film.
Yahtzee, played using dice, was first marketed as Yatzie in the early 1940s by the Milton Bradley Company. Game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe filed Yahtzee as a trademark in 1956, and it's been known as such ever since.
In 1974, the Milton Bradley Company unveiled Connect Four, a game that's also known as Plot Four, Find Four, and, intriguingly, Captain's Mistress. And here's an amazing fact: mathematicians have worked out that the number of possible game board positions is an astonishing 4,531,985,219,092!
In 1860, American business magnate Milton Bradley founded the Milton Bradley Company. He quickly released the Checkered Game for Life, the first popular board game in the United States. Bradley is credited with launching the board game industry.
Did you know that some of the world's favorite board games have their roots in antiquity? Many of these ancient tabletop pastimes subsequently went on to inspire game designers in the 19th century to invent products such as Ludo and The Checkered Game for Life. These in turn spawned the creation of a wealth of iconic board games including Risk, Sorry! and, of course, Monopoly.
So, what exactly were they playing in centuries past, and who do we thank for devising today's favorite board games? Click through and join the gameplay!
The origins of Monopoly and other classic board games
The history of tabletop entertainment
LIFESTYLE Entertainment
Did you know that some of the world's favorite board games have their roots in antiquity? Many of these ancient tabletop pastimes subsequently went on to inspire game designers in the 19th century to invent products such as Ludo and The Checkered Game for Life. These in turn spawned the creation of a wealth of iconic board games including Risk, Sorry! and, of course, Monopoly.
So, what exactly were they playing in centuries past, and who do we thank for devising today's favorite board games? Click through and join the gameplay!