Have you ever stopped to wonder when and where board games were invented? Our journey starts back, way way back, all the way to the Neolithic period…although we doubt they were playing Patchwork!
Ancient Times
It seems that as long as people have existed, they have created forms of entertainment, so I suppose it’s not surprising that archaeologists have found evidence of primitive game boards dating all the way back to 7000 BC.
Three particular games are debated to be the oldest known board games in the word, Senet, Mehen, and the Royal Game of Ur. Evidence of these games has been uncovered from Egyptian burials and royal tombs, with dates ranging from 2300 BC to 3500 BC. These incredible finds leave us with many unanswered questions, and sparks the imagination of who the people playing these games were, and the fascinating lives they lived.
The image above shows an ancient Grecian urn, dating back to 510 BC, depicting Achilles and Ajax playing a board game overseen by Athena.
Golden Age
Between 1880-1920, the introduction of board games to a wider market really took off. Mass production made games cheaper and easily available for families to purchase. The Game Of Life, and Monopoly, are two examples of games which really became popular during this period.
The image above shows an original patent for The Landlord’s Game, a predecessor of Monopoly, created by Lizzie Maggie, alongside a photograph of a more modern Monopoly board.
Modern Day
In the late 1990s, board games exploded. Companies started producing more and more games to serve the growing market. Catan is widely credited as bringing German-style board games outside of the European market, and to a worldwide audience. What used to be seen as more of a hobbyist activity, became more attainable to the masses.
In the 2000s, we saw even more expansion into the game market, with popular games like Carcassonne. This period is often known as the Board Game Renaissance, pivoting away from Golden Era board games such as Monopoly, and bringing games such as Ticket to Ride, into the spotlight.
