Day 2: Brief look into the origins of board games (Information 'stage')

Every game has a starting point, or a series of influences that shape the game to survive through several generations. Here is my understanding of some of those earlier games, which when looked at, can easily be seen as the origins of several classic games today.


(Information sources: How We Played -Games From Childhood Past, written by Carole Goodfellow, Published by History Press, Wikipedia, the British Museum's website)


Royal game of Ur
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC

                                         (Sourced from British Museum's Mesopatamia Site)

Royal game of Ur
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC

                                         (Sourced from British Museum's Mesopotamia Site)

'Royal Game of Ur' was discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley in the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia. The game was said to be 4500 years old and was found by Woolley in the 1920's. While experts have yet to determine what the rules of this game were, an edition found in southern India has further been interpreted that the aim of the game was that a player would have to move all the counters from the start position to the finish. Moves would be determined by a throw of the dice (3 allotted to each player). The British Museum has an online version on their Mesopotamia Site for up to 2 players to try. It has been said that it has certain similarities with the game Ludo, although this may be due to the fact that it was modern scholars that derived the interpretation.

The Royal Game of Ur was the foundation for game boards found in Egypt, and one in particular; Game Of Twenty Squares.


Game of Twenty Squares/ Game of Senet (3000 BC in an Egyptian burial)

(Sourced from Wikipedia)

While bearing some resemblance to The Royal Game of Ur (TRGU), the game board is a different shape (that of a T) - with a 4 by 3 panel at the top and a tail of eight squares. Playing rules are probably the same as those of TRGU. On the reverse side of the board, often the Game of Senet can be found.
In Ancient Egypt, it is thought that Senet was one of the most popular games amongst the Pharaohs (with images depicting a Pharaoh playing backing up this claim). Some of the boards that were built by workmen remain, being of elaborate design. The game was said to be so popular it was played across the entire social scale, with peasants scratching the design on the floor.
The rules of the game once again resemble those of Ludo. The aim of the game is to move all the players’ markers around the board - whilst preventing the opponent doing the same. The playing space is an S shape and is made up of thirty squares in total. Square 27 sends the player counter that landed on it back to the start. Each player has 5 playing counters (either white or black). The board is said to represent the furrows made by oxen and that the game is a duel between the spirits of the dead in the underworld.

Mehen 

Mehen was a spiral race game that represented a coiled snake the character was the defender of the Sun Boat, usually portrayed as a man with a serpent head. The game counters are in the shape of Lions and Lionesses. The way the game was actually played is not known. However, despite this, the shape and design of the game had many variations produced in eighteenth century England.




Nard

Nard is the ancient game that closely resembles the classic board game, Backgammon. It was widely popular and forms of the game were played in Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and China. The Crusaders are thought to have brought it over to England where it became established in pubs as a good gambling game. It still is considered both a good strategy game and gambling game - however its popularity has waned dramatically.



Alquerque

Another Egyptian game which is an early form of Draughts or Checkers. First introduced into Spain by the Moors and described in Libro de los Juegos (Book of Games), produced for the current King of Castile (Alfonso X) in 1283.
Much like checkers, each player has a set amount of counters that can be moved from 'station' to 'station' (there are 25 stations of play on the game board). If moving results in jumping over an opponent’s counter, it is removed from the game board. Several successive jumps can be made, however should the opportunity to 'take' an opponent's piece by jumping it not be taken, then the player's piece is removed from play.
Several variations of Alquerque have been spread across the world. For example in New Mexico the Zuni tribe play 'Awithlaknannai' and in Sri Lanka, there is Peralikatuma (where four triangles have been added to the original board). These variations have similarities with other board games - such as Solitaire.

Mancala (Wari or Oware)

Again, dating back to Egypt, Mancala has been played all over the world, but it has been most effective in Africa. The game was transported to the West Indies by slave trade and due to its versatile nature still is extremely popular now. This is likely due to the fact that the game can be played at any time. Game boards have been known to be constructed of wood, clay or even scooped out of the ground (with any small object used as counters). The board usually has 6 'compartments' for each player and a seventh to hold any counters she/he might capture, although the aim of the game is to capture the opponent’s compartments. Experts can play the game at great speed, and like many games there are national and international tournaments. Of course for most, playing is about the enjoyment.

Go

Aside from chess, Go is considered one of the best ancient games (originating in the Far East) played today. Unlike many games it has changed little in terms of rules. The board is a 19 by 19 gridded area, but the game is played on the 361 'points' on the square points. The aim of the game is to surround opponent counters to capture them. Once placed down counters can't move. However protective chains can be formed (although if they are surrounded - all counters are captured). 
A simplified version of the game plays much like Tic Tac Toe or Connect, with the first player to get 5 counters in a line to win. The board size also shrinks to 13 by 13.