Ancient Board Games

Here are four board games -- the Royal Game of Ur; Mehen, the Game of the Snake; Hounds and Jackals; and the Egyptian Game of Senet -- which were popular in the days of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and in nearby countries from about 5,000 years ago, chosen and recreated by Dr. Irving Finkel of the British Museum. Everything you need to play them is here: the playing boards recreated in sumptuous colors, playing pieces, and full instructions including variations and other possibilities you may like to try.

Everyone plays board games, and everyone will find something to fascinate them in this book about the games of the past, and their history and development. Based on the lectures given at a conference in the British Museum, this book tells the story in a properly academic way, but it is no less interesting for that ... and perhaps even more interesting! The book begins with three chapters on the games of the ancient Near East, most notably The Royal Game of Ur , then there are five chapters on the various games of ancient Egypt, senet, mehen , etc. Five more chapters are devoted to the games of the Greek and Roman world, then one on India, and three on Chinese games including Go. Then there are three on the beginnings of Chess and its introduction into western Europe, then four on backgammon from India to medieval England, three on mancala games, and one on the pursuit of hnefatafl , finally some brief notes on the games of the New World. The authors, thirty-one of them, range from archaeologists, historians and museum curators, not least Irving Finkel, the editor of the volume, to such well-known historians of games as R C Bell and the internationally famous grandmaster and journalist Raymond Keene. It is a large format book with hundreds of photos and drawings.

"[A] timely book...It’s All a Game provides a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history."—The Wall Street Journal Board games have been with us longer than even the written word. But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification? In It’s All a Game, British journalist and renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games--from chess to Monopoly to Settlers of Catan, and more--have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations.

The rich history of Egypt has provided famous examples of board games played in antiquity. Each of these games provides evidence of contact between Egypt and its neighbours. From pre-dynastic rule to Arab and Ottoman invasions, Egypt's past is visible on game boards. This volume starts by introducing the reader to board games as well as instruments of chance and goes on to trace the history and distribution of ancient Egyptian games, looking particularly at how they show contact with other cultures and civilizations. Game practices, which were also part of Egyptian rituals and divination, travelled throughout the eastern Mediterranean. This book explores the role of Egypt in accepting and disseminating games during its long history. Over the last few years, the extent and the modes of contact have become better understood through museum and archival research projects as well as surveys of archaeological sites in Egypt and its surrounding regions. The results allow new insight into ancient Egypt's international relations and the role of board games research in understanding its extent. Written by three authors known internationally for their expertise on this topic, this will be the first volume on Ancient Egyptian games of its kind and a much-needed contribution to the field of both Egyptology and board games studies.

For thousands of years, people have been planning attacks, captures, chases, and conquests - on a variety of different boards designed for an astonishing diversity of games. Today the compelling mix of strategy, skill, and chance is as strong as ever; new board games are invented almost daily,while the perennial favourites continue to attract new devotees and reveal new possibilities. The Oxford History of Board Games investigates the principles of board games throughout the ages and across the world, exploring the fascinating similarities and differences that give each its unique appeal, and drawing out the significance of game-playing as a central part of human experience - asvital to a culture as its music, dance, and tales. Beautifully illustrated and with diagrams to show the finer points of the games, this is a fascinating and accessible guide to a richly rewarding subject. In his trade-mark accessible, entertaining style, David Parlett looks at the different families of games: games based on configuration or connection, races or chases, wars or hunts, capture or blockade. He focuses mainly on traditional games, the folk entertainments that have grown up organicallythrough the centuries, and which exhibit endless local variations, although he discusses also the commercial products that have tried, with varying degrees of success, to match their astonishing popularity. This is not primarily a how-to book, although the rules and strategies of certain games are discussed in detail, neither does it offer sure-fire tips for success, although with a fuller understanding of a game the reader will undoubtedly become a better-informed, if not better, player. Rather, itis an affectionate and authoritative survey of one of the most familiar parts of our cultural history, which has until now been inexplicably neglected.

This encyclopedic volume provides the rules and methods of play for more than 180 different games: Ma-jong, Hazard, Wei-ch'i (Go), Backgammon, Pachisi, and many others. Over 300 photographs and line drawings.

Surprising stories behind the games you know and love to play. Journey through 8,000 years of history, from Ancient Egyptian Senet and Indian Snakes and Ladders, right up to role-play, fantasy and hybrid games of the present day. More than 100 games are explored chronologically, from the most ancient to the most modern. Every chapter is full of insightful anecdotes exploring everything from design and acquisition to game play and legacy.

Four games about life in Ancient Rome: Gladiators, Chariot Race, Escape From Pompeii, and Race for the Throne. Includes an attached 14-page reading book the different prehistoric ages and the dinosaurs, an integrated spinner, press-out counters, and spinner. Educational, fun, and perfect for traveling.