Gambling, a pastime as old as civilization itself, has been a part of human culture for thousands of years. While the concept of money as we know it today did not always exist, ancient people found other valuable items to wager. Gambling in Ancient Egypt was more than a pastime; it was an integral part …
Senet is an Egyptian game, and is one of the oldest games in the world, with records dating back to the 1st Dynasty, around 3100 BCE. Many Senet game boards have been found in various Egyptian tombs, including in the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Senet has not only been played in Egypt, but also in other …
Hnefatafl, meaning King’s Table (or literally, Fist Board Game) in Old Norse, is an asymmetric game of pure strategy played by the Vikings and neighboring people with many variations. Its origins are unclear, but it seems that it has appeared during the Viking period, in the 7th or 8th century CE, in Scandinavia and other …
In the past week there has been a lot of buzz on the internet about the Poprad Game Board, which was found in Poprad, Slovakia, back in 2006, in a tomb of a Germanic chieftain, who served in the Roman army as a mercenary, called foederatus, and dated to 375 CE. The reason for the buzz …
Origin and Discovery Rota, a game from ancient Rome, is often found carved into stones along Roman roads and buildings throughout the vast Roman Empire. The original Roman name of the game remains unknown. The name “Rota,” meaning “wheel” in Latin, was given by Elmer Truesdell Merrill in his 1916 article, where he first introduced …
Origin and Discovery Nine Men’s Morris is a historic game that was widely enjoyed in Ancient Rome and throughout the medieval period. The precise origins of the game are unclear, but the oldest known board is carved into an Egyptian temple at Kurna, dating to around 1400 BCE. However, the exact timing of the carving …
Nard (نرد), originally called Nardashir (نردشیر), is a Persian game, which is played on a backgammon board. The modern backgammon and its variations originated with the Persian Nard. The earliest source to mention the game, Nardashir, by name, is the Babylonian Talmud (Ketubot 61b), in an anonymous statement, which is dated to the latest stratum …
Origin and Discovery The game of Hounds and Jackals dates back to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, specifically during the 12th Dynasty under the reign of Amenemhat IV, approximately between 1814 and 1805 BCE. This ancient game, which is a part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in New York (Accession Number 26.7.128), was discovered in …
