What about those Wonderful Old Games?

What comes to mind when you think of "old games”? Do you recall the childhood games you used to play with your friends, such as “tag” or “hide or seek”? How about those special tournaments or playoff games you attended with your dad? Did you play board games or card games with your friends and family members? In this article we will be detailing classic board and card games, providing a bit of history and background on each.

Board games are those that, naturally enough, are played on a board of some sort. They are amongst the oldest of games, with the first known game in this category being the Egyptian game of Senet, which was created around 3500 B.C. Eventually board games worked their way into Europe, and different European cultures embraced different games. Today, with the advent of modern advertising, there is a large assortment of board games available for family fun. The latest rendition is the influx of “online play”, where you can basically play the same game on a computer, often utilizing the power of the internet.

Strategy board games are those games that involve more than mere luck, such as a great strategy, in order to win. Games such as chess and checkers fall into this category. Luck board games require little or no strategy, just a good “roll of the dice”. Chutes and Ladders, and Sorry, are two popular luck board games. Some games, such as Monopoly or Risk, require a combination of both a sound strategy and a bit of luck.

Classic board games are those games that have survived the test of time. They were played years ago, and are still popular today. Examples of classic board games are Risk, Battleship, Life, and Clue.

“Old games” that utilize cards have been around for centuries. While the exact origin of the deck of cards is not certain, it is very likely that they were invented by the Chinese between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D.

Around the 15th century A.D. the format of the English playing cards started to formulate. We have written documentation that in an Act of Parliament, domestic card manufacturers were complaining about the influx of foreign cards into their market.

As the original playing cards were created by hand, it was very expensive to purchase and own a deck. This resulted in that fewer people could play card games. With the mass production of card decks, the explosion in card game popularity has spread throughout the world. Popular old card games are hearts, poker, bridge, and rummy.

If you would like more information on the history of "old games", and more detailed examples on the "game play" of the various games, check out the blog at: www.WonderfulOldGames.com.