Board Games Our Link To Our Past

                   Board Games-Our Links To Our Past

Come summer vacation and the kids in our families pull out their board games and pit themselves up against their friends in games that last the entire afternoons.This is how, we as youngsters used to spend our summer holidays and our kids are no exception.

Sometime back, I was reading an interesting post on Facebook about board games by my friend, Vidya Murali and a thought struck me- why not do a little bit of research on the games' hisrory?

So here it is;

1. Senet

It is the oldest board game known- images of this game can be seen in the burial chambers of the Egyptian pharaohs.You can say that this game is as old as 5500 years.There were no dice as in the modern games today-rather players used to play with sticks.

2.Vaikuntapaali

The ancestor to our Snakes and Ladders, this game rested on the principles of ethics and good versus bad in life.

It is thought that this game was developed in the 16th century in India  and later was adopted by the British and Americans .

In the original version of the game, you went up higher in life because of your good behaviour and strong morals; you descended to the pits because you went astray.

The "entertainment" value of the game was innovated by the Americans whereas the British interpreted the end result of life being "success".

3.Chaturang

What more can be said of Chaturanga or Chess.

Thought to be at least 1400 years old, the game of chess is played as intensively in India as in China, Japan, Russia, US and the East European countries.

The Indian addiction to this game borders on the extreme.So much so,that Satyajit Ray, master film maker , made a film on this game and wove the story with the events of the 1857 War of Independence.

4.Chaupad

Chaupad and Ludo are basically the same game.There are 4 players and all of them compete against each other to get their colored pieces first in the safe zone.

History suggests that the Mughal emperor, Akbar used to play Chaupad with slave girls as pieces rather than regular objects.

Chaupad in Hindi means square. In Jaipur, you have a Badi Chaupad and a Chhoti Chaupad- Big and Small Squares.

5.The Royal Game of Ur

This is the oldest known board game for which the  original rules survive.

The game is older than most known countries and religions and dates back to at least 2600 BC.

The oldest sets were discovered in 1924 and the game is played among competitors who throw dice to move their pawns quickly to the other side.

6.Nine Men's Morris

The simplicity of this game has made it popular across the globe spanning different time lines.

The grids of the game can be found on the rocks of Sri Lanka (1440BC)  as well as in the modern cinema housed of Britain and US.