Games

jghgDice appear to be among the earliest pieces of specialised gaming equipment used by humans, having been used throughout Asia since before recorded history, the oldest known examples being a 3000-year-old set unearthed at an archaeological site in southeastern Iran.[2] Notable dice games have included Hazard, a game popular in Europe from the 14th through the 18th centuries, Chuck-a-luck, a related game also known as birdcage, Craps, which replaced Hazard in popularity during the 19th century, and Sic bo, a Far Eastern Chuck-a-luck variant which evolved into a popular casino game in the 20th century.

Tile gamesWhat appear to have been the earliest references to gaming tiles are mentions of kwat pai, or "bone tiles", used in gambling, in Chinese writings no later than 900 CE.[3] The earliest definite references to Chinese dominoes are found in the literature of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), while Western-style dominoes are a more recent variation, with the earliest examples being of early-1700s Italian design.[4] The tile game Mahjong, also of Chinese origin, first appears in the written record in the mid-19th century, and was first mentioned in a publication written in a language other than Chinese in 1895.

Board gamesExtinct board gamesAmong the earliest board games discovered by archaeologists and historians are a number of games the exact rules of which have been forgotten, with rules sometimes being completely unknown today and sometimes being only partially understood, although in many cases proposed or theorised rulesets for these games have been offered by historians and board game manufacturers. Among the earliest examples of board games whose rules have been lost is Senet, a game found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burial sites in Egypt (circa 3500 BCE and 3100 BCE, respectively) and in heiroglyphs dating to around 3100 BCE.[5]

The extinct Chinese board game Liubo was immensely popular during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE). Early Chinese records indicate that Liubo was already a popular game by the Warring States Period (476 BCE - 221 BCE).[6][7] Although the game's rules have been lost, gameplay was apparently not unlike Senet in that playing pieces were moved about a board using sticks thrown to determine movements.

The Tafl games were a family of ancient Germanic and Celtic board games played across much of Northern Europe from earlier than 400 CE until the 12th century,[8] although the rules of the games were never explicitly recorded and are only partially understood today.[9]

Ancient board gamesThe Royal Game of Ur, or Game of Twenty Squares, dated from the First Dynasty of Ur, before 2600 BCE, has been documented as still being played in Iraq.[10]

Go, also known as Weiqi, Igo, or Baduk (in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, respectively), has been evident in the archaeological record as far back as 200 BCE - 200