Board games are among humanity's oldest forms of entertainment and intellectual challenge. Long before video games, before card games, even before most written languages, humans were gathering around boards to match wits, test luck, and enjoy each other's company.
~3500 BCE
Senet emerges in Egypt — Predynastic Egyptians begin playing what may be the world's first board game. Early boards were simple, but the game would evolve over 3,000 years.
~2600 BCE
Royal Game of Ur buried with kings — Elaborate game boards are placed in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, showing that games were considered precious enough to accompany rulers into the afterlife.
~1400 BCE
Morris carved into Egyptian temples — The earliest known Nine Men's Morris boards appear, carved into roofing tiles of an Egyptian temple at Kurna.
~500 BCE
Morris spreads through Rome — Roman soldiers carve game boards into steps, forums, and basilicas across the empire. The game becomes ubiquitous.
~400 CE
Hnefatafl dominates Scandinavia — Vikings and their neighbors play "tafl" games throughout Northern Europe, from Ireland to Russia.
~700 CE
Mancala traditions documented — African mancala games, likely much older, begin appearing in written records. Hundreds of regional variants develop.
In the 1920s, British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley excavated the Royal Cemetery of Ur in modern-day Iraq. Among the treasures he discovered were several ornate game boards, the most famous now residing in the British Museum.
For decades, scholars could only guess at how the game was played. Then, in 1980, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, deciphered a Babylonian clay tablet from 177 BCE that contained the rules — written by a scribe named Itti-Marduk-balāṭu.
"The game of Ur is the oldest complete game rules we have. It's a remarkable window into how ancient people spent their leisure time."
— Irving Finkel
Senet began as a secular pastime but evolved into something far more profound. By the New Kingdom period (1550-1077 BCE), Egyptians believed that playing Senet represented the soul's journey through the underworld.
The game was so important that complete Senet sets were buried with the dead to help them navigate the afterlife. Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II, is depicted playing Senet in her tomb paintings. Four game boards were found in Tutankhamun's tomb.
Before chess arrived from the Arab world around 1000 CE, Hnefatafl (meaning "fist table" in Old Norse) was THE strategy game of Northern Europe. Archaeological finds show it was played from Ireland to Ukraine, wherever Norse culture reached.
Unlike chess, Hnefatafl is asymmetric — the two sides have different pieces and different objectives. This made it an excellent simulation of actual Viking-age warfare, where raiders often faced defenders fighting to protect or escape.
Few games have been as widespread as Nine Men's Morris. Boards have been found carved into:
Shakespeare mentioned the game in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," where Titania laments that "the nine men's morris is filled up with mud." The game was still being played widely in England in his time.
Mancala isn't one game but a family of over 800 related games found primarily in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The basic mechanic — picking up seeds and "sowing" them around the board — mimics agricultural planting.
Different cultures developed their own variants: Oware in West Africa, Bao in East Africa, Kalah in America, Congkak in Southeast Asia. Despite the variations, the core gameplay has remained remarkably consistent for over a millennium.
What made these particular games endure for thousands of years while countless others were forgotten?
The answer lies in their elegant simplicity combined with strategic depth. Each game can be learned in minutes but offers a lifetime of mastery. They require minimal equipment — just a board and some pieces — making them accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Most importantly, they're genuinely fun. The same excitement that captivated a Sumerian merchant in 2600 BCE or a Viking warrior in 800 CE is available to you today.
The games change. The joy of playing remains the same.