The Most Popular Board Games and the History Behind Them

Almost everyone has played a board game in their life, but what’s the major history behind some of your favorite games? This article will tell you everything you need to know about some of the most played games.

Grace Freed

Though there are hundreds of board games across the globe, five rise above the rest.

Grace Freed, Columnist

Chess

The most popular board game worldwide is chess. Chess is a well known game that was created in the 6th century and is still played today. The age recommended to play chess is seven and up, according to Parents. The first chess pieces were made of ivory and were found in Afrasiab, located in present day Uzbekistan. What was found was seven pieces consisting of a king, chariot, vizier, horse, elephant, and 2 soldiers made of ivory.

Checkers

The second most popular board game is checkers. Checkers is a game that ages five and up can play, states Gamesver. Checkers was created in 3000 B.C.E and is still played today by millions of people. The first game of checkers was played in ancient Egypt, and was created by Egyptians. Wonderopolis writes that the French originally came up with the idea of playing checkers on a board.

Backgammon

Backgammon is the third most popular game worldwide, and was most popular 5,000 years ago in the Middle East. The game can take five to 60 minutes to complete and the age requirement is five and up. Backgammon was invented by Mesopotamians. The first recorded dice were used to play backgammon, and they were made of bone. Backgammon is also one of the oldest games ever, according to Backgammon History.

Monopoly

Monopoly is the fourth most popular board game and was created in 1904, by Lizzie Magie, Fred Thun, Louis Thun, and Charles Darrow. As stated by The Guardian, the game can take 30-80 minutes if played correctly. The game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity. The game is played for ages eight and up. Monopoly was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935.

Scrabble

Scrabble was originally made of letters that were stamped on wooden tiles one at a time. The recommended age is five to 99. The game was made in 1993 and is still known by millions today. Scrabble was also originally called the criss cross game, and was based on crossword puzzles and anagrams, Britannica states.