Culture Trip takes a look at how different cultures have been keeping themselves busy for centuries. You might be familiar with the mummies and jewels that were discovered in the tombs of Egypt in the early 20th century, but a lesser-known treasure was also unearthed. Ancient Egyptians were apparently partial to playing games whenever they could, but sadly the exact rules of this pastime have been lost to time. There are modern interpretations on how to play based on partial manuscripts dating as far back as BCE.
Draughts, also known internationally as chequers, is almost as old as senet. Chequers is still hugely popular today, with slight variations being adopted in different regions. Backgammon and chess are other popular games from around this early period, with modern incarnations of both of these remaining largely unchanged from the original versions.
In Asia and Africa there are some card games that involve elements of a board. For the purposes of this list, card titles such as Uno and tile-based games such as dominoes and mahjong will be ignored; the focus is on games where the board itself is part of the game. Bizarrely, this marble ball game is better known as Chinese chequers, even though it is neither based on chequers, nor does is it originate from China. Sternhalma sometimes written as stern-halma is played on a star-shaped board with six points, allowing up to six players to take part at the same time.
You will have seen the boards in various parts of the world; they have become popular souvenirs often brought back home by holidaymakers, although the game itself is still massively popular in Asia. Just to cloud matters further, the game was invented in in Germany, and is a twist on an earlier American strategy board game called halma. One game that does come from China, and remains hugely popular in the country, is go. There are different rules and scoring systems between the Korean, Japanese and Chinese versions of the game, although they all share the same board and sets of black-and-white totems.
The basic premise is to shoot pieces into the pockets of a board by flicking objects around a confined playing area. The square boards are often made out of polished plywood, with the flat pieces that are attributed to each player being made out of any material that can easily slide across the surface area.
Carom has a different cultural significance to other games on this list in countries such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where it is common for boards to be brought along to social gatherings. Rounds are traditionally played between highly competitive adults, giving carom another link to classic strike-and-pocket sports such as snooker and billiards. Ludo was patented in England in , but has its origins further to the east. The game is derived from the Medieval Indian game of pachisi and is one of the most recognisable pastimes in the world today.
Many countries have renamed the game based on the overriding emotions most players have to endure when playing a round. Each time that number is rolled, anyone with a settlement adjacent to that tile will get resources, and you can build new roads and settlements using the resources you gather.
The goal is to be the first to get 10 points, which you can achieve by building settlements, having the longest road, and more. If you try out this German-style board game and enjoy the basic gameplay, there are numerous expansions and themed editions available to spice things up. I recently tried out the Game of Thrones edition of Catan , which adds the Wall and a northern area with White Walkers that will try to break through it.
This can completely change your strategy and requires you to consider wall defense on top of managing your resources and settlements. Modern board games have certainly introduced some new ideas to the genre, but you can't deny the simple magic of one of the best turn-based games out there. Another classic game, Ticket to Ride is incredibly simple to learn, but it also maintains enough tension to keep things interesting. In Ticket to Ride, players collect cards of various train types, which you'll use to claim railroad routes across America.
To claim a single route, you need the required number and type of cards in your hands at once. Once you claim a route, it's yours for the rest of the game, and you'll earn points based on how long the route is. From the start of the game, you'll also have destination cards giving you specific goals connecting Chicago to Houston, for example , which will give you bonus points at the end of the game; however, you'll also lose points for not completing your destination ticket.
The simple but satisfying gameplay of Ticket to Ride has made it a long-standing favorite in the board game community, and it's received multiple follow-up versions and expansion packs to extend your weekly game night sessions. Skull is the ultimate bluffing game, and the best part is that it's incredibly easy to teach to new players. To get started with a game of Skull, you pass around a stack of cards to each player, with each stack including three rose cards and one skull card.
Each player goes around placing card of their choice, and at any point, a player can use their turn to starting calling out numbers--the number indicates how many cards you think you can turn over without seeing a skull. There are plenty of different strategies you can employ here, but to win a game of Skull, you just have to successfully flip cards without seeing a skull twice. That's way easier said than done, as Skull is a game where everyone will be doing plenty of lying, bluffing, and risking their own cards just to mess up others.
Because of how easy it is to learn and how few pieces there are to set up, Skull is an awesome game to break out at parties, and it's pretty much a guaranteed hit with any crowd. Despite their similar names, Mansions of Madness has nothing to do with another game on this list, Mountains of Madness, although both are inspired by the works of H.
Instead, the premise of Mansions of Madness is much more similar to Betrayal at House on the Hill--you and your group will enter an eerie mansion, explore its hallways and rooms, find items, and encounter horrors that will test your sanity.
In Mansions, however, you can see the full layout of the board from the start, including the location of clues, and the scenario for a playthrough is in effect from the beginning. While the first edition of Mansions required one player to take the antagonistic role of Keeper, who actively works against the other players, the second edition introduced a free companion app that absorbs this role and allows the game to be completely co-op or even single-player.
The second edition's base game comes with four different scenarios, with more available through paid DLC. However, this is a high-quality board game with detailed miniatures and tiles made to last, and its thrilling scenarios require deep strategy and cooperation that will keep your team fully engaged over the course of a two-to-three-hour playthrough.
Another two-player board game, Fog of Love is a romantic drama played out in tabletop form. In this game, you and the other player will play as two characters who meet, fall in love, and navigate the ups and downs of a modern relationship.
You'll have awkward encounters, funny moments, and painful situations to work through, and the decisions you each make in these moments will affect your character's satisfaction and traits, which in turn affect whether you achieve your long-term goals. There's also a possibility for one or both players to have hidden secrets, which will be revealed at the end and may affect the outcome.
Like any relationship, your characters may find true love or end up heartbroken at the end, but the act of playing out this story together makes Fog of Love a truly unique and compelling experience. Codenames is a ridiculously fun turn-based game that works with a larger group or even just two people ideally, you'd have at least four.
In Codenames, you have two rival spymasters, each of whom knows the identities of 25 secret agents, which are reflected by their codenames on a 5x5 grid. Each spymaster's teammates are trying to make contact with all of their agents before the other team.
To do this, spymasters give one-word clues that could point to any number of codenames on the grid; for example, "animal" could refer to codenames like "Cat," "Dog," and "Turkey.
Players have to guess which codenames on the board belong to their team's spies while also avoiding codenames that could belong to the other team. Some cards on the grid are neutral, belonging to no team, and there's also an assassin--flip that card, and the game is over. Codenames is super easy to learn, and the variety of codename combinations available keeps each round interesting. Exploding Kittens is another party favorite and a great family game for younger kids and adults alike.
This card game involves tense minute rounds of drawing cards and using various actions to avoid drawing an exploding kitten, which means losing the game immediately. You'll draw certain cards that let you defuse an exploding kitten, peek at the next card in the deck, activate special powers, and more, so you can both save yourself and set up your fellow players to lose if you play your cards right.
Recommended for ages 7 and up, Exploding Kittens is one of the best party games to have around for family game night or a casual get-together with friends. This beautiful card game has a simple premise: You're growing a tree in a forest and must expand it outward with branches that contain various icons, like mushrooms, caterpillars, or fireflies.
The goal is to link branches that contain some of the same symbols on them, which will earn you points in return. With each season, the rules of the game and your hidden goals will change, earning you the chance to score extra points at the end of each round if you meet certain conditions.
Essentially, Kodama is a strategic pattern-matching game, but there's also something so calming about just trying to grow the best tree you can. It's a low-stress strategy game I'd recommend to anyone looking for an easy-to-learn game with a cute aesthetic.
In addition to the standard edition, you can buy Kodama Duo , which tweaks the base game to make it more ideal for two players, and Kodama 3D , which maintains the same basic gameplay except you're actually building out the tree three-dimensionally, making it feel more immersive. Stardew Valley the video game is often thought of as a casual, relaxing game in which you go around romancing NPCs, planting crops, and taking care of animals, but Stardew Valley: The Board Game is neither casual nor relaxing.
Instead, it's a fairly deep and challenging co-op strategy game that involves racing against the clock to complete a series of goals before the end of Year 1.
Don't get us wrong: It's incredibly fun. Whether you've already put hundreds of hours into the video game or just love a challenging co-op board game, you'll find a ton to love here. Probably my favourite game at the minute.
Dice-chucking worker placement fun, but as with all my favourite games, the thing I like the most is the interaction between the people, superfun times make superfriends. Ive been a gamer since my teens and play regularly. My favourite board game is coincidentally my favourite Sci Fi series Firefly. Takes some time and a lot of space but great fun! Gregg Lewis-Qualls likes it so much he even sent in a video. Tell me if you've heard this one before: A Dwarf, a thief, a fighter and a priest walk into a dungeon Warhammer Quest is the quintessential 'Old School' dungeon-crawler.
Assemble wacky, wannabe superheroes from two different halves and then face off against an equally absurd supervillain and their entourage to earn more fame than anyone else. A discovery and trading game where players have to explore trade routes and customise their ships to best exploit them. Most goods are in demand somewhere except for the Humans' main export - rock videos. From a few hours, to most of a day depending on the number of players. We bought this at Essen , and it was brilliant.
Essentially a train robbery game, and pretty much made for turning into a drinking game. Lots of fun! It took me a few years to come across the game that I could deem as my 'Grail Game' but eventually it happened. The limited amount of copies in existence does a lot to hinder its reputation but for the few who own a copy, it is something that remains in their collection as a treasure.
It is refined, meticulous and mentally stimulating. The rules are simple but the play is nothing short of genius. For most it's a game that's a easily passed over but for me it's my white whale. What are the more popular board game designs among children?
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