The Origins of Board Games Trivia Quiz

Answer: Egypt

Senet sets have been found in Egyptian tombs (including Tutankhamen's) dating to between 3000 and 3100 BC. Although the rules have been lost, it is believed that the main aim was to race your pieces across a board, using sticks that are thrown to determine how far a person moves (in the same way modern games use dice).

Answer: Ur

Incredibly, the Royal Game of Ur has outlasted every major political empire in existence and is believed to have been continuously played somewhere in the world since its invention over 4500 years ago. A set dated to 2600 BC was discovered in Iraq in the 1920s. The game is relatively simple, involving the movement of pieces (called pawns) towards a goal by rolling dice.

Answer: Count and capture

The precise origin of Mancala games is debatable, as it is difficult to determine when they were first played (some say it is the oldest game of all time, played for thousands of years, others say only hundreds). The game essentially involves placing "seeds" (or pebbles) in a set of pits/holes, and counting them so you can capture more pieces than your opponent.

The game is called many different things worldwide, including Bao la Kiswahili in Africa (where it has been called the 'national game') and Congkak in parts of Asia.

Answer: True

Chaturanga first appeared in India around the 7th Century AD. It had the same board and pieces as modern Chess, but unfortunately the precise rules have not been discovered. It is considered to be the common link to all Chess games throughout the world.

Answer: Snakes (Chutes) and Ladders

Vaikuntapaali was invented not purely as a game but also as a Hindu teaching tool. The game was designed to teach people about the virtues of good deeds, with the eventual aim being to reach nirvana. The board, like many modern versions, had a range of ladders and snakes representing good and bad consequences.

Answer: Go

Go was first played in China more than 2500 years ago (some say up to 4000 years). It consists of a large square board of grids, with players using black and white stones. The size of the board varies from 9x9 for beginners, and boards have been used with up to 19x19 grids.

The rules are simple enough: players must surround each other with their stones in order to minimise the space the opponent is able to claim. But the strategies and approaches to winning are almost endless, making the gameplay interesting and unique to each game.

Answer: Scandinavia

Tafl (sometimes known as Hnefatafl) is played on a checkered board. It came to prominence in the Middle Ages, and like the Vikings themselves, spread throughout Europe and beyond. Unlike most other board games, Tafl involves playing with two sets of uneven playing pieces (armies).

The player with the smaller army starts with a king, with the main aim being to save the king from capture (or capture the king if you are the player with the larger army).

Answer: False

Monopoly was in fact very much based on "The Landlord's Game", invented by Lizzie Magie and released in 1903. It was later known as "Prosperity", and had a very similar board and concept to Monopoly (including properties for sale around the board, and even Chance cards).

The key difference was that players could opt to share property and accumulate collective wealth: quite the opposite to the key goal behind Monopoly.

Answer: Morris

Nine Men's Morris was thought to have been played on boards originally, with tokens being placed to attempt to form 3 in a row. But like Tic-Tac-Toe, it can be played anywhere that a 9-square grid can be drawn. Graffiti showing evidence of Nine Men's Morris has been found around ruins throughout the world, including steps, rocks and even graveyards.

There are other versions of the Morris game, including Three Men's, which is thought to be even more ancient (played around 1600BC in Egypt).

Answer: Canada, late 20th Century

"Trivial Pursuit" is thought to be the first pure trivia board game. It came very late in the overall history of board games, first released in 1981. Two friends, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, came up with the concept reportedly while playing Scrabble in late 1979.

Despite its now impressive commercial success, the first few games sold were at a heavy loss (selling for $15 but costing $75 to produce).