Card and Board Games

History

The world's oldest board game is "Go" (also known as "Weiqi"), believed to have originated in Asia as early as the sixth century BCE. Other games that have withstood the test of time include checkers, which is based on a similar game played in ancient Egypt; chess, which originated in India, China, or Persia; and Pachisis, more commonly known as Parcheesi, first played in India.

Many games are derived from ancient rituals in which stones, and later dice, were used for divination purposes. Early dice were made from animal bones and teeth, stones, and precious or semi-precious metals and gemstones. The ancient Egyptians are credited with standardizing the shape as a cube, and with associating dice with gambling. Ivory became the standard material for dice for many centuries, until the invention of plastic allowed for less expensive mass-production.

While most boards used for Go, chess, Parcheesi, and other popular games were traditionally made from wood, as the paper industry advanced during the Industrial Revolution, game boards were increasingly manufactured using cardboard. New printing technologies allowed for standardization of designs and color enhancements. Publishing companies added board games to their catalogs and new games appeared regularly, competing with the classics.

Games were considered adult fare until the nineteenth century, when the importance of play during childhood was better understood. However, many of the earliest games during the Victorian era, including "Mansion of Happiness" and "Pilgrim's Progress," were meant to impart Christian values, teach good manners, or otherwise educate players.

The history of playing cards likely began in China, where paper originated. Card games then spread throughout Asia and the Middle East, and were brought to Europe by the Moors in the fourteenth century. Early cards were handmade and very expensive. Only the very wealthy could afford them, and could also afford to pay the high stakes demanded by popular gambling card games.

The French designed the four suits that are most common today: hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. The advent of the idea of "trump" allowed for the design of many new games, and by the fifteenth century, the standard playing deck consisted of fifty-two cards.

Both cards and board games were considered social activities, but in the late eighteenth century, solitaire, or "patience," became fashionable. Enthusiasts soon designed dozens of other card games that could be played by one person.

Today, there are hundreds of board and card games designed to fill leisure time. Most of these are inexpensive and offer a low-tech alternative to electronic and computer games. New board games appear regularly; these exist alongside perennial favorites such as Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, and Mahjong.

General game accessories

• Rulebook or printed instructions for each game
• Card shuffler (optional)
• Paper and pencil or other score sheets
• Poker chips

Dice

Timers

• Decks of cards, both standard and special

Types of Games

Examples of children's card games include Old Maid, Snap, I Doubt It, Uno, Slamwich, Spoons, and Concentration. There are several different types of solitaire, including Klondike, Puss in the Corner, Pyramid, Fortune, and Clock.

Card games that can be played with only two players include cribbage, gin rummy, pinochle, spit, and war. Some card games, including bridge, poker, hearts, and canasta, are best played with four or more people.

Examples of popular board games for children include Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Game of Life, Trouble, and Sorry! In addition to classics such as chess, checkers, and backgammon, board games for two players include Battleship, Mancala, and Stratego.

Board games that are best played with two to four players include Monopoly, Scrabble, dominoes, Parcheesi, and Mahjong. Games that can be played with larger groups include Cranium, Taboo, Yahtzee, Scattergories, and Balderdash. In addition to these more classic games, there are several games that have risen to considerable popularity during the twenty-first century, such as Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride.

Techniques

Basic rules and suggestions for playing games

• For most games, players should be seated at a table with plenty of elbow room to ensure privacy. (Children generally prefer playing on the floor.)
• The dealer, banker, or other significant role should be selected by mutual agreement among the players.
• Unless a card game requires the use of jokers, they should be removed from the deck before shuffling and dealing.
• Cards should be dealt clockwise, unless otherwise noted.
• The dealer offers the cards to the player on the right for the deck to be cut, or divided.
• Cards are always dealt facedown, unless otherwise specified.
• Play always moves clockwise, unless otherwise noted.
• For the fairest scenario, all players should have equal experience in playing a game, and should be equally knowledgeable about possible strategies.
• Before playing, all players should agree on rules. A rulebook or instructions should be handy.
• Before beginning, all players should agree on whether or not to "play for fun" or keep score, and should agree on a specified time length, if relevant.
• Unless playing for money or other stakes, one should keep in mind the adage "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game that matters most."

Trends

In recent years, poker has experienced an enormous increase in popularity, thanks in large part to televised poker tournaments and celebrity poker games. The game is being played everywhere from school playgrounds to dorm rooms to dining rooms throughout the United States.

Classic games, including Scrabble, Monopoly, checkers, and chess continue to be standard household fixtures, although contemporary games seem to attract the attention of many serious American gamers. As crowdfunding made it more feasible for individuals and small companies to handle the up-front costs of manufacturing a new board game, a much wider selection of board games became available. In particular, strategy-based games aimed at adults became more common, in part due to the influence of imported European strategy games (known among board game fans as "Eurogames"), such as Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne. Some of these games feature multi-piece playing surfaces that can be put together like a jigsaw puzzle, or other nonstandard variations on the traditional game board.

Adventure games that feature sophisticated artwork and involve historical themes are consistently popular.

Card & Board Games for Fun vs. Profit

Creative gamers may find jobs in the industry as professional game designers, either by working with one of the larger companies that produce board games or by independently creating and publishing games. Many of these independent games are funded through crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter. Crafters can create wooden game sets, as well as a myriad of related supplies. Gamers may also make their hobby profitable by winning the pot in poker, or a prize in a game competition. For instance, the grand prize winner at the National Scrabble Championship takes home $25,000. Gus Hansen, three-time World Poker Tour champion, has won close to $2 million. However, gambling can become addictive, and gamblers should be prepared for significant losses.

Learning More

Organizations

Boardgame Players Association <http://www.boardgamers.org/>

American Go Association <http://www.usgo.org/>

International Playing Card Society <http://i-p-c-s.org/>

Books

Morehead, Albert H. and Geoffrey Mott-Smith. Hoyle's Official Rules of Games. 1946. 3rd Rev. ed. New York: Signet, 2001.

Scarne, John. Scarne's Encyclopedia of Card Games. New York: Quill, 1983.

Spadaccini, Stephanie. The Big Book of Rules. New York: Plume, 2005.