Chessmen
Backgammon
| Backgammon began appearing in the Mesopotamian culture of Ur around 3,000 B.C. and archaeological digs continue to turn up board games very similar to today’s fast paced and challenging game of backgammon. Backgammon in its early form is the oldest known board game in history surpassing even the game of Chess. The travels of this gaming idea show up in both ancient India culture as well as Egyptian culture where a variation on the game called “Senat” was popular among both Egyptian aristocracy and the slave population. By the time backgammon reached early Greece, the Greeks decided to lay claim to inventing the game but it was only an adoption of their culture from earlier civilizations. In the Roman version, three dice were employed for the moves and the game was referred to as "Bac gamen" or "back game". |
Mah-Jong
| One of the stories regarding the origin of Mah-Jong suggests that Confucius the great Chinese philosopher had developed the game about 500 BC. The appearance of the game in various Chinese provinces coincides with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The three "Cardinal" tiles also coincide with the three Cardinal virtues taught by Confucius. Chung (middle) the Red, Fa (prosperity) the Green, Po (white) the white, Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial Piety. Confucius was said to be fond of birds, which would explain the name Mah-Jong (Hemp Bird). |
Chess Tables
| Wei Qi (also spelt Wei-Ch'i) as it's known in China, Baduk (Paduk or Pa-dok) as it's known in Korea or Go, as it is known in Japan and generally in the West, is considered by most Oriental game experts to be the worlds greatest strategic skill game, far surpassing Chess in it's complexity and scope. Most people who have played it would agree with this conclusion and, unlike chess, no computer program has yet been written which has been able to compete with the best Go players. Wei-Ch'i means "surrounding game" or "surrounding chess" and the object is simply to capture territory by placing down counters on the board. Wei Qi is the most perfect of board games from several perspectives. Of all the serious board games described on this site, Go has the fewest rules and yet, the game itself is is the most intellectually challenging. The mathematical elegance of the rules is complemented by the great beauty of the boards and stones - of all board games in the world, Go has been raised by the Japanese to a pinnacle of aesthetic beauty. The Japanese have whole schools where people devote their entire life to the game and a grading system akin to the martial arts systems. |
GO
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