Great Board Games of the Ancient World

This course takes you on a journey into thousands of years of ancient cultures and intrigue as you learn about the fascinating backstories of the games we all love. Board games are one of humanity’s most ancient pastimes. For as long as people have been living and congregating together, they have been playing games with one another. Board games have been found dating back as far as 3,000 BCE, with some evidence going back as far as 5,000 BCE. They satisfy our competitive nature and our need to be challenged, but they also allow us to have fun and exchange ideas in a social environment. Consequently, while we tend to look at great works of art or marvels of engineering to understand ancient civilizations, often a simple board game can reveal just as much about who we once were—and who we are today.