by Bruce Whitehill
Published at Parents Choice magazine online, www.parentschoice.org, September/October, 2004
We all know, or at least imagine, that our most popular or common games must be played in other countries as well. Yet cultural differences and language barriers make the sharing of games difficult. Just how many of the games we play in the United States were brought over from other countries? And how many titles do we export or license overseas?
To answer these questions, a little history lesson might be in order. Though American games have been manufactured in this country for less than 200 years, games have been played for over 5000 years. A gameboard from the game of SENAT was discovered in Egypt in 1922 in the tomb of King Tut where it had been buried since about 3000 B.C. The earliest games, known as MANCALA, are thought to be even older, dating as far back as 5000 B.C.; variations of some of these MANCALA games are still played in many places, especially Africa.
CHECKERS, called DRAUGHTS in England and elsewhere, dates back to the 12th century. CHESS was said to have originated either in India in 600 A.D. or China before 200 A.D. And backgammon, a variation of a game called TABULA, was around in the 1st century. DOMINOES, another world favorite, has a more clouded beginning: it is probably Chinese, its origin being between the 1st and 12th centuries; DOMINOES are actually “flattened dice.” The early sets, and most Oriental versions, have one to six “pips” on half the block and do not have any blank halves.
One European favorite that at various times has had a following in the United States is FOX AND GEESE, which had its origin around the year 1300, possibly in Iceland. The GAME OF GOOSE, which originated around 1500, is another classic game we borrowed from Europe. By way of contrast, the earliest known American GAME OF GOOSE was printed in 1851.
The origin of many ancient games can be traced to Africa and to the Orient. The oldest board known showing the game of NINE MEN’S MORRIS, also called MILL or MORELLES, was found in Egypt; the game has been popular throughout the world for centuries. GO, an ancient game from Japan, is still a favorite there and has earned a great following in the United States. MAH JONGG, the game that became a craze in the U.S. in the early 1920s (and appears to be making a comeback), had been the game of China for hundreds of years.
What’s in a name? Many other games played in the United States and abroad today were around a long time ago, though sometimes under a different name. OTHELLO, still popular today, was brought over from Japan and won an award for “best new game” in 1976. But the same game, with a slight variation in the limited opening move, was played throughout the U.S. in the 1950s as REVERSI, the name by which it is known in Europe. REVERSI came to the U.S. from England where it was invented in the 1880s.
PICK UP STICKS was played by both European and American children in the 1880s. Then the game was known as JACK STRAWS in the U.S., and in Europe as SPILIKINS, a name still used today. The sticks, now long, thin, and smooth, were often shaped like farmer’s tools or spears and lances. Some sets were made of bone or ivory rather than the usual wood. Now, of course, many sets are plastic.
CHUTES AND LADDERS, a Milton Bradley game first brought out in the United States in 1943, was, according to the Bradley catalog of that year, taken from SNAKES AND LADDERS, “England’s most famous indoor sport.” SNAKES AND LADDERS was an early morality game from India, similar to many righteous games of the period in which virtue was rewarded and vice punished. The young player landing on special spaces on the board was either able to climb up (move forward) on the ladder, or was forced to slide backward. The snakes persisted in most countries (and some SNAKES AND LADDERS games can still be found in the U.S.), but Americans favored the chute—something like a playground slide. That may be understandable when you consider that the number one phobia among people in the U.S. is a fear of snakes!
CHUTES AND LADDERS, by the way, is akin to Bradley’s first game, THE CHECKERED GAME OF LIFE, published in 1860. In that morality game, the movement of players’ pieces was effected by the “good” or “evil” traits written in the spaces. A player who landed on the space marked “Passion,” for instance, moved back to “The Water”; the rule read: “Whoever gets in a Passion must be taken to the Water and have a ducking [sic] to cool him.” Even kids today would understand how landing on ”Idleness” would send the player to “Poverty.” But, “Whoever possesses Piety, Honesty, Temperance, Gratitude, Prudence, Truth, Chastity, Sincerity, Humility, Industry, Charity, Humanity, or Generosity is entitled to advance…toward the Mansion of Happiness.”
The GAME OF INDIA, one of the most widely played games in the world, can be traced to the Korean game of NYOUT from the third century. Milton Bradley and a company called McLoughlin Brothers produced the game in the United States around the turn-of-the-century, while in 1896 a similar version was being played in England under the name LUDO. The most famous GAME OF INDIA, however, was produced in this country around 1870. It was called PARCHEESI, and it holds one of the earliest patents for an American game—1874.
One of the most popular card games today is MILLE BORNE, a game we supposedly got from France. Cards require players to complete a journey, at various speeds up to around 75 MPH. The game has actually been in existence since 1906, when it first came out in the U.S. as TOURING; the speed cards then were 1, 3 and 5 MPH. Subsequent editions through the next six decades take you on an interesting journey of change. Similar games exist, such as STAP OP in the Netherlands; the mile cards and hazard cards are similar to TOURING, only the trip is made by bicycle. MILLE BORNE moves the same, and the game is excellent for children to play with each other or with adults.
Many other games have captured the interest of players from around the world. The game of AUTHORS was invented in the U.S. in 1861, and is played throughout Europe, under different names and, of course, with different authors. BINGO, a favorite fundraiser for churches around the country, is sold throughout the continent as LOTTO. ANAGRAMS, a game with letter tiles, translates well into any language. And the best action game for kids and adults, TIDDLEY WINKS, is played all over. The game started in England around 1850, then traveled the Atlantic in the 1880s. If you tell someone you like to tiddle your wink, it means only that you enjoy the play of getting you small disk, the “wink,” in motion by pressing down on it with your larger disk, the “tiddle” (also called the “squidger”). If you think TIDDLEY WINKS is not the kind of game to play with your children, keep in mind that the game is serious study at Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge, where the tournaments take on tough competition.
And then there’s MONOPOLY. MONOPOLY is probably the most popular and successful commercial game. (The MANCALA games, along with chess, checkers, and dominoes have certainly outplayed MONOPOLY over time.) MONOPOLY is a “proprietary” game, meaning it is owned by one company. Only in Italy does another company have the right to use the name—their game is MONOPOLI—although knockoffs abound. A major lawsuit against the game ANTI-MONOPOLY was eventually lost by Parker…but that’s another story. MONOPOLY was brought to Parker Bros. In 1933, but was actually invented in 1904 (yet another story); now there are MONOPOLY licenses for nearly every imaginable product.
Many other successful proprietary games have crossed the Atlantic over the past half century. CLUE came over from England in 1948, changing from CLUEDO to CLUE, THE SHERLOCK HOLMES GAME. They changed the “spanner” to a wrench, but kept the conservatory. Incidentally, the first sets of CLUE had real rope, not plastic.
SCRABBLE started out in 1931, fashioned by an out of work architect named Alfred Butts during the Depression. Butts chose the alphabet distribution by doing a letter count on the front page of the New York Times. Years later, a board was added to the crossword game, and It took until 1948 before the game emerged as it is known today. It is played around the world in many languages, and, though up to four can play, it’s still the best two-player word game for all ages.
STRATEGO is another one of those games we call our own, but we actually got it from the Dutch in 1961. Mind you, the idea goes back to World War I, when it was published by Bradley as LE CHOC. What is unique about the game is that players determine the placement of their pieces before the game begins. Stratego can be played on so many levels, that it is an excellent game for children or adults.
Since Hasbro owns so many of America’s classic games (because Hasbro bought so many of America’s classic companies, including Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers), a lot of games found on shelves in American toy stores can be located in Europe as well. RISK (selling also as RISIKO) has been around since 1959, the GAME OF LIFE since 1960, and OPERATION since1965. (OPERATION is supposed to be a kid’s game, but, hey, try and stop us!)
BATTLESHIP has been in Bradley’s line since 1967, and is played across at least two continents. The game is said to date back to World War I, when it was played by Russian soldiers. It has seen many incarnations, and has sold under many names, like SALVO, since 1931. Of course, the most international way to play the game is with pencil and paper.
Games have traveled the world for centuries. The game industry in the United States began with the importation of products and ideas from England, Germany, Africa, India, and elsewhere. And many games invented in this country are now played on other continents. Interestingly enough, the game of HALMA, invented by a Massachusetts professor in 1885, is popular throughout Europe but is now almost unknown in the U.S. The one thing we do know is that the games that have survived so many generations must be worth the time to play.
