American Games: A Historical Perspective

2009-11-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

Historians investigating board games of the world have traditionally examined
ancient or early games, using artifacts, drawings, and available text. From this,
they hoped to learn more about the cultures in which these games flourished,
how the games moved from one territory to another (trade routes), and how they changed
and evolved in different cultures. Traditional classic games such as chess, checkers
(draughts), Mancala, Pachisi, Mill (Mühle or Nine Mens Morris), Fox and Geese, and
the Game of Goose, among others, have been studied in great detail by many scholars.
Some of these games were played on quite elaborate, carved wooden boards, and, as
such, they were available only to a privileged few. In the middle 1800s, however, advances
in lithography and in techniques of the mass production of printed matter allowed games
to be commercially produced in large quantities. They were also inexpensive enough to
be affordable by the less affluent. This meant that games could reach a larger portion of
the population, and become a staple in more homes.

Full Text

19th Century Games

American Games: A Historical Perspective