Josee Manon
Feb 13, 2023
Six Fun Facts!
There's nothing like having friends and family gathered around a dinner table and busting out the old board games for a friendly competition… depending on your group anyway since it can sometimes be a little hostile.
But how lucky are we to be alive where there's a plethora of games and expansions to pick from? Here are five facts about boards game to tickle your fancy!
Possibly the first board game EVER!
The Royal Game of Ur is said to be the oldest playable board game in the world, originating around 5000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris-Euphrates River system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent.
The game's rules were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC. From this, curator Irving Finkel was able to decipher the rules — two players compete to race their pieces from one end of the board to the other. The central squares were also used for fortune telling.
Canadians Favourite game to play over the holiday-MONOPOLY!
That is correct! People love to fight — I mean have a grand ole time playing Monopoly in Canada! According to board game statistics for Canada, 49% of Canadians who took part in a survey by Ruby Fortune stated that Monopoly was indeed their favourite game to play during the holidays.
Today, it is one of the most popular board games in the world! But what if I told you that this game almost didn’t make it to production as many critics stated it was too long and complicated?
Imagine a world without Monopoly? Especially since this game has been the top seller for many decades now. Hasbro, the current producer of the game, claims that since 1935 over 275 million copies have been sold. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Magie, a bold and progressive woman from Washington, DC was actually the one who patented the Monopoly game in 1903.
Yacht-zee, Anyone?
“There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you’re jealous of those with more money, don’t just sit there and complain — do something to make more money yourself.”-Gina Rinehart Yacht-zee?
Ever wonder how Yahtzee got its unique name? A wealthy Canadian couple invented the game on their yacht to entertain their friends once aboard. It was instantaneously a hit! They decided to consult with a toy maker who absolutely loved it, bought the rights and changed the name from “Yacht game” to Yahtzee!
Money Money Money!
The most expensive game in the world is a blinged-out chessboard. This one-of-a-kind chess board is made of pure gold and encrusted with diamonds and precious gems. As you can imagine this board game looks almost too magnificent to be played with.
The cost of it you may ask? $9.8 million! The cost of half a Bugatti if you must know. I’ll just continue to play with my cheap wooden chessboard...
What do Poliovirus and the Candy Land game have in common?
In the 1940’s the Poliovirus was stalking children left right and center rendering them trapped in their beds or worst-case scenario, within iron lungs.
Eleanor Abbott was a US school teacher who invented the game in 1949 for polio victims. Thankfully the polio vaccine might have vanquished the virus, but Candy Land is still going strong!
Sources:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/top-1 0-historical-board-games
https://reviewmoose.ca/blog/board-game-statistics/