CMON Feature Friday: A History of Games Part One

We take our hobby a bit for granted. Since around 1995, board gaming has been on the rise, with each year being bigger than the last. The recent growth in gaming can be traced to a few titles from Europe, mostly Germany, making their way to North America. Most notably, Settlers of Catan kicked off what is sometimes referred to as gaming’s Golden Age. With more designers, publishers, artists, and media focusing their attentions on tabletop games, that’s an appropriate description for the times we’re currently enjoying.

However, it hasn’t always been this way. Board games have gone through highs and lows over the many centuries of recorded human history. For this week’s CMON Feature Friday, we decided to take a look at an abbreviated history of games. Because humanity’s gaming history is long and diverse, we’re splitting this subject into two parts. In Part One we’re focusing on the ancient world.