Editing Board game (section)

==Regional history==
{{Further|History of games}}

===Europe===
{{further|Eurogame#History}}
Board games have a long tradition in Europe. The oldest records of board gaming in Europe date back to [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' (written in the 8th century BC), in which he mentions the Ancient Greek game of ''[[petteia]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Brouwers|first=Josho|title=Ancient Greek heroes at play|url=https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/ancient-greek-heroes-play|access-date=6 March 2020|website=Ancient World Magazine|date=29 November 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111205115/https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/ancient-greek-heroes-play|archive-date=11 November 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> This game of ''petteia'' would later evolve into the Roman game of ''[[ludus latrunculorum]]''.<ref name=":0" />
{{ublist
|'''Germany'''
:{{lang|de|[[Kriegsspiel]]}} is a genre of wargaming developed in 19th century [[Prussia]], to teach battle tactics to officers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Asbury|first=Susan|date=Winter 2018|title=It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan|url=https://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/10-2-Book-review2.pdf|url-status=dead|department=Book Reviews|journal=American Journal of Play|volume=10|issue=2|page=230|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711112435/https://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/10-2-Book-review2.pdf|archive-date=11 July 2020|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref>
|'''Ireland'''
:''[[Fidchell]]'' boards dating from the 10th century has been uncovered in Ireland,<ref>{{Cite book|first=Kenneth Hurlstone|last=Jackson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pkTUotRW8_AC&q=the+oldest+irish+tradition|title=The Oldest Irish Tradition: A Window on the Iron Age|date=28 February 2011|isbn=9780521134934|page=23|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=28 December 2024|df=dmy}} [https://ia600105.us.archive.org/1/items/hurlstone-2011-the-oldest-irish-tradition/Hurlstone%20%282011%29%20The%20Oldest%20Irish%20Tradition.pdf Alt URL]</ref> with the game said to date back to at least 144 AD.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harding|first=Timothy|date=2010|title='A Fenian pastime'? Early Irish board games and their identification with chess|journal=Irish Historical Studies|volume=37|issue=145|page=5|doi=10.1017/S0021121400000031|issn=0021-1214|jstor=20750042|hdl-access=free|hdl=2262/38847|s2cid=163144950}}</ref> 
|'''Scandnavia'''
:The ancient Norse game of [[Tafl games|hnefatafl]] was developed sometime before 400 [[Anno Domini|AD]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schulte|first=Michael|title=Board games of the Vikings – From hnefatafl to chess|url=http://ojs.novus.no/index.php/MOM/article/download/1426/1411|page=5}}</ref> 
|'''United Kingdom'''
:In the United Kingdom, the association of dice and cards with gambling led to all dice games except backgammon being treated as "lotteries by dice" in the Gaming Acts of [[Gaming Act 1710|1710]] and [[Gaming Act 1845|1845]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Neilson|first=W Bryce|title=Gaming history and Law|website=Gamesboard.org|url=https://www.gamesboard.org.uk/articles/gaming-law-bryce-neilson-aug-2020.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001082026/https://www.gamesboard.org.uk/articles/gaming-law-bryce-neilson-aug-2020.pdf|archive-date=1 October 2020|access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> One of the most prolific publishers of board games of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the English board game publisher [[John Wallis (publisher)|John Wallis]] and his sons (John Wallis Jr. and Edward Wallis).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Adam|first=Gottfried|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lb6ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=John+Wallis++publishers+of+board+games&pg=PA177|title=Thumb Bibles: The History of a Literary Genre|date=31 October 2022|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-52588-7|language=en}}</ref> The global popularisation of board games, with special themes and branding, coincided with the formation of the global dominance of the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kentel|first=Koca|date=Fall 2018|title=Empire on a Board: Navigating the British Empire through Geographical Board Games in the Nineteenth Century|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6JW86M71|journal=The Portolan|volume=102|pages=27–42|doi=10.17613/M6JW86M71}}</ref>  Examples of british empire games included:
}}  
{| class="wikitable"
|+ British Empire Games
|-
! Game Title
! Release Date
! Creator
! Description
! Ref
|-

| ''A Tour Through the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions''
| 1850
| John Betts
| This board game was a [[race game]] that consisted of a board with 37 numbered pictures, each correlating to a British colony, arranged in four circular levels, numbered 1 ([[Heligoland]], Germany) to 37 ([[London]], England), three concentric ones and an inner fourth level of London ("Metropolis of the British Empire"). A [[teetotum]] was spun with a player's piece correspondingly moving ahead through the spaces of the game board, upon which a corresponding description to the space the player lands was read out aloud from an accompanying rule booklet by the presiding player (a player abstaining from directly playing the game), except when directed in the book. The descriptions included commentary about the various colonies and occasional game board movement directions to the player. There winner would be the player to reach London first. 
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=A Tour Through the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions │ Board Game │ 1850-60 (published)|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26285/a-tour-through-the-british-board-game-betts-john|website=Victoria and Albert Museum (www.vam.ac.uk)|access-date=28 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102100727/https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26352/a-voyage-of-discovery-or-board-game-spooner-william|archive-date=2 November 2023|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="colony-tour_betts_1850">{{cite book|title=A Tour Through the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions|via=National Library of Australia (www.library.gov.au)|date=1850|first=John|last=Betts|language=en|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-360189129/view?partId=nla.obj-360192281#page/n0/mode/1up|access-date=28 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228000000/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-360189129/view?partId=nla.obj-360192281#page/n0/mode/1up|archive-date=28 December 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}} [https://ia802208.us.archive.org/33/items/betts-1850-a-tour-of-the-british-colonies-and-foreign-possessions/Betts%20%281850%29%20A%20Tour%20of%20the%20British%20Colonies%20and%20Foreign%20Possessions.pdf Alt URL]</ref><ref name="colony-tour_yale-centre_current(2025)">{{cite web|title=A tour through the British colonies and foreign possessions, [1850s?]|website=Yale Centre for British Art|language=en|url=https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/orbis:14039395|access-date=28 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731062554/https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/orbis:14039395|archive-date=31 July 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref>
|-

|style="white-space: nowrap;"| ''A Voyage of Discovery'', or<br>''The Five Navigators''
| 1836
| William Spooner
| A [[race game]] where five players ('sailors') follow distinctly colored tracks, on a board decorated with islands; seas; and ships, with each player restricted to the path of their own color. The player's followed the instructions printed in circles along the tracks, which contained sailor-themed dangers and advantages. 
| <ref name="voyage-of-discovery_vam_current(2025)">{{Cite web|title=A Voyage of Discovery or The Five Navigators │ Board Game │ 1863 (published)|date=4 March 2000|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26352/a-voyage-of-discovery-or-board-game-spooner-william|website=Victoria and Albert Museum (www.collections.vam.ac.uk)|access-date=28 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102100727/https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26352/a-voyage-of-discovery-or-board-game-spooner-william|archive-date=2 November 2023|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref>
|}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora - Achilles and Ajax playing a board game overseen by Athena.jpg|Achilles and Ajax playing a board game overseen by Athena, Attic black-figure neck amphora, {{circa|510&nbsp;BC}}
File:German - Box for Board Games - Walters 7193 - Bottom.jpg|''Box for Board Games'', {{Circa}} 15th century, Walters Art Museum
File:Clevelandart 1953.284.jpg|An early [[games table desk]] (Germany, 1735) featuring [[chess]]/[[draughts]] ({{em|right}}) and [[nine men's morris]] ({{em|left}})
</gallery>

===Americas===
The board game [[patolli]] originated in [[Mesoamerica]] and was played by a wide range of [[pre-Columbian]] cultures such as the [[Toltec]]s and the [[Aztecs]]. 
{{ublist
|'''United States'''
:Due to a number of factors, such as the decrease of industrial working hours and the implementation of a Saturday half-day holiday, United States shifted from agrarian to urban living in the nineteenth century, which provided greater leisure time and a rise in middle class income.<ref name="us-leisure_library-of-congress_current(2024)">{{cite web|title=America at Leisure|website=Library of Congress (www.loc.gov)|language=en|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/america-at-work-and-leisure-1894-to-1915/articles-and-essays/america-at-leisure/|access-date=3 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710085054/https://www.loc.gov/collections/america-at-work-and-leisure-1894-to-1915/articles-and-essays/america-at-leisure|archive-date=10 July 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="us-leisure_gambiter_2025">{{cite web|title=Board game|website=Gambiter (www.gambiter.com)|language=en|url=https://gambiter.com/tabletop/Board_game.html|access-date=3 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520082329/https://gambiter.com/tabletop/Board_game.html|archive-date=20 May 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> The American home, once an economic production focus, started to become one for entertainment, enlightenment, and education under maternal supervision, where children were encouraged to play board games that developed literacy skills and provided moral instruction.<ref name="us-leisure_gambiter_2025"/>{{pb}}The first board games published in the United States were ''[[Travellers' Tour Through the United States]]'' and its sister game ''Traveller's Tour Through Europe'', published in 1822 by New York City bookseller F. & R. Lockwood.<ref name=fv/><ref name="first-american_smithsonian_2024">{{cite web|title=What America’s First Board Game Tells Us About the Aspirations of a Young Nation|website=Smithsonian Magazine (www.smithsonianmag.com)|date=21 May 2024|first=Matthew Wynn|last=Sivils|language=en|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-americas-first-board-game-tells-us-about-the-aspirations-of-a-young-nation-180984338|access-date=3 January 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250103225012/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-americas-first-board-game-tells-us-about-the-aspirations-of-a-young-nation-180984338|archive-date=3 January 2025|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> Margaret Hofer described this period, from 1880s–1920s, as "The Golden Age" of board gaming in America.<ref name="Hofer">{{Cite book|last=Hofer|first=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icYtGRUZrZUC|title=The Games we Played: The Golden Age of Board and Table Games|date=1 March 2003|publisher=Princeton Architectural Press|isbn=978-1-56898-397-4|language=en}}</ref> Board game popularity was boosted, like that of many items, through [[mass production]], which made them cheaper and more easily available. In the 19th century, the industry itself was still developing, albeit significantly more rapidly; however, the games manufactured in America were still primarily for children.<ref name="game-categories_big-game-hunter_2024"/> Beginning in the late 20th century, during the period known as board game renaissance, games started to evolve considerably, from a strategic play standpoint and also in terms of increased advertising and marketing.<ref name="game-categories_big-game-hunter_2024"/> In modern day United States, board game venues have recently grown in popularity. In 2016 alone, more than 5,000 [[board game café]]s opened in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Board Game Biz is Booming, and Chicago's Ready to Play|url=https://news.wttw.com/2020/02/11/board-game-biz-booming-and-chicago-s-ready-play|access-date=1 March 2020|website=WTTW News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111205114/https://news.wttw.com/2020/02/11/board-game-biz-booming-and-chicago-s-ready-play|archive-date=11 November 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref>
}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Macuilxochitl Patolli.png|Patolli game being watched by [[Xochipilli|Macuilxochitl]] as depicted on page 048 of the [[Codex Magliabechiano]]
File:FirstAmericanPrintrunOfThe MansionOfHappiness.jpg|''The Mansion of Happiness'' (1843)
</gallery>

===Asia===
{{ublist
|'''Mesopotamia'''
: A version of the 4,600-year-old board game of the [[Royal Game of Ur]], was found in the ancient Mesopotamian royal tombs of Ur ({{Circa|2600&nbsp;BC}} – {{Circa|2400&nbsp;BC}}),<ref name="oldest-games_oldest_current(2025)"/> is the oldest discovered playable board game.<ref name="fv">{{Cite web|last=Edwards|first=Jason R.|title=Saving Families, One Game at a Time|url=http://visionandvalues.org/docs/familymatters/Edwards_Jason.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205071220/http://visionandvalues.org/docs/familymatters/Edwards_Jason.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="game-types_board-games-land_2024"/><ref name="oman_simsonium-magazine_2021"/> The game's rules of this version were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC, and involved two players racing their pieces from one end of a 20-square board to the other in a similar way to backgammon, with the central squares being used for fortune telling.<ref name="oman_simsonium-magazine_2021">{{cite web|title=Archaeologists Unearth 4,000-Year-Old Stone Board Game in Oman|website=Smith Sonianmag (www.smithsonianmag.com)|date=11 January 2022|first=David|last=Kindy|language=en|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-4000-year-old-stone-board-game-in-oman-180979340|access-date=3 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216131112/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-4000-year-old-stone-board-game-in-oman-180979340|archive-date=16 December 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="ur_british-museum_2021"/><ref name="oldest-board-game_smithsonian-magazine_2021"/> [[Backgammon]] also originated in ancient Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Backgammon History|url=https://bkgm.com/articles/Bray/BackgammonHistory|access-date=12 December 2024|website=bkgm.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405115545/https://www.bkgm.com/articles/Bray/BackgammonHistory|archive-date=5 April 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> 
|'''China'''
:Though speculative, [[Go (board game)|Go]] has been though to have originated in China somewhere in the 10th and 4th century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Potter|first=Donald L.|year=1985|title=Go in the Classics (ii): the Tso-chuan|journal=[[Go World]]|issue=42|publisher=Ishi Press|location=Tokyo|pages=19–21|url=http://www.kiseido.com/classics.htm|access-date=2 November 2007|archive-date=18 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218113923/http://kiseido.com/classics.htm|url-status=dead|df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essay/goancientchina.html|title=Go in Ancient China|last=Fairbairn|first=John|year=1995|access-date=2 November 2007|df=dmy}}</ref> While no archeological or reliable documentary evidence exists of the exact origins of the game, according to legend, [[Liubo]] was invented in around 1728–1675 BC in China by Wu Cao, a minister of [[Jie of Xia|King Jie]] the last [[Xia dynasty]] king. China developed a number of chess variants, including [[xiangqi]] (Chinese chess), [[Jungle (board game)|dou shou qi]] (Chinese animal chess), and [[luzhanqi]] (Chinese army chess), each with their own variants.<ref name="chess-variants)ancient-chess_current(2025)">{{Cite news|title=How to Play Chess from Around the World|language=en|website=Ancient Chess (www.ancientchess.com)|url=https://ancientchess.com/page/play-all.htm|access-date=12 December 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241212025110/https://ancientchess.com/page/play-all.htm|archive-date=12 December 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> Games like [[mahjong]], and [[Dou dizhu|Fighting the Landlords (Dou DiZhu)]] also originated in China.{{pb}}In modern-day China, board game cafes have became popular, with cities like Shanghai having more game cafés than Starbucks.<ref name="china-cafes_flamingogroup_current(2025)">{{Cite web|title=Six Reasons China Loves Board Game Cafés|url=http://flamingogroup.com/six-reasons-china-loves-board-game-cafes#|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520043014/http://flamingogroup.com/six-reasons-china-loves-board-game-cafes|archive-date=20 May 2016|access-date=22 April 2016|website=Flamingo}}</ref> 
|'''India'''
:[[Ashtapada]], [[chess]], [[pachisi]] and [[chaupar]] originated in India.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} In modern day India, a community game called [[Carrom]] is popular.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 September 2020|title=The most popular board games in non-Western cultures|url=https://boardgametheories.com/most-popular-board-games-in-other-cultures|access-date=1 October 2020|website=BoardGameTheories|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127003628/https://boardgametheories.com/most-popular-board-games-in-other-cultures|archive-date=27 November 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> 
|'''Iran'''
:[[Jiroft culture|Jiroft civilization]] [[game board]]s<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maǧīdzāda|first=Yūsuf|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/249152908|title=Jiroft: the earliest oriental civilization|date=2003|publisher=Organization of the Ministry of Culture ans Islamic Guidance|isbn=964-422-478-7|oclc=249152908}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=May 2024}} in Iran, is one of several important historical sites, artifacts, and documents shed light on early board games.
|'''South Koean'''
:A board game of flicking stones ([[Alkkagi]]) became popular among people in [[South Korea]] after various [[Korean variety show]]s demonstrated its gameplay on television.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 July 2016|title=Alkkagi: A Korean Game.|url=https://kpopjacketlady.com/2016/07/08/alkkagi-a-korean-game/|website=KPopJacketLady|access-date=20 March 2025 }}</ref>
|'''Oman'''
:A stone slab carved with a grid and cup holes to hold game pieces constituting a large 4,000-year-old stone board game was located in a prehistoric settlement dated back to the [[Umm an-Nar period]] ({{Circa|2600&nbsp;BC}} to {{Circa|2000&nbsp;BC}}) near the village of [[Ayn Bani Saidahat]] in the [[Qumayrah Valley]], [[Oman]].<ref name="oman_simsonium-magazine_2021"/>
}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Han Pottery Figures Playing Liubo, a Lost Game (10352729936).jpg|[[Han dynasty]] glazed pottery tomb figurines playing liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board
File:British Museum Royal Game of Ur.jpg|The [[Royal Game of Ur]], southern Iraq, about {{Circa|2600&nbsp;BC}} &ndash; {{Circa|2400&nbsp;BC}}
</gallery>

===Africa===

In Africa and the Middle East, [[mancala]] is a popular board game archetype with many regional variations.
{{ublist
|'''Egypt'''
:The first complete set of this game was discovered from a [[Thebes, Egypt|Theban tomb]] that dates to the [[13th dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Metcalfe|first=Tom|date=10 December 2018|title=16 of the Most Interesting Ancient Board and Dice Games|url=https://www.livescience.com/64266-ancient-board-games.html|access-date=23 December 2018|website=Live Science|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203052218/https://www.livescience.com/64266-ancient-board-games.html|archive-date=3 December 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> [[Hounds and jackals]], another ancient Egyptian board game, appeared around 2000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hirst|first=K. Kris|title=What? Snakes and Ladders is 4,000 Years Old?|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/50-holes-game-169581|access-date=23 December 2018|website=ThoughtCo.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220052844/https://www.thoughtco.com/50-holes-game-169581|archive-date=20 February 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=18 November 2018|title=A 4,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Game Called 58 Holes Has Been Discovered in Azerbaijan Rock Shelter|url=http://wsbuzz.com/science/a-4000-year-old-bronze-age-game-called-58-holes-has-been-discovered-in-azerbaijan-rock-shelter|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826203339/https://wsbuzz.com/science/a-4000-year-old-bronze-age-game-called-58-holes-has-been-discovered-in-azerbaijan-rock-shelter|archive-date=26 August 2019|access-date=23 December 2018|website=WSBuzz.com|language=en-US}}</ref> This game, originating {{Circa|2600&nbsp;BC}} – {{Circa|2400&nbsp;BC}} was also popular in [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Caucasus]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bower|first=Bruce|date=17 December 2018|title=A Bronze Age game called 58 holes was found chiseled into stone in Azerbaijan|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bronze-age-game-found-chiseled-stone-azerbaijan|access-date=23 December 2018|website=Science News|language=en}}</ref> Senet, originating from {{Circa|2600&nbsp;BC}} – {{Circa|2400&nbsp;BC}}, was found in [[Predynastic Egypt|Predynastic]] {{Circa|3500&nbsp;BC}} and [[First dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]] {{Circa|3100&nbsp;BC}} burials of Egypt,<ref name="senet_piccone_1980">{{Cite journal|first=Peter A.|last=Piccione|date=July–August 1980|title=In Search of the Meaning of Senet|url=http://www.piccionep.people.cofc.edu/piccione_senet.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Archaeology|pages=55–58|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125005541/http://piccionep.people.cofc.edu/piccione_senet.pdf|archive-date=25 November 2011|access-date=14 July 2018}}</ref> and pictured in [[fresco]] wall paintings and papyrus in Egyptian tombs, including the tombs of Merknera ({{Circa|3300&nbsp;BC}}–{{Circa|2700&nbsp;BC}} BC)<ref name="senet2">{{Cite web|date=27 April 1998|title=Okno do svita deskovych her|url=http://www.hrejsi.cz/clanky/dama1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208220158/http://www.hrejsi.cz/clanky/dama1.html|archive-date=8 December 2012|access-date=12 February 2010|publisher=Hrejsi.cz}}</ref><ref name="Pivotto">{{Cite web|last=Pivotto|first=Carlos|display-authors=etal|title=Detection of Negotiation Profile and Guidance to more Collaborative Approaches through Negotiation Games|url=http://worldcomp-proceedings.com/proc/p2011/EEE3388.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://worldcomp-proceedings.com/proc/p2011/EEE3388.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2022|access-date=2 October 2014}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023}}{{dubious|date=February 2023}} and Nikauhor and Sekhemhathor ({{Circa|2465&nbsp;BC}}–{{Circa|2389&nbsp;BC}}).<ref name="oldest_met_current(2025)">{{cite web|title=West wall of the chapel of Nikauhor and Sekhemhathor|website=The Metropoletean Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org)|language=en|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/08.201.2a-g|access-date=7 January 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250106232519/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/08.201.2a-g|archive-date=6 January 2025|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref> An ancient games from the African region included the predynastic Egyptian board game of [[Mehen (game)|mehen]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Games in ancient Egypt|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt//furniture/games.html|access-date=13 June 2020|website=Digital Egypt for Universities|publisher=University College, London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202104428/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt//furniture/games.html|archive-date=2 December 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="oldest-games_oldest_current(2025)">{{cite web|title=8 Oldest Board Games in the World|website=Oldest (www.oldest.org)|language=en|url=https://www.oldest.org/entertainment/board-games|access-date=6 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008185958/https://www.oldest.org/entertainment/board-games|archive-date=8 October 2024|url-status=live|df=dmy}}</ref>
}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Game of Hounds and Jackals MET DP264105.jpg|Hounds and jackals ([[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Egypt, 13th Dynasty]])
File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 699-2 Speelbord voor mancala spel.jpg|Mancala board and clay playing pieces
File:Gaming Board Inscribed for Amenhotep III with Separate Sliding Drawer, ca. 1390-1353 B.C.E.,49.56a-b.jpg|Senet set inscribed with the [[Horus name]] of [[Amenhotep III]] ({{r.}} 1391–1353 BC)
</gallery>