Board games existed thousand of years before the birth of Christ.
The oldest board game known to man that still exists today is the
game of Senet. Senet is a game of luck, and it is the known
forerunner of another famous board game, backgammon. Senet was
played by the Egyptian royalties and records of the game date back
to 3500BC. Even commoners were also interested in the game, and
ancient game boards were found in many burial sites.
Board games are closely associated to the economic status of the
people in the area. Board games are sit down games where people sit
down and spend time playing without breaking a sweat. These are also
the type of games which require a certain degree of knowledge and
quick wit. These factors are essential in knowing the development of
the game, especially in its popularity in history.
Considering these factors, we can say that people from the middle
class were fortunate enough to play board games. Modern history is
the best witness to this trend. It was only during the 20th century
that worldwide attention to board games started. After the World War
II, there was a significant rise of the middle class in the USA, and
people were living the “American dream” – a decent and stable job
for the father, a stay at home mom, and kids that are assured of
their future in any given career. People now have time to think of
themselves and not fear any wars or economic meltdown. People
started to notice more games that were around them. Some took notice
of alternate sports, and board games started to flourish since that
time.
It was particularly the game of chess that captivated everyone.
During that time, chess was already an established sport and world
the world champions are mostly Russians. Russians were particularly
meticulous in this type of sport and showed excellence for more than
a century since the establishment of professional chess. Though
chess was loved by the Americans for some time, it was only in the
1970s that the U.S. was able to produce their sole chess champion to
date: Bobby Fischer. Fischer became the world champion in 1972 when
he defeated Boris Spassky, a Soviet world champion. It was through
his victory he single handedly created a sensation of chess
worldwide, especially in USA. However, the United States has yet to
produce the next Bobby Fischer.
Even with this drought, board games are still popular in the United
States. Worldwide interest was also sparked by the computer and
internet. In addition to chess, softwares was developed to create
artificial intelligence. These AIs will play against the human
player who likes to play the game but couldn’t find someone to play
with. The height of artificial intelligence against a human player
is a chess game between then world champion Gary Kasparov and the
software developed by IBM, Deep Blue. At first Kasparov was able to
defeat the computer, but its upgraded version known as the Deeper
Blue eventually defeated the champion. The software was discontinued
after its victory. This competition also sparked the interest of
playing chess against the computer, but also against another player
who happens to be online at the same time.
