To celebrate the anniversary of the world's first Scrabble competition, Memories takes a look back the history of board games. Share you own memories below.
Join Memories to request access to contribute your cherished photos, videos, and stories to The history of board games's memorial with others who loved them.
Join MemoriesMemories Team ‘The Landlords Game’ was self-published by an American woman named Elizabeth Magie in 1906. The game would later become Monopoly.
Memories Team Battleship was first created as a pencil and paper game during World War I. Battleship wouldn't be released as a plastic board game until it was developed by Milton Bradley in 1967.
Memories Team Anthony Pratt was playing piano in European country mansions during WWII and observed the upper-class role-playing different murder mystery scenarios for evening entertainment. He would patent a board game version of the role-playing game in 1947. The game was first called Murder before being renamed to Cluedo.
French movie director Alber Lamorisse released a game called La Conquête du Monde (The Conquest of the World) in 1957. After growing in popularity in France, the game was introduced to America two years later when it was purchased by the Parker brothers. It was released under the new name Risk: The Continental Game.
Memories Team Mouse Trap was first published in 1963 and was one of the first mass-produced, three-dimensional board games. Read more: http://hasb.ro/2ZeCrZ7
Memories Team Twister is one of the select physical board games. The game was created in 1964 , however the first iteration would be rejected. Milton Bradley later embraced the idea for 'Pretzel' but renamed the game Twister.
As a fan of crosswords, chess and other mind games, American architect Alfred Mosher Butts settled down in his New York apartment in the 1930s to create a new game that would involve knowledge, strategy and chance. The game was released as Scrabble in 1948, but sales were low. In 1952, an executive of Macy’s saw people playing the game and deci...
Memories Team The fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons was born in 1974. D&D departs from traditional wargaming by allowing each player to create their own character to embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting.
Memories Team Connect Four was trademarked by Milton Bradley in February 1974. Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie once started a rumour that Connect Four was invented by David Bowie - it would remain an urban myth for years.
Hungry Hungry Hippos is a tabletop game made for 2–4 players. The idea for the game was first published by toy inventor Fred Kroll in 1967 before being released in 1978. The objective of the game is for each player to collect as many marbles as possible with their 'hippo'.
Memories Team Guess Who? is a two-player character guessing game created by Ora and Theo Coster. The game was first manufactured by Milton Bradley in 1979. Advertisements for the board game often showed the characters on the cards taunting each other. This caused confusion for some people and the ad was forced to include the line: "Game cards do not actually talk".
Memories Team Pictionary is a charades-inspired word-guessing game first published in 1985.
Memories Team Cards Against Humanity is a party game in which players complete fill-in-the-blank statements using words or phrases typically deemed as offensive, risqué or politically incorrect. The game originated from a Kickstarter campaign in 2011. Create your own Memories Page: https://www.memories.net/
Memories Team Ancient Egypt was known for a board game called Senet. Royals played the 3100BC game on decorated boards, while the poor simply carved it into the ground. The game was linked to the afterlife, with the winner believed to be under protection from the Gods.
Memories Team The first evidence of board games dates back over 7,000 years, with archaeologists finding carved and painted stone dice in burial grounds called Başur Höyük. Dice style games were also discovered in archaeological sites at the Fertile Crescent - modern-day Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and southeast Turkey. The dice were made from painted sticks, carved wood, bone, sheep knucklebones and shells.
Memories Team The first evidence of Chess was from 600AD. Originally known as 'Shatranj', the game quickly spread across the globe. The game was dubbed Chess in 1475 and had the same rules as today.
Memories Team Snakes and Ladders was created in 200BC - it originated in ancient India and was known as ‘Mokshapat’. English colonial rulers brought the game back to western civilisation in the late 19th century and it's still played today.
Memories Team The Royal Game of Ur was created around 2650BC. The rules were thought to be lost in history, until they were discovered carved into an ancient stone tablet. The two-player strategy game involves players racing to move all seven pieces along the board using dice rolls. Players are able to ‘capture’ the opposing players’ pieces, which means they have to start again. The game is still played today.
Memories Team Ludus Latrunculorum is a two-player strategy board game played throughout the Roman Empire. It was the first game to be based on military-style tactics, however the rules are incredibly hard to interpret based on the archaeological evidence. Historians believe that Ludus Latrunculorum had an influence on the development of chess.
Memories Team While the origins of Checkers are debated among historians, the game we understand can be traced to 1100AD.
GO was created in China in 400BC and would become one of the most popular board games of all time. The strategy game is played by two players who place stones on a checkered board - the objective is to surround the largest area on the board with your pieces while circling the opponents. GO has more possible moves than the total number of atoms in...