Watch Great Board Games of the Ancient World

2023
1 Season

While games provide hours of challenge and enjoyment, their storied history can be even more fascinating. In Great Board Games of the Ancient World, journey through thousands of years of ancient cultures and intrigue as you learn how to play—and win—more than a dozen ancient games.

Great Board Games of the Ancient World is a series that ran for 1 seasons (12 episodes) between November 1, 2023 and on The Great Courses

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Seasons

12. Morality Play: Snakes, Ladders, and Geese

November 1, 2023

Who created the game we know today as snakes and ladders? Was a Hindu saint, a Jain monk, or a different person from the 2nd century BCE? Whoever invented the game, it is unquestionably a game about religion. Sometimes called a playable sermon, the goal of the game is to teach people the correct road to enlightenment and to teach children the difference between right and wrong.

11. King Me! Alquerque and Checkers

November 1, 2023

Libro de los Juegos stands as the most important book on board games created during Europe

10. All in a Row: Men

November 1, 2023

Nine Men

9. Patolli: The Lost Game of the Aztecs

November 1, 2023

When the Spanish decided to

8. Pachisi: India

November 1, 2023

In the late 16th century, Akbar the Great of the Mughal Empire built an enormous

7. Decoding the Past: The Royal Game of Ur

November 1, 2023

Similar to senet, the Royal Game of Ur was played by people from all walks of life for thousands of years. Although it was eventually cast aside in favor of other games, archaeologists discovered its game boards and, much later, the cuneiform tablet that explained its rules. Learn what we know today about this ancient Sumerian game that has been resurrected from the dead.

6. Sowing Seeds: Africa

November 1, 2023

Mancala might be the most ancient family of games, with mancala-style pits having been dated back to the Neolithic period, more than 7,000 years ago. Learn how to play awari, one of the simplest mancala games, thought to have originated in the area of modern-day Ghana. You

5. Go: A Game of Near-Infinite Complexity

November 1, 2023

In much of the world, chess is considered the ultimate strategy game, with an average of 35 possible moves to choose from in any given situation. But in Eastern Asia, that exalted status belongs to go, with its average of 250 possible next moves. Explore the fascinating play of this unique game that is so easy to learn and so very difficult to master.

4. Chess

November 1, 2023

While the westward development of chaturanga into chess is fairly well documented, its eastward route is somewhat murky. Explore a Chinese game called xiangqi, and a Japanese game called shogi. Are these two games of tabletop warfare closer to each other in play than they are to chess? Or do they both have a definite lineage from chaturanga?

3. Chess: The Evolution of a Strategy Icon

November 1, 2023

In the waning years of the Indian Gupta Empire, 6th century CE, a board game was developed called chaturanga. This game of tabletop warfare starred the soldiers, elephants, horse riders, and chariots that had helped the Gupta rajas create their kingdom. Discover how this ancient game of strategy wound its way westward to eventually become the enduringly popular game we know as chess.

2. Senet: Egypt

November 1, 2023

The 5,000 artifacts discovered in the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun included magnificent gold statues, iron blades, and four boards for the game senet

1. Bearing Off: The Story of Backgammon

November 1, 2023

During the Third Crusade, the soldiers of France and England had to wait out the winter before they could travel further into the Middle East. What did the men do? They drank and played a gambling game called tables, a game that had been around for almost four millennia by that time. Learn how to play this ancient game

Description

Great Board Games of the Ancient World is a series that ran for 1 seasons (12 episodes) between November 1, 2023 and on The Great Courses

Where to Watch Great Board Games of the Ancient World

Great Board Games of the Ancient World is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Great Board Games of the Ancient World on demand at Amazon Prime and Amazon.