The Origins and Benefits of Board Games

One of the best ways to spend some time with family or friends is by playing a board game. During the course of time, there have been numerous board games that people have enjoyed. From Monopoly, Risk, and Scrabble to all of the games of today, generations have played games. But where did board games get their start? The earliest forms of board games can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians in 3500 B.C.

While not much is known about these games, archeologists have discovered many different kinds of games buried in the remains of the civilizations that gave birth to them. While these games are not comparable to the games of today, they were able to help occupy the free time of the people, thus becoming a social event in themselves. Board game playing has continued to be a great way to meet people and to spend time with friends and family.

Board games can fall into many different categories. There are challenging games of strategy such as chess, checkers, Monopoly, and backgammon. Many popular games are aimed at children to help them learn how to play games and graciously accept victory or defeat. Games such as Candyland and Chutes and Ladders are great introductory games.

Other games serve different purposes, such as trivia games. Games such as Trivial Pursuit are helpful in testing your knowledge on a variety of subjects. Word games have always been popular for training the mind, as well. The crossword game, Scrabble, improves vocabulary while keeping the mind sharp by challenging players to create words with letters in their hands.

Sadly, board games are not as popular today as they were even a generation ago. In the past, families gathered for game night. Today, people are more interested in video or electronic games played on devices. Some of them, like Words With Friends, are online versions of their classic counterparts and allow users from all over the world to play together.

Whether on your table or on your tablet, games continue to help younger people to improve their mental development and older people to stay sharp and put off the effects of aging.