Some of the games that people play and enjoy in the modern age have some fascinating origins that you may not even realize. Some games that are now commonly played online or on modern consoles have surprisingly ancient origins.
While the stories of how games came into existence can sometimes become blurred and warped over the years, we can trace many of the games, and some of the stories are pretty surprising. In this guide, we explore some of the games currently played that have the oldest origins.
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Baccarat
Baccarat is a game that can be traced back to medieval times. In its current form, the first records of the game can be found in the 1800s. However, it is thought that the game may be as old as the 1200s or 1300s, even if it was played a little bit differently back then.
French table games were played as early as the 1300s and manuscripts that date from the time refer to playing games that could be similar to baccarat.
Baccarat is probably actually a game that has its roots in Italy in the 1300s. There was a game called Tarrochi that was quite similar, and at the time it used Tarot cards. Other games such as Macao were also quite similar in concept.
It is a game called Le Her which was probably the origin of baccarat though. This is a fixed number game with players aiming for the highest score. If a card that was not a king was drawn players were able to exchange their card, which could be where the additional card drawing came from in baccarat as we know it now.
Baccarat has gone through an incredible revolution, and those who played it hundreds of years ago probably couldn’t have predicted the shape it would eventually take. Nowadays, players can connect to a dealer from pretty much any location to play live dealer baccarat online. Recent growth in technology means that it is easier to access streams and play baccarat in real-time with a human touch. Of course, via gaming interfaces on online casinos, players have been able to play baccarat online for decades now, but live dealer games are still growing significantly and giving players are more authentic casino experience.
Backgammon
Backgammon is another game that is very difficult to trace to one specific origin. The game has evolved and was played under different names and with slightly different rules. However, it is clear that the game was inspired by early games such as The Royal Game of Ur. This game was first recorded in Mesopotamia over 4,500 years ago, making it one of the oldest games that we have a record of.
For those who are interested in The Royal Game of Ur, there are modern reproductions on the market. When playing this game it is clear to see that there are many similarities with backgammon and the two are almost undeniably linked.
The basic concept of backgammon is to move your own pieces or “checkers” to the home board and “bear off” the pieces which means to remove them. The opposing player is trying to move their checkers in the opposite direction on the board.
Go
It is estimated that there are more than 60 million Go players around the world, with many of them being based in Asian countries. This makes sense, as it is a game of Asian origin, that can be dated back an incredible 3,000 years.
Go was originally called Weiqi. It is a game where players try to capture tokens and occupy as much of the board as possible. While it has a very simple basis, the game can become pretty complex as players capture and even recapture territories.
Like so many other ancient games, this can now be played on your computer and even online against players all over the world. The game usually takes around one hour to 90 minutes to play out, but this is when played among amateurs. In the professional realms and elite level of play, it is possible that games will last five or six hours, or even longer than that in some extreme cases.
Conclusion
These are just some of the extreme examples of old games still played today. When you delve into the history of certain games, you’ll notice many of them are much more ancient than you ever expected. Even the huge gaming company Nintendo was founded back in the 1800s when it printed and distributed playing cards in Japan.
While the modern age sees new games developed and released every week on platforms like Steam, sometimes it is the old classics that are truly the most interesting and fulfilling. Plus, many have some fascinating stories across thousands of years worth of history.