Board games have always been present is every household and have entertained young and old for ages. No matter what the occasion, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, easter, or just a casual Sunday, boards games have always been appropriate for every day of the year. But sitting around the kitchen table with friends or family while rolling the dice almost seems like a nostalgic picture nowadays.
The rise of video games and easy access to internet casinos and multiplayer worlds seem to have swept away this rustic image of board games on wooden tables and squeaking kitchen chairs. It’s is so much easier to just login to your gaming account or apply for an online casino bonus than it is to dig out the dusty game box and gather enough players to start a game that could last for hours.
So does this mean that board games are a thing of the past? Well…no. Millions of board games are still being sold on a yearly basis. Especially around Christmas and during the winter holidays. So, you could say that the popularity of these board games is still high up there.
Lets have a look at six of the most successful, most popular and most loved board games throughout the years, shall we?
Monopoly
Lets kick off with a classic; The Landlord’s game, invented by Elizabeth Philips in 1903, was the inspiration for this game, which was released by Parker Brothers in 1934. It incorporates real estate practice since the player goes about attempting to buy as much property as possible. After then, the player receives rent from the opponent, and the player who becomes bankrupt is eliminated from the game.
That is why it is called monopoly since it requires outshining all other parties in property ownership. A great way to raise your kids in being the successful capitalists of the future.
Monopoly, one of Donald Trumps’ favorite, perhaps?
Scrabble
Speaking of education, this game needs a thorough knowledge of vocabulary. Players arrange their pieces to make letters in any direction, including left, right, and downwards. Depending on the words created, the players receive different points.
Fun while learning. What a concept!
Scrabble has been a go-to classic board game for wordsmiths and puzzle fans since the 1950s. Although the original Scrabble board hasn’t changed much over the years, the latest official Scrabble Players Dictionary is now in its sixth edition, with new terms including Bitcoin, emoji, and facepalm. Since 1938, Scrabble has been a popular game.
Trivial Pursuit
Now that we’ve mentioned Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit was created by two Canadian journalists from a game of Scrabble. When the two journalists, Scott Abbott and Chris Haney, decided to play Scrabble, they noticed that several pieces were missing. They moved on to divide the questions into several categories and build Trivial Pursuit with the aid of Ed Werner. In 1984, the game became extremely successful, selling over twenty million copies.
Trivial Pursuit is a basic idea and the board isn’t all that important. Answering questions about anything and everything is the core of the game. Every pub or restaurant’s trivia night has been compressed into a single game. Geography, Entertainment, Science & Nature, Sports & Leisure, History and Arts & Literature are all covered in the traditional edition of this popular game that’s still going strong.
The box is not so important, the company sure is.
RISK
I have to admit; this is my personal favorite. The game was created in 1957 by movie director Albert Lamorisse. To occupy 42 regions across six continents, the game relies on dice throws. To win the game, each participant must have a plan and bargaining abilities. The player with the most territory at the end of the game wins.
Risk is the most complex and strategic of the classic board games featured here, but it hasn’t lost its charm. It’s so popular, in fact, that special editions of the original game have been released, including Star Wars, Europe, and Captain America. Players may even conquer the moon and underwater kingdoms in a special edition. Man, did I love that one!
Trying to conquer the world. This never gets boring, does it?
Settlers of Catan
In this game, players construct colonies, cities, and highways in order to become the dominating force on the island of Catan. The resources produced by the island are determined by rolling the dice each turn. Players construct and build by spending the resources (wood, wheat, brick, sheep, and ore) represented by these resource cards; each land type produces a specific resource, with the exception of the unproductive desert: forests produce wood, fields produce wheat, hills produce brick, pastures produce sheep, and mountains produce ore.
Build your way up to be king of the island
Each player is on a journey to be the first to colonize the undiscovered island of Catan in this classic settlement board game turned video game, which is full of action and adventure. This game originated in Germany and was one of the first German-style board games to achieve international fame. This popular board game attracts to adults and children and is enjoyable for the entire family.
Backgammon
Didn’t see this coming, did you? I have listed Backgammon since it’s one of the oldest board games known to man. Its origins may be traced back over 5,000 years to archaeological finds in Jiroft, Iran. It’s a two-person game in which each player controls fifteen pieces that move between twenty-four triangles based on the results of two dice rolls. The goal of the game is to remove all fifteen checkers or pieces off the board.
Ancient but still popular
This game, which was played in the Mesopotamian era, is now available on almost every computer and in every shop. Furthermore, it is still a great abstract strategy game that has stood the test of time. You could say that Backgammon is the ancient Neanderthal granddad of all the games we play nowadays.
Thanks for that Backgammon!