Cool games, ancient roots

Some of the most popular board games have ancient origins, dating back centuries. In some cases, they even predate the wheel. Games played by many American children have far-flung foreign origins and fascinating histories. Here are but a few of the most curious examples.

Wei Qi (also spelt Wei-Ch'i) or Go, as it is commonly known outside of China, is considered by most Oriental game experts to be the world's greatest strategic skill game, far surpassing Chess in it's complexity and scope. Most people who have played it would agree with this conclusion and, unlike chess, no computer program has yet been written which has been able to compete with the best Go players. Wei-Ch'i means "surrounding game" or "surrounding chess" and the object is simply to capture as territory by placing down counters on the board.

Wei Qi is called the most sublime of board games from several perspectives. Of all the serious board games described on this site, Go has the fewest rules and yet, the game itself is the most intellectually challenging. The mathematical elegance of the rules is complemented by the great beauty of the boards of all board games in the world, Go has been raised by the Japanese to an art. The Japanese have whole schools where people devote their entire life to the game and a grading system akin to the martial arts systems.

According to Chinese history, Wei-Ch'i was invented by Emperor Shun (2255 - 2206 BC) to help develop the intelligence of his son, Shokin. Under non-Chinese history, it is thought more likely that the game originated in central Asia from where it spread eastwards through Nepal and Tibet to China. The earliest written reference is found in the works of Mencius around 400 BC. The first books were written about Wei Ch'i during the T'ang dynasty between 618 and 906 AD and there are enough poems and other literature written during the 10th century AD to deduce that the game must have been well established by then.

In 754 AD, the Chinese Emperor Hinan Tsung delivered Wei-Ch'i to a representative of Emperor Koken Tenno of Japan. It had already reached Korea by that time where it was called Pa-tok (or Badok). The Japanese called the game "Igo," (phonetically: "Go"). As in China, at first Go was played by the aristocracy only but it gradually filtered down to the educated lower classes over time.

In the 17th century a ranking system was introduced and the feudal government issued a sponsorship to help with studies of Go in special schools. Run by Buddhist priests, the four major Go schools were Honinbo, Hayashi, Inoue and Yasui. Top players from these schools competed in competitions, sometimes in the presence of the Shogun at his castle.

The 20th century saw a resurgence as people from all classes began playing the game.

Chess in roughly the form of today appeared in Southern Europe around the end of the 15th century and quickly became popular Europe wide. The powers of certain pieces were increased and new rules were added such as castling, two square pawn advance, and en passant. The most important changes created the most powerful piece of all, the Queen, and the far-ranging Bishop.

In 1749, Francois-Andre Danican Philidor, a composer and leading chess master of his day, published "L'analyse du jeu des Echecs.". This is one of the greatest chess-related works of literature ever written and has been translated into many languages since.

Howard Staunton, the top player in the mid-19th century also wrote several important theoretical works and organized the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. This was won by Adolf Anderssen from Germany. Since then, greats like Ruy Lopez, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov have taken the game to new heights.

Pachisi (also spelt Parcheesi, Pachisi, Parchisi, Parchesi; also known as Twenty-Five) is the national game of India. The name comes from the Indian word "pacis" which means twenty five, the highest score that could be thrown with the cowry shells. Pachisi is, in fact, the younger sister of Chaupar (or Chausar or Chaupad), a more venerable, complex and skilful game that is still played in India.

The Indian Emperor Akbar I of the 16th century Mogul Empire, apparently played Chaupar on great courts constructed of inlaid marble. He would sit on a dais four feet high in the center of the court and throw the cowry shells. On the red and white squares around him, 16 beautiful women from the harem, appropriately colored, would move around according to his directions. Remains of these boards can be seen today in Agra and Allahabad.

The origins of Pachisi and Chaupar are lost in time but uncertain evidence indicates that forms of the game were in existence in the Indian region from at least the 4th century AD. Both have hardly changed since Emperor Akbar played although the game is not as widely played in India as it once was. Pachisi boards are typically constructed of cloth, six cowry shells are thrown to determine the moves and the counters are made of wood in a beehive shape.