Board Games

Overview

Board games are tabletop games that require players to move across a patterned board toward a destination or objective, usually by using figurines, dice, cards, and other components. While they're primarily for entertainment, board games often tap into cultural concerns, beliefs, and narratives.

Senet and the Royal Game of Ur, two of the earliest known board games, were believed to have been played by the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians, respectively. The first known American board game, The Travellers' Tour Through the United States, was published in 1822 and was intended to teach geography.

Despite the ubiquity of video games and the internet, analog board games are currently experiencing a resurgence: Between 2019 and 2025, sales in the US jumped by more than 30%.

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