The Sumerians (3500 BC to 2300BC)
The Royal game of Ur (The Sumerian Game) Tau (Game of 20 squares, or Aseb)Double Tau Senet (Senat),
Dogs and Jackals (Game of 58 holes)
Ancient Egypt (3000BC to 525BC when conquered by the Persians)
Tau (Game of 20 squares, or Aseb)
Double Tau Senet (Senat),
Mehen (The snake game)
The Romans (c.525BC - c.475)
Rome became a republic in 510 BC. The end of the Roman Empire is generally dated by the deposition of the last emperor in AD 476.
The Dark Ages (c.475 - c.1050)
An unfashionable term for the period following the fall of the Roman Empire in which Europe was settled by pagan Germanic tribes who adopted the vestiges of Roman institutions and traditions, were converted to Christianity by the church, and who then founded feudal kingdoms. The period is termed "dark" because it is characterised by a lack of clear historical information about the period. The end of the Dark Ages is defined variously as anywhere from 800 to 1050. This definition includes the Viking Era from 800 - 1050.
The Middle Ages; The Medieval period. (c.1000 - c.1450)
European period from around 1000 to the Renaissance around the 15th century. (This is the old definition of Middle Ages - modern historians tend to regard the term "Dark Ages" as politically incorrect and have tried to replace it by redefining the Middle Ages to start at the end of the Roman Empire instead. This author prefers clarity to political correctness).
Renaissance (c.1450 - c.1650)
European intellectual movement that started in Italy in the 14th century and lasted around the rest of Europe until some time in the 17th century. The renaissance period is traditionally seen as the time when the feudal way of life of the middle ages was transformed into the modern age featuring centralised state politics, high art and science.
Victorian period
Queen Victoria, born in 1819, was Queen of England from 1837 -1901 when the British Empire was the leading force in the world. During her reign, the British were potty about games, inventing and codifying hundreds of new games each year, many of which such as Lawn Tennis, Croquet and Snooker went on to become some of the most popular games in the world by the end of the twentieth century.
The Royal game of Ur (The Sumerian Game)
Dogs and Jackals (Game of 58 holes)
Duodecim Scriptorum / 12 Philosophers (Bgmon anc.)
Alea /Tabula (Backgammon ancestor)
Latrunculi (Probable Tafl ancestor)
Tafl /Hneftafl,
Fichneal
Alea Evangelii
Tawlbwrdd
Alquerque
Nard / Tables
Fox and Geese
Draughts / Checkers (all variants)
Ground Billiards
Modern European Chess
Shovelboard, forerunner to Shuffleboard and Sjoelbak (UK)
Shove Ha'penny, another descendant of Shovelboard (UK)
Backgammon (& European variants)
Cribbage (UK, 1620s)
Port & King Billiards
Pall Mall
Solitaire (France pre-1697)
Carambole (France, 1700s)
Bagatelle (pre 1770, location unknown)
Halma (US/UK)
Ludo
Snakes & Ladders
Lawn Tennis (UK)
Squails (UK)
Crokinole (Canada)
Deck Shuffleboard (USA/UK) 1870s
Sjoelbak (Holland)
English Billiards (early 1800s, UK)
Life Pool
Snooker
Parlour Bagatelle
Croquet
Outdoor Shuffleboard (early 1900s)
Indoor Shuffleboard ?
Merels / Nine Mens Morris
Alquerque
Tables
Real Tennis
Croquet
Nine Mens Morris (as quoted by Shakespeare)
Fox and Geese
Cribbage
Bowls (as played by Drake before the battle with the Spanish Armada)
Tables
Tablut (Finland seen in 1732)
Lawn Billiards
Bagatelle
Mah Jong (China) c.1880
Mah Jong was particularly popular in Europe and North America in the 1920s
This page is just unfinished notes for a future article. Still, I appreciate any suggestions or feedback you may have.