From time immemorial, human beings have been playing board games. While many of these board games lost their luster quickly and soon went out of style, others persisted, maintaining their popularity throughout the years.
1. Chess
Played both competitively and recreationally, chess just might be the most successful board game of all time. Believed to have been created approximately 2,000 years ago, it's long renowned as the ultimate game for intellectuals.
2. Checkers
The more-accessible brother to chess, checkers has actually been on the earth for a longer time. Believed to have first been developed around 3,000 years ago, the game evolved rapidly over its first few centuries.
3. Mancala
While not as well-known as checkers and chess, mancala is still a fairly popular game. Invented between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the oldest known mancala relics existed in a Roman bathhouse in Gedera, Israel.
4. Chutes and Ladders
Also called snakes and ladders, the game chutes and ladders have been around for approximately 2,000 years. Invented in ancient India in the 2nd century AD, it's one of the most popular kids' board games of all time.
5. Senet
One of the oldest known board games, senet was devised in ancient Egypt as far back as 3500 BC. Archaeologists have found artifacts from the game in burial grounds believed to have originated during the First Dynasty and Predynastic eras.
6. Backgammon
Along with senet, backgammon is one of the oldest board games in existence. Historians believe that this game dates back to 3000 BC.
7. Go
A two-player strategic game in which both players try to surround as much area as possible, Go has existed for over 2,500 years. Developed in China, it was first referenced in history books in 548 BC.