We have all experienced happiness at one point in our life and usually it has involved beating a sibling or friend at a board game. While board games are traditionally played by families to pass the time, they can also be a source of entertainment for professional gamblers -especially since most games are a game of skill.
Whether you are arguing over the origin of board games over a family dinner, or wanting to find the most popular board games to bring on your next camping trip our team at Australian Board Games have put together a comprehensive guide of board games for everyone to play and have also looked at whether you can play for real AUD money.
What is a board game?
Many would know what a board game is however for those who don’t or want a solid definition to quote when taking on a sibling in argument, our team have you covered. A board game is basically a game which involves strategy, tactics, chance, or other skills to win on a ‘board’. History proves that these types of games have been around for thousands of years so the surface and gameplay has definitely changed but basically there are a set of rules and a player has to achieve a certain objective to win.
There are many board games available today which range from themes such as Australian Monopoly to those without a theme such as Chess. There are also visual games which require players to draw and have their team mate guess what it is such as Pictionary, as well as memory games such as Stratego. Every board game is different and can each have a different level of skill required to play. However, all are quite entertaining depending on who you are playing with.
History of board games
Some say board games were adequately named in their invention as those who played were bored, which we believe is indeed quite fitting especially since the earliest board games which have been discovered were played on stone and yet were never called ‘stone games’. It has been confirmed that the earliest board game that has been found was played over 5000 years ago and known as Senet, or ‘Passing’ in ancient burials in Egypt. The game involved 30 squares which were inscribed into stone and put into three rows of ten squares parallel to one another. Two players would then move their draughtsman which are pawns of at least five each and would move them strategically after using a dice generally made of sticks or bones. The rules have been consistently discussed, debated, and not quite resolved, however.
What we can take from this though is board games most likely originated in Egypt. This was acknowledged in a study for the Antiquity Journal, where they state board games were played by the elite in 3500 BC. It is also said that China and India both had their own games which are now popular such as the game Go and Chess created in the countries respectively, with references to the dates being from 500-400 BC.
What is also interesting is history suggests that not just anyone could play board games back then as we can now, with only the privileged such as the Royals were allowed to play. This was revealed after a game known as The Game of Twenty Squares, which is said to be somewhat similar to backgammon, was found in the Royal Tombs of Ur in Iraq. From here many board games have been said to be created up until the late 1900’s.
It was in 1930 one of the most popular board games to date was created, known as Monopoly. Battleships came next but it was called ‘Salvo’; then came Criss-Crosswords which is now known as Scrabble; Risk was released in 1957; and finally in 1980 board games earned their own genre in Germany, which also has there own award ceremonies for boardgames called the Spiel des Jahres.
Interesting facts since then have included the Game of Life updated their game in 1991 to reward those players who recycled and who were nice to the homeless; Monopoly was played in space in 2007; and in 2011 the Scrabble dictionary added slang words.
Although only the elite were able to play board games, modern times means now anyone can play and they are a great and popular way to pass the time, however some are much more popular than others.
Popular board games
Despite the increasingly popularity of smartphones, tablets, and laptops all due to the Internet, board games are still maintaining their popularity and are said to be increasing in popularity each year. Some accredit the Internet due to more avenues allowing for people buy these games on as the reason why the market share has increased. However others suggest it is the innovative graphics and ability to play board games on our portable device via apps. Regardless, we have compiled the top 15 most popular board games in no particular order so you can see what, if any, board games you need to play.
1. Chess – Two player strategy game.
2. Checkers/Draughts – Two player strategy game
3. Monopoly – Two to eight players depending on the version. Strategy, negotiation and management skills required.
4. Scrabble – Two to four players use tiles with letters to score points. Spelling and a wide vocabulary is needed.
5. Cluedo – Two to six, to three to six players depending on edition. Deduction game based on crime fiction.
6. Risk – Two to six player strategy game.
7. Battleship – Two player guessing game from World War I.
8. The Game Of Life – Two to six players but variations can see up to 10 players. The game follows life with jobs marriage, kids and everything in between.
9. Snakes and Ladders – Two player counting game to get to the top square from the bottom helped by ladders and hindered by snakes.
10. Trivial Pursuit – Two to six players with teams allowed. Based on both general knowledge and popular culture references.
11. Go – Two player strategy game.
12. Backgammon – Two player game involving tactics and strategy as well as probability skills.
13. Stratego – Two players require strategy skills as well as a good memory.
14. Connect Four – Two player strategy game with the first player winning 100% of the time with the right moves.
15. Pictionary – Requires four or more players and drawing and image recognition skills.
Real money online board games
Getting $200 every time you pass GO all the while playing for real AUD money online seems appealing but unfortunately most board games aren’t available for players to gamble real AUD money with. However, there are variations available to play for real money. These are slots though and not board games and therefore do not require the same level of skill. They include Monopoly Dream Life, Cluedo Slot, and video Scrabble pokies.
It is also possible however to play most of your favourite board games online for free. Although the game play isn’t as similar as they are when you are playing with he physical version, they can still be quite entertaining. However, if you are after a real money variation you can play with your friends or family we have a solution. Additionally, you can download the board game apps such as Monopoly for your smartphone or tablet to play on the go, however this is also in free game mode.
How can I play board games for real money?
In early 2015, Hasbro released Monopoly sets which have been replaced with real money for their 80th anniversary. Only eighty sets have the real cash and it will only be available in the Europe with the currency being euros. However if you wish to play for real AUD money at home in Australia you can replace the monopoly money with a pool of money collected buy all players, such as a group of friends. Here you can play the game as you would, or make variations depending on how much money you may have. For example, it isn’t likely you will have the full $15,400 unless you are a high roller, so you can alter how much properties sell for. Unfortunately this is the best solution for gambling with real AUD money when it comes to board games such as Monopoly, for now, but our team will keep you updated if anything changes.
What board games are Australian?
As history states, Australia didn’t have much to do with the origin of board games. However, while we can’t claim Monopoly, Scrabble, or even The Game of Life, we might be able to claim the ever popular game of Connect Four. This is because the game was said to be played so much by Captain Cook on his voyage to Australia he was always in his cabin and although he was British we have decided that if we can claim New Zealanders then we can claim our settler’s heritage. However this may have been a variation and Milton Bradley (now Hasbro) put their trademark on it in 1974 which is the ever so popular game you still see today.
Other then this there are Australian-made board games which aren’t quite as common. These include Squatter and Atmosfear. Squatter is a game for both children and adults featuring two to six players, and is centred around sheep farming. Each player has five pastures and to win they all need to do is improve and irrigate them and have six pens of sheep. Sheep are represented by tokens. While it isn’t as fun as winning money, it is somewhat educational and interesting to learn about Australia’s outback.
Atmosfear (also known as Nightmare) on the other hand is a video board game which was released in 1991 and has been incredibly popular, not just in Australia where it was created but worldwide. All players need to do is retrieve six ‘Keystones’ all differently coloured in order to beat the host. The game became so popular variations were made and the pair struck a deal with board game manufacturers J.W speak and Sons Spear’s Games in Germany and then created The Harbingers which did better than expected in terms of worldwide sales when it was released.
These games aren’t as popular as the games we have listed above as many of the popular board games were created in Europe by large board game manufacturers. Regardless Australian’s can still get access to these games both online and at retail outlets. Additionally, many Australians these days come up with their own board game variations so we can claim these as our own, such as the Australian edition of Monopoly featuring our own capital cities such as Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, and Perth, as well as Telecome (which is now known as Telstra) and Australia Post as our utilities.
About the team at ABG
Here at Australian Board Games, we were all raised playing many of the above mentioned board games and believe that these games will never not be a popular game to play. We are a team of journalists and editors who constantly monitor the realm of the world wide web in order to bring both professional gamblers and board gaming enthusiasts alike factual information.
We regularly update our content and ensure we are bringing you new information all the time. If you have any information you wish to provide us with or just want to get in touch, leave us a comment on any of our articles and pages or email us at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you.