So Sept. 24 through Oct. 24, will be Culture Days in Yorkton.
While that is still some weeks away, the idea of board games being a part of a country’s culture did begin percolating.
Certainly, most games are just that, games taken out for fun. Of course some have some definite family ‘roots’ becoming traditions of a sort when the family gathers. I know when I was young Monopoly, so not my favourite game, was brought out at every winter holiday gathering on my Dad’s side of the family. Thankfully there were ‘bowl’ games on the television, although even then American football wasn’t a favourite either.
But, with the idea of Culture Days there are of course games more connected to certain countries where over the decades they have become popular and as a result much-played.
Perhaps the most obvious games come within the chess and checker families.
On the chess side most are familiar with the ‘western’ version we typically play, but it is hardly the only chess game out there.
Xiangqi, which dates back to around 960, is most certainly chess, and happens to be the version most associated with China, where the sheer population tells you it is much-played.
Interestingly, Changgi, which is played mostly in Korea, is a close relative of Xiangqi, but has some differences.
In Japan chess takes on a significantly different form in Shogi.
Thailand the game of chess is Makruk, and it too has its own flavour.
In Mongolia you would play Shatar if looking for the local chess game.
On the checkers side there is the rather well-known Turkish checkers dating back to around 1400.
There are also slightly different rules for Italian, Brazilian, Spanish and Malaysian checkers too.
Checkers of a different sort include Konane, a version that is certainly fun to play, and coming from Hawaii.
It’s the same sort of thing when it comes to card games, with a number of countries having common decks quite different from the 52-card, four suit decks, we typically play with.
In Italy, for example you might play Scopa, a game dating back to around 1600. If you watch you occasionally see the game for sale here.
In Japan you find the Hanafuda deck, and of course a number of games that can be played with it. The deck apparently dates back to around 1700.
You see capture games specific to countries as well; Bagh Chal from Nepal a good example, with its root dating back to around 1000.
Parcheesi, or Ludo, is a game that many associate with India, as is the game of Carrom, a finger-flicking game of skill.
The mancala family of games are played in many countries, especially across Africa with differing rules for the same basic game idea depending on the country or region you are playing.
Certainly, with the interconnectedness of the world these days, especially with the Internet, games are played less in the isolation of a particular country, or region, being accessible to a broader audience, but it is interesting how games evolved to become popular in certain locales decades, if not centuries ago.
Of course board games have long been a way for people to come together, with many games have a truly ancient history, Backgammon dating back an estimated 5000 years, and the earliest mention of Go appearing in the ‘Analects’ of Confucius (551-479 BC). You have to love a game on a cultural level for it to survive, and still be widely played as these two games are.
So next week we’ll look at board games in Canada, but in the meantime it would seem to make sense that board games are part of a month-long cultural celebration in a country as diverse as ours.
