The British Museum has a wonderful collection of board games, counters and dice. Come and see them and find out about the people who played them.
Starting with an Eyptian Senet box that is over three thousand years old, we will cross the ancient world and see boards, dice and counters so precious that they were buried with their owners.
These games are the ancestors or cousins of games we play today, and we will trace how they spread and developed across centuries and across continents.
Games include the Royal Game of Ur, Mehen, Senet, Hounds and Jackals, Chess, Wari, Backgammon and Go.
The fun, challenge and drama of winning or losing is attractive to us all. Whether it's the Roman Emperor Claudius with a games board built into his chariot or the farmers in Egypt scratching a board onto a stone; everyone played games.
