Board Games
What is a "Board Game"?
When did the first board game pop up? Where did it originate from? Who created it?
Would you believe me if I told you that the first board game came about around 5,000 BC during the Prehistoric era? This means that we have board games before written language! It's true!
What was the first board game? DICE! 49 small carved painted stones were found at the Başur Höyük burial mound in southeast Turkey and date back to 5,000 BC. Dice are such a crucial part of any board game, so it's no surprise that it was created first. Other pieces have been found in the area of the Fertile Crescent which encompasses the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers that run through modern day Syria and Iraq. Other early dice game included the act of throwing sticks: whatever colored side would land up would be your "roll". These Mesopotamian "dice" were made from carved bones, wood, painted stones, and turtle shells.
Popular Board Games... can you name any????
Creating your own board game!
After you brainstorm all the different kinds of board games out there, consider everything they have in common...
Rules... things that everyone has to follow. Rules of advancement, the limit to how many players can play at once, and the order to which events happen in the game.
Platform... the board, surface, or physical plane
Playable Pieces... the parts of the game that move around and advance towards the end goal.
Direction Cards or Dice... Yahtzee and Sorry have basic rule sheets, Twister has a spinner board, but games like Monopoly and Candyland have actual playing cards that determine your next step in the game. If you have a board game in which the pieces advance or retreat depending on a situation, you will need some kind of playing cards. If a game does not need direction cards, then you will need to create dice or some kind of apparatus that determines the next step to take (such as the spinner board that Twister uses).
Consequences... what happens if you don't follow the rules or advance to a space on the board that prohibits you from going forward? Go to Jail? Move back two spaces? Lose a turn?
Reward... the end goal of winning! What does it take to win?
Steps to take and items to include in your board game:
Decide what kind of game you want to create (dice or direction cards?)
Sketch it out
Decide on the materials you will use
Make your playable pieces
Create playing cards or dice
Finalize the design and detail up the board/playable surface
TURN IT IN
These are the items you need to turn in in order to receive credit:
Sketches, plans, and ideas for your board game
A list of rules and all the components that go into the board game (what each piece and part will look like, including materials list of what each component will be built with)
Once all the parts are turned in, you will actually PLAY your game in class! If your game is successfully played from start to finish with little to minimal hiccups and errors, then you will be victorious in your grade!