Games Britania - Dicing with Destiny

Games Britania - "Dicing with Destiny"

 



 

In this lecture we watched episode 1 of Games Britania presented by Benjamin Woolley. This was for us to understand when and how games stared centuries ago.

 

In this game, Woolley explores some of the oldest games known (in their original forms) and explains how these games may have been played at the time.

 

 

The Stanway Game:

 

The first game to be looked into was the Stanway Game which was excavated in Stanway in 1996 from graves of British people (when Britain was under Roman rule), however once uncovered from the graves these pieces were believed to be from around 43AD. The graves were referred to as 'the Doctor's Grave' and 'the Warrior's Grave'.

 

From this excavation, a board with metal corner pieces and glass playing pieces found on opposing sides of the board were found from the Doctor's grave (already set up as if a game was being played) however the rules are unknown. This is where Woolley decides to consult Irving Finkel (who states it is probably a strategy game predating the Roman invasion) and Mike Pitts (to get an idea of the original owner of the game).

 

 

Alea Evangelii:

 

Alea Evangelii (Game of Angels) was a game mentioned in a manuscript, (including diagrams), alongside Athelstan who was the C10th King of Britain. This was believed to be the game of his court.

 

Woolley plays this game with David Howlett. This game is part of the Tafl group of games where there are twice as many attacking pieces as there are defending. The defending pieces are based in the center of the board surrounding a king with the object of the game in getting the king to escape via one of the corners (or sides) of the board. A piece can capture another of the opposing side by surrounding him (a piece on either side) and if the king is captured then the attacking king wins.

 

The game board is an 18 by 18 grid with 72 playing pieces in total.

 

 

Nine Men's Morris:

 

This game was found scratched into stone within a medievil cathedral. This is a form of naughts and crosses, however if a player manages to get 3 in a row they then get to remove an opponent piece (rather than an instant win).

 

 

Hazard:

 

A gambling game using dice throws (therefore chance), believed to bought back to Europe by crusaders in the C14th. However this game was looked down upon by the church and was banned for a period of time due to this.

 

 

Faro:  

 

A card game which bought about a peak in gambling in the C18th. Due to this game, a murder trial took place in 1823 involving James Thurtell who was the son of the Mayor of Norwich. He was convicted and hung of murdering another man over a gambling debt, this later led to The Gaming Act in 1845.

 

 

The Royal Game of Goose:

 

This game was bought about showing that not all games are evil, this game was about virtue and used a spinner rather than dice. This was a simple board game of 63 squares played in the Victorian times.

 

 

Gyan Chapoor:

 

Woolley decided to play this game. This was the original form of 'Snakes and Ladders' and was of Hindi origin, believed to be the game of knowlege in which players must reach a state of enlightement in both the game and in life. The board to this game is much larger than normal snakes and ladders and has areas that can be reached rather than just one direction.

 

 

Chess:

 

The original pieces in this game were named after Howard Staunton. He later standarised the pieces and rules for all to play (which ended up being world wide) for the first international chess tournament in 1851.