The Oldest Games Still Played Today

The Oldest Games Still Played Today

Slot machines are among the oldest casual games still played today, with more than 120 years of history behind them - they were invented by a German-American mechanic called Charles Fey in 1895. Over their history, they have been used as elaborate vending machines and cigar dispensers, then made it into the world of Las Vegas and revolutionized the gambling business. Today, slot machines are played at All Slots online casinos for real money and free of charge through mobile apps and social networks - and they are quite popular, too. They are simple, versatile, and fun - and they are available in all shapes and sizes at the All Slots and beyond, on computers and smartphones, too, through the All Slots Mobile. They are old and casual but by far not the oldest games we still play today. There are quite a few games still in circulation today that have a far longer history.

Chinese checkers (1892)

Originally called "Stern-Halma" (literally translates to star leap, referring to the shape of the play area and the way the pieces are moved around it), the game of Chinese checkers has nothing to do with China. It was invented in Germany in the year 1892 as a variation of the game "Halma", by an unknown inventor. It has gotten its current name - Chinese checkers - as a marketing scheme of the Pressman Toy Corporation, the distributor of the game (originally called "Hop Ching Checkers") in 1928.

Mahjong (1870)

Originally, Mahjong (also known as Majiang) was a game similar to rummy, played with a set of 144 tiles by three or four players. The "Solitaire" version of the game, in turn, which is far more widespread as the original in Europe and the Americas, is far more recent - it has first emerged as a computer game on a PLATO system in 1981. It is the spiritual descendant of the original Mahjong game, though.

The original Mahjong has transitioned from cards to tiles sometime in the middle of the 19th century and was first described as such in 1870.

Chess (around 1475)

Chess had many predecessors, its earliest forms dating as far back as the 6th century, and suffered many transformations over the years. It has reached the form we know today around the year 1475, even though a few minor changes referring to the starting side and the definition of stalemate and a draw were introduced in the 19th century. This intellectual game of strategy and logic is one of the most popular board games played today.

Checkers (1243)

Let us jump back a few centuries and take a look at an ancient strategy game that is still very much alive today: Draughts (in the UK) or Checkers (in the US and beyond). The origins of the game are lost in history but evidence of similar games being played that were discovered date back over five thousand years. The game has suffered numerous transformations over the years, reaching its current form in the 13th century - its first written mention appears in Philip Mouskat's "Chronique" released in 1243.

Go

Go was invented in China over two and a half millennia ago, which makes it the oldest board game played today. Its rules are relatively simple - place tiles on the board to occupy as much territory as possible - yet the number of its combinations exceeds the number of atoms in the visible universe. There are currently over 40 million Go players in the world, especially in East Asia. A casual game of Go can last up to 90 minutes, while a professional match can extend for as long as 16 hours.