American Games: a Historical Perspective / by Bruce Whitehill
American Games: A Historical Perspective / by Bruce Whitehill istorians investigating board games of the world have traditionally examined ancient or early games, using artifacts, drawings, and available text. From this, Hthey hoped to learn more about the cultures in which these games flourished, how the games moved from one territory to another (trade routes), and how they chan- ged and evolved in different cultures. Traditional classic games such as chess, checkers (draughts), Mancala, Pachisi, Mill (Mühle or Nine Mens Morris), Fox and Geese, and the Game of Goose, among others, have been studied in great detail by many scholars. Some of these games were played on quite elaborate, carved wooden boards, and, as such, they were available only to a privileged few. In the middle 1800s, however, advances in lithography and in techniques of the mass production of printed matter allowed games to be commercially produced in large quantities. They were also inexpensive enough to be affordable by the less affluent. This meant that games could reach a larger portion of the population, and become a staple in more homes. What purposes have games served in society? Were they recreational or were they intended as educational or instructional instruments? And who manufactured and sup- plied these games to the public? In the United States, a study of games poses one immediate limit for the researcher: the term “ancient” hardly applies to a country that was not formally “discovered” until 1492. Well into the 1800s, most board games played in North America were of European origin. Culin (1907) lists the board games played by the American Indians under the hea- ding “European games,” though games he categorized as “dice games” are actually board games that use dice to determine movement.
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