THE GEO-SAMPLER NOVEMBER 2019 In the midst of the festive holiday season, we here in the lab start thinking about being bored. Not here, of course, but with our families, during all that, uh, family time. Which “People say nothing is makes us think about board games, a fun way to connect the generations with the cut- impossible but I can do throat competitive spirit that fuels decades of family traditions and heartaches. So, this nothing every day.” got us to thinking: Monopoly or Parcheesi? And also: without rolling the dice, how did board games get started? GAMEThough thousands and thousands of dif- discovered ON! a group of non-Puritans play- ferent board games have existed over the ing in the streets on Christmas Day in 1622, millennia, there are some things all share he literally ‘took the ball and went home,’ It’s in common; they’re typically played on a reprimanding the townspeople that their technical tabletop, they motivate players to achieve joy for the day should be confined to their a goal, and they have that which drives home. (And perhaps setting up what would “The factory of the future wedges between sib- become a long tradi- will have only two employees, lings: rules. tion of Clue on Christ- a man, and a dog. The man mas Day throughout will be there to feed the Board games are an- dog. The dog will be there to the land.) cient history, we’ve keep the man from touching learned thanks to The board game Trav- the equipment.” myriad archeologi- eller’s Tour Through “If computers get too cal sites. The earli- the United States and powerful, we can organize est game, Senet, was its sister game Trav- them into committees. found in Predynastic eller’s Tour Through That’ll do them in.” and First Dynasty Europe were pub- burials of Egypt, circa lished by New York “My friend told me there was 3500 BC and 3100 City bookseller F. & life outside the internet. I asked BC respectively, and R. Lockwood in 1822 him to send me a link.” is the oldest board and today claims the “A computer lets you make game known to have distinction of being more mistakes faster than any existed. Senet was the first board game invention in human history— pictured in a fresco published in the Unit- with the possible exceptions of found in Merknera’s ed States. handguns and tequila.” tomb (3300–2700 BC). Not sure whether As American life shifted to a more urban Merknera or his brother won that match, “If GM had kept up with existence, both leisure time and disposable technology like the computer but it had to have been pretty important income became more plentiful. Suddenly, to be included in his burial plans. industry has, we would all children were encouraged to play board be driving $25 cars that got Another ancient Egyptian board game, games that helped develop literacy skills 1000 MPG.” Hounds and Jackals, made an appear- and provide moral guidance. The Mansion ance in a 13th century tomb. Backgam- of Happiness (1843) sent players on a path “I changed my password mon, considered THE classic board game of virtues and vices, while setting the stage everywhere to ‘incorrect.’ by many, originated in Mesopotamia more for the Game of Life that would appear a That way when I forget it, than 5,000 years ago. Chess and Parcheesi century later. Actually, the precursor was it always reminds me, ‘your originated in India. more accurately The Checkered Game of password is incorrect.‘’ Life, introduced in 1860, that rewarded Board in the U.S.A. “Those who think there are no players for mundane activities such as at- stupid questions have never The hardscrabble farming life of colonial tending college, marrying, and getting rich. worked in tech support.” American left little time for game playing. Daily life rather than eternal life became The early Pilgrims and Puritans of New the focus of board games and it became England viewed dice as “instruments of the first to focus on secular virtues rather the devil,” which was even before our little than religious ones; it sold 40,000 copies AASHTO R18 brother got ahold of them. In fact, harken- its first year. Of note, the game was played ing back to the earliest days of holiday using a color-coded wheel instead of dice NQA-1 cheer, when Governor William Bradford to avoid being branded as gambling. COMPLIANT By the time Milton Bradley introduced Chutes and Lad- it caught the eye of the president of Macy’s. To date, ders (an Americanization of the ancient Indian game more than 150 million sets have been sold worldwide, and Snakes and Ladders), the die was literally cast. Rules for roughly one-third of American and half of British homes that game have changed little in centuries, but the original have a Scrabble set. ancient theme was the reward of virtue (ladders) and the In 1974, a new table-top fantasy game was first introduced downfall of vice (snakes). That game was followed closely and became a literal game-changer. by the invention of Candyland, which entails the treacher- Dungeons and Dragons, aka D&D, ous journey through the Candy Cane Forest and Gum- is a role-playing game that uses drop Mountain while avoiding the buzz-killing Molasses storytelling as a game device, as Swamp. What Candyland lacks in strategy, it makes up one player serves as Dungeon for in lack of complicated rules. Master. The game has tens of By 1883, the Parker Brothers we’re con- thousands of fans and play- juring up some new board games ers worldwide and enjoyed of their own. They had a major a resurgence thanks to its hit with the card game appearance on the TV Rook, but really made hit, “Stranger Things.” their fortune with a Speaking of resur- new game released gence, board games just in time for the are enjoying a bit of Great Depression; the a moment themselves. brothers advanced to go In 2012, The Guardian went as and collected $200 with far as dubbing it “A Golden Age for the invention of Monopoly. Board Games,” stating board games had That was quickly followed seen a growth rate as high as 40% year over by Clue (extra points if you year. The budding interest even inspired a popular can name the official victim of Youtube series called Table Top. This series pits internet the murder*), Risk (the game celebrities against each other and garners several hun- of world domination), and Sorry dred thousand views per video. (the game of introducing the con- cept of sarcasm to youngsters as So, as we slog through the holiday season, get your game they are unceremoniously sent back to square one.) face on. Share some love, and strategy, with your family. If not now, then on April 4, 2020, which is International Late to the game table, but a brobdingnagian (on a dou- Tabletop Day. You’re up! ble-word score) success story, was Scrabble. Invented in 1938, the game languished on the shelves until 1952 when *The victim in Clue was Mr. Boddy. (And likely the perpetrator was Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the lead pipe.) What do you get when you burn coal? Ashes, of course. And here at Geotechnics, we test a lot of ASHES, Coal Combustion Products during the course of a week. Fly ash. Gypsum. Bottom Ash. And we’re happy to help our clients determine the unique qualities of each variety. To learn more about testing ASHES CCP’s or ask a question to stump the expert, give Randy O’Rourke a shout at (412) 823-7600. Pittsburgh – 544 Braddock Avenue • East Pittsburgh, PA 15112 • Phone (412) 823-7600 • [email protected] or [email protected] Our three facilities serve projects across the country. Raleigh – 2200 Westinghouse Boulevard • Raleigh, NC 27604 • Phone (919) 876-0405 • [email protected] Nashville – 13 Industrial Park Drive, Suite 500 • Hendersonville, TN 37075 • Phone (615) 590-7695 • [email protected].