<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Simple race games, played with dice and without choice of move, are known from antiquity. In the late 16th century, specific examples of this class of game emerged from Italy and spread rapidly into other countries of Europe. Pre-eminent was the Game of the Goose, which spawned thousands of variants over the succeeding centuries to the present day, including educational, polemical and promotional variants.<xref ref-type="fn" rid="j_bgs-2016-0001_fn_001_w2aab2b8b7b1b7b1ab1aaAa">1</xref>The educational variants began as a French invention of the 17th century, the earliest of known date being a game to teach Geography, the Jeu du Monde by Pierre Duval, published in 1645. By the end of the century, games designed to teach several of the other accomplishments required of the noble cadet class had been developed: History, the Arts of War, and Heraldry being notable among them.A remarkable example of a game within this class is the astronomical game, Le Jeu de la Sphere ou de l’Univers selon Tycho Brahe, published in 1661 by E(s)tienne Vouillemont in Paris. The present paper analyses this game in detail, showing how it combines four kinds of knowledge systems: natural philosophy, based on the Ptolemaic sphere; biblical knowledge; astrology, with planetary and zodiacal influences; and classical knowledge embodied in the names of the constellations. The game not only presents all four on an equal footing but also explores links between them, indicating some acceptance of an overall knowledge-system. Despite the title, there is no evidence of the Tychonian scheme for planetary motion, nor of any Copernican or Galilean influence.This game is to be contrasted with medieval race games, based on numerology and symbolism, and with race games towards the end of the Early Modern period in which science is fully accepted.</abstract>

The Game of the Sphere or of the Universe — a Spiral Race Game from 17th century France

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The ways new games typically develop might be viewed as a continuum ranging from very gradual “evolution” based on mutations introduced to a single progenitor during play or recall, to sudden “intelligent design” based on a purposeful and original combination — or even invention — of ludemes independent of any particular lines of transmission.This paper argues that two proprietary 20th-century games, C.A. Neves’s Fang den Hut! and Lizzie Magie’s The Landlord’s Game, were developed in a different way, a bit outside the typical continuum. It analyzes the games’ general typologies, and specific ludemes, concluding that both games are modern adaptations of traditional Native American games encountered, not through play or even contact with players, but through the seminal ethnographic publications of Stewart Culin. Specifically, Fang den Hut! derives from Boolik via <italic>Games of the North American Indians</italic>, and The Landlord’s Game derives from Zohn Ahl via <italic>Chess and Playing-Cards</italic>.</abstract>

Board to Page to Board

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><italic>Kauṭilya</italic>’s <italic>maṇḍala</italic> model has intrigued indologists and political scientists for some time. It deals with friendship and enmity between countries that are direct or indirect neighbours. (Ghosh; 1936) suggests a close relationship between this model and Indian four-king chess. We try to corroborate his claim by presenting a stylized game-theory model of both Indian four-king chess and <italic>Kauṭilya</italic>’s <italic>maṇḍala</italic> theory. Within that game model, we can deal with <italic>Kauṭilya</italic>’s conjecture according to which an enemy’s enemy is likely to be one’s friend. Arguably, this conjecture is reflected in the ally structure of four-king chess. We also comment on the widespread disapproval of dice in (four-king) chess.</abstract>

Four-king chess with dice is neither unrealistic nor messed up

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Die Geschichte des Dominospiels in Europa ist bisher wissenschaftlich nicht bearbeitet worden. Die ältesten Nachweise stammen aus China. Frühe archäologische Funde aus Nordwesteuropa reichen bis an die Grenze des Mittelalters zurück, sind aber außerordentlich selten. Ein Import über den Seeweg aus China kommt aus chronologischen Gründen nicht mehr in Betracht. Etwa ab 1760 gibt es schriftliche Belege aus Frankreich und Deutschland. Während sich aber in Frankreich darin ein Interesse der Oberschichten an wettkampfmäßigem Spiel manifestiert, handeln die deutschen Belege zunächst von einem Kinder-spiel. Erst mit den militärischen Erfolgen Frankreichs um die Jahrhundertwende steigt die Reputation des Spiels in den europäischen Oberschichten. In dieser Zeit sind neben Spielsätzen aus Hartgeweben auch Kartenspielsätze geläufig. Der Name leitet sich vermutlich von dem französischen Wort für Buntpapierherstellung ab, unter dem auch die Kartenmacher zu subsumieren sind.</abstract>

Die Kenntnis des Dominospiels in Europa: Archäologie, Geschichte, Bibliographie

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">For games of complete information with no chance component, like Chess, Go, Hex, and Konane, some parameters have been identified that help us understand what makes a game pleasant to play. One of these goes by the name of <italic>drama</italic>.Briefly, drama is linked to the possibility of recovering from a seemingly weaker position, if the player is strong enough. This is an important requirement to prevent initial advantages to be amplified into unavoidable and thus uninteresting victories. Drama is a feature that arguably good board games should have, since it is relevant in the perception of the play experience as pleasant.Despite its intrinsic qualitative nature, we suggest the adaptation of the concept of drama to games of pure chance and propose a set of objective criteria to measure it. Some parameters are here used to compare Goose-like games, which we compute via computer simulation for some well-know games. A statistical analysis is performed based on the play of millions of matches done by computer simulation. The article discusses correlations and patterns found among the collected data. The methodology presented herein is general and can be used to compare other types of board games.</abstract>

Measuring Drama in Goose-like Games

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 17 (2023): Issue 1 (October 2023)

Volume 16 (2022): Issue 2 (October 2022)

Volume 16 (2022): Issue 1 (April 2022)

Volume 15 (2021): Issue 1 (April 2021)

Volume 14 (2020): Issue 1 (October 2020)

Volume 13 (2019): Issue 1 (October 2019)

Volume 12 (2018): Issue 1 (October 2018)

Volume 11 (2017): Issue 1 (October 2017)

Volume 10 (2016): Issue 1 (September 2016)

Board Game Studies Journal

BGSJ – Board Game Studies Journal is a single peer-reviewed journal for historical and systematic research on board games.  Its object is to provide a forum for board games research from all academic disciplines in order to further our understanding of the development and distribution of board games within an interdisciplinary academic context.  Rejection Rate   40%   The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges.  BGSJ – Board Game Studies Journal is a peer-reviewed international academic journal for historical and systematic research on board games. Its object is to provide a forum for board games research from all academic disciplines in order to further our understanding of the nature, development, and distribution of board games within an interdisciplinary context.  BGSJ is sponsored by Interuniversity Centre for the History of Science and Technology (CIUHCT) – Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, and Faculty of Sciences and Technology, New University of Lisbon, which is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and partly by European Union funding, including COMPETE 2020 and Portugal 2020.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.  Back Issues  BGSJ’s back issues are available at bgsj.ludus-opuscula.org/    Financed by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P./MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) — UIDB/00286/2020; UIDP/00286/2020