Le symbolisme des jeux chez Filippo Picinelli

Theory of the introduction of Shogi via Southeast Asia: Viewed from the forms of Makruk pieces—Study of the reversing of promoted Bia pieces

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> A note by A. Chernevski in the 1877 Shakhmatny Listok described two chess variants played in Samarkand, present-day Uzbekistan. One, the “Bukharan game”, is a slightly modified version of shatranj, similar to Rumi chess as described in Murray’s History of Chess. The other, the “Persian game with a queen” resembles to some extent the Persian chess described in 1846 in the Chess Player’s Chronicle but differs from it in several important aspects. Chernevski’s information, which includes recorded games by native players, is absent from later sources on chess history. A summary of Chernevski’s report is provided, with a discussion of several other historical chess variants, and various errors that have crept into their description in the literature.</abstract>

A Note On Chess In 19th Century Turkestan

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">A great deal of the literary evidence surrounding the ancient Greek board game pente grammai has to do with its central and proverbial ‘holy line’. Although it seems that the goal of the game was to reach this holy line, the proverb always refers to ‘moving away from’ this holy line not toward it. But why would players move away from the line which is the goal? This paper argues that there was a strategic element to the game: just like in modern backgammon and in Zeno’s ‘table’ game from late antiquity, in pente grammai a player could knock an opponent’s ‘blots’ (azuges) off the board. This explains why a player might make the odd move of leaving the holy line: the aggressive and risky act might bring an advantage if the opponent has left a number of vulnerable pieces exposed. At the end, a possible reconstruction of the game is offered.</abstract>

Pente Grammai and the ‘Holy Line’

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> In 2010 a Roman token was discovered in the mud of the Thames near Putney Bridge in London. When the token was discovered to have an erotic image on one side and a Roman numeral on the other, and was identified in a Museum of London press release as a rare Roman “brothel token”, the press reported on the story in the expected manner, for example: “A Roman coin that was probably used by soldiers to pay for sex in brothels has been discovered on the banks of the River Thames” (Daily Telegraph, 4 Jan 2012) and “Bronze discs depicting sex acts, like the one discovered in London, were used to hire prostitutes-and directly led to the birth of pornography during the Renaissance” (The Guardian, 4 Jan 2012). Even before this particular spate of media interest, these curious tokens have generated confusion, speculation and prurience-often simultaneously. They are of interest to games scholars because the speculation often includes the suggestion these objects may have had a ludic function, and were used as game counters. This paper will look at some of the proposals that have been offered by way of explanation of these peculiar objects.</abstract>

Stranger Games: The life and times of the spintriae

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) – PTDC/HAR-HIS/28627/2017, UIDB/00286/2020 and UIDB/00678/2020. 