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A Brief History of Ancient Games

Games BC (BCE)

For the purposes of this article, I asked ToysPeriod whether they considered the "BC" or the "BCE" annotation correct when referring to times long past. (In a previous article for another publication, I had received criticism for my choice. Therefore, I felt it judicious this time around to ask for the Webmaster's opinion before proceeding.)

To my surprise and delight, ToysPeriod playfully shared with me that both systems are equally flawed, and, therefore, I should feel free to exercise my own choice in the matter.

They further explained, "The difficulty with Before the Common Era (BCE) is that the Common Era to which BCE refers never occurred historically. With BC, no one can actually agree on the birth date of Christ. Therefore, basing events on that date seems unscientific to many scholars."

So, maintaining the free and open spirit appropriate for a purveyor of toys, ToysPeriod supports both systems, and, in their playful manner are hoping that the finest historian crosses the finish line in first position.

Well, enough! Let's begin the article in earnest. I've mixed in a bit of humor, so don't take everything here as set in stone.

In the following paragraphs, I will identify and briefly discuss games played prior to 1 BC....... (or is it one AD, or zero BC, zero AD or zero BCE?)

An appropriate place to start seems to be the so-called hunter-gatherer period. Before that time, even cave paintings are absent, so we are really stuck. On the other hand, since even chimps can, in the grand sense be considered hunters and gatherers, there wasn't much to talk about before this period anyway. Most historians label any time prior to 9500 BC (BCE) as the H and G period.....

Continue reading Comments (3) Sunday, 2:42 pm | February 14th, 2010

Classic Klondike Baseball

I was recently introduced by a friend to a young man, an inventor, who has developed an exciting game, Classic Klondike Baseball, aimed at assisting learning challenged students and adults to function at top efficiency. As I watched, I was fascinated not only by the beauty of the game design, but also by the deep wisdom its inventor has somehow acquired so early in life. After the demonstration, I suggested to my friend that he write an introductory piece describing Classic Klondike Baseball. The story below delivers the goose bump producing kinds of thoughts I was left with during and after seeing both Classic Klondike Baseball and its inventor in action. Ben - Toy Tech

Classic Klondike Baseball is, as the name would suggest, a game based on the rules of professional baseball.

The official sets in the final stages of development contain two beautifully done traditional decks of 52 playing cards with baseball-themed backs, as well as unique scorecards, all in an attractive gift box. Most importantly, however, the sets feature customized rules depending on the version purchased (more about that below).

Classic Klondike Baseball makes exciting play of authentic baseball games available to a family lounging on the floor of their living room on a rainy Saturday afternoon, or to a mother and son sitting at the kitchen table during a January blizzard, or to a student on a cold February morning wishing to practice scoring cards in the privacy of his or her room, or..... well, you get the idea.

The game is the creation of a 20-year-old Senior currently completing his Bachelor's Degree at Linda Christas College. The degree is a unique one, Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in Entrepreneurship.....

Continue reading Comments (1) Thursday, 9:52 pm | October 15th, 2009

Baseball Heroes

Recently, I was sorting through a wooden box stored long ago in a corner of a dusty cabinet.

To my surprise, I came across a small collection of battered baseball cards, the ones so popular today with collectors.

These particular cards were left over from the card wars waged in the mid 1950's at St. Cecelia's, my elementary school alma mater.

The wars to which I refer were actually the first contests in my then young life in which I risked something I valued, that is, just-purchased unblemished baseball cards, against something someone else valued, the cards other boys had brought to the school yard.

The way we played the game, I'm certain, was repeated tens of thousands of times daily on playgrounds throughout America.....

Continue reading Comments (1) Wednesday, 3:10 pm | September 30th, 2009