Ancient Games: Playing With Our Ancestors 

In the Ancient Games workshop, we will explore three (or four?) ancient board games. These are the ancient world’s version of virtual reality. Children in northern Europe could contemplate the possibility of a Viking invasion in Tablut or make command decisions for Roman legionnaires in 12 Men’s Morris without the threat of death or injury.  

These games also allow players to briefly escape reality. In Mancala, a farmer, who is constantly at the mercy of the weather, could occupy a divine perspective controlling the movement of the stars and the atmosphere.  

In the Aztec game of Patolli, players race each other as they suffer the vicissitudes of life. As we’ll see, the game of Patolli often crossed the line from virtual to reality.  

Caleb Madison, Games Director at The Atlantic, writes that “[g]ames are coherent systems of meaning.” As we play these games, we will consider what meaningful connections we can make or help our students to make to the rest of their curriculum. 

David Sparks has a B.A. in Cognitive Science from Indiana University and holds an M.A.T. in teaching also from Indiana University.  

Joseph Sorell holds an M.A. in TESOL from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. 

Kostiantyn Moharychev is currently a visiting scholar in the Department of History at Purdue University’s College of Liberal Arts. 

Bo Pang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Construction Management Technology at Purdue University. He is a life-long Chinese chess player. While still in primary school, he was recognized as an Amateur 4th rank player by World Xiangqi Federation.