Ancient Gaming: Partying Like It’s CLXXVII AD

Sure, when we think of ancient people it is easy to assume they must have had terrible lives. Living without indoor plumbing, electricity and other modern things must have been a real inconvenience. Not to mention countless years of wars, famine, plundering and loads of other things. But, hey, their lives couldn’t have all been doom and gloom. After all, they persevered and paved the way for future generations. Despite all the terrible stuff that marks milestones for history class lessons, there were other things that brightened their lives: art, music, plays and, of course, the focus of this article: games.

Yes, games played a central role in the recreational lives of ancient people just as much as it does today. The oldest record of games played in civilization is Backgammon which was played by ancient Babylonians. Chess was a game that came from Asia to Europe via the Silk Road and has undergone a huge transformation as it was passed on from people to people. A game, fascinatingly enough, that hasn’t undergone a huge change is the game of dice.

Now when it’s said that the game of dice hasn’t changed, we really mean to say the die itself has not changed. However, the way you use it, how many you use and other rules have formed spawning hundreds of different games you can play with dice. That means casino games and paper and pencil RPG games. We also use dice in the principle of probability in mathematics (that too, if you think about it, is a sort of game!). The die, generally 6-sided (although in more recent times we’ve created new types 4,8,10,12 and 20-sides!), hasn’t changed for over 2000 years.

Roman legions carried dice sets with them on their long journeys across the empire. They travelled, salted the earth to build roads and fought off attacks. At the end of the day they would unwind with drink, merriment and a game of dice. They would use these dice to play odds and make wagers. It took their minds off their troubles being so far away from home.

Most of the dice made back then were made from animal bone. Probably from the leftovers of animals they had consumed. Other dice were made of hardwood. Today’s dice are made from plastics but just a century ago dice were also made from ivory. With Roman soldiers spread throughout Britain, Northern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, they helped spread the use and growth of this game, and even picked up a few new games on their travels.