A History of Games from the Ages

Ancient Egypt (3000BC to 525BC when conquered by the Persians).

Tau (Game of 20 squares, or Aseb)
Double Tau
Senet (Senat),
Mehen (The snake game)
Dogs and Jackals (Game of 58 holes)

Rome became a republic in 510 BC.  The end of the Roman Empire is generally dated by the deposition of the last emperor in AD 476.

This is an unfashionable term for the period following the fall of the Roman Empire in which Europe was settled by pagan Germanic tribes who adopted the vestiges of Roman institutions and traditions, were converted to Christianity by the church, and who then founded feudal kingdoms.  The period is termed "dark" because it is characterised by a lack of clear historical information about the period.  The end of the Dark Ages is defined variously as anywhere from 800 to 1050.  This definition includes the Viking Era from 800 - 1050.

Tafl /Hneftafl,
Fichneal
Alea Evangelii
Tawlbwrdd
Alquerque
Nard / Tables

European period from around 1000 to the Renaissance around the 15th century.  (This is the old definition of Middle Ages - modern historians tend to regard the term "Dark Ages" as politically incorrect and have tried to replace it by redefining the Middle Ages to start at the end of the Roman Empire instead.  This author prefers clarity to political correctness).

European intellectual movement that started in Italy in the 14th century and lasted around the rest of Europe until some time in the 17th century.   The renaissance period is traditionally seen as the time when the feudal way of life of the middle ages was transformed into the modern age featuring centralised state politics, high art and science.

Solitaire (France pre-1697)
Carambole (France, 1700s)
Bagatelle (pre 1770, location unknown)

Queen Victoria, born in 1819, was Queen of England from 1837 -1901 when the British Empire was the leading force in the world. During her reignthe British were potty about games, inventing and codifying hundreds of new games each year, many of which such as Lawn Tennis, Croquet and Snooker went on to become some of the most popular games in the world by the end of the twentieth century.