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  • Period / Civilisation / Era
  • The Sumerians (3500 BC to 2300BC)
  • Ancient Egypt (3000BC to 525BC when conquered by the Persians).
  • The Romans (c.525BC - c.475)
    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.
  • The Dark Ages (c.475 - c.1050)
    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.
  • The Middle Ages; The Medieval period. (c.1000 - c.1450
    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).
  • Renaissance (c.1450 - c.1650)
    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.
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  • Victorian period
    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.
  • Edwardian period (roughly 1900 - 1919)
  • Region concerned
  • Sumeria (in modern day Iraq)
  • Egypt
  • Europe
  • Europe
  • Europe
  • Europe
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  • Britain
  • Britain
  • Invented in this period (or probably invented)
  • Tau (Game of 20 squares, or Aseb)
    Double Tau Senet (Senat), Mehen (The snake game)
    Dogs and Jackals (Game of 58 holes)
  • Duodecim Scriptorum / 12 Philosophers (Bgmon anc.) Alea /Tabula (Backgammon ancestor) Latrunculi (Probable Tafl ancestor)
  • Tafl /Hneftafl, Fichneal Alea Evangelii Tawlbwrdd Alquerque Nard / Tables
  • Fox and Geese Draughts / Checkers (all variants) Ground Billiards
  • Modern European Chess Shovelboard, forerunner to Shuffleboard and Sjoelbak (UK) Shove Ha'penny, another descendant of Shovelboard (UK) Backgammon (& European variants) Cribbage (UK, 1620s) Port & King Billiards Pall Mall
  • Solitaire (France pre-1697) Carambole (France, 1700s) Bagatelle (pre 1770, location unknown)
  • Halma (US/UK) Ludo Snakes & Ladders Lawn Tennis (UK) Squails (UK) Crokinole (Canada) Deck Shuffleboard (USA/UK) 1870s Sjoelbak (Holland) English Billiards (early 1800s, UK) Life Pool Snooker Parlour Bagatelle Croquet
  • Outdoor Shuffleboard (early 1900s) Indoor Shuffleboard ?
  • Also known to have been popular during this time
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  • Merels / Nine Mens Morris Alquerque Tables
  • Real Tennis Croquet Nine Mens Morris (as quoted by Shakespeare) Fox and Geese Cribbage Bowls (as played by Drake before the battle with the Spanish Armada) Tables
  • Tablut (Finland seen in 1732)
  • Lawn Billiards Bagatelle Mah Jong (China) c.1880
  • Mah Jong was particularly popular in Europe and North America in the 1920s

I realise that this list is not complete and would appreciate any suggestions or feedback you may have.