Board games are traditionally games that are played on a pre-marked surface, usually with counters or other objects that are situated and moved across the board. Board games have been around for literally thousands of years, the oldest probably being backgammon. Remnants of that particular game were found at archaeological excavations dating back over five thousand years.

Classic board games are divided roughly into two types. Popular types of board games include Monopoly, a commercial game that has enjoyed huge popularity for decades and is probably the top brand name game that was ever created. Since Monopoly was patented in 1935, it is estimated that over 750 million people have played this game.

Another type of board game is the abstract strategy type. Games that fall into this category include chess, checkers and backgammon. Chess is easily considered the world’s most popular sport and the present day version of the game dates back to 6thCentury India. Originally known as chaturanga, the popularity of the game spread throughout the region and by the year 1000, the game had also spread to Europe. The rules of chess, as we know them today, were only finalized in the 19th Century and from that time period, many pieces of literature were written about the theory of the game.

Checkers, known as draughts in British English, is another game that is hugely popular and played across a board with counters, between two players. Different versions of checkers are found in practically every corner of the world, although the popular form is called international draughts and played on a 10×10 board. The history of checkers spans back thousands of years and indeed it is a game older than chess.

One of the most popular games to be found around today is backgammon. Backgammon, too, can trace its origins back literally thousands of years. It was first enjoyed by ancient Egyptian nobility but its popularity soon spread across the world and many different versions of the game can be found in all four corners of the earth. Backgammon is also played between two players on a board, with 24 triangles and 15 counters per player. The main objective of the game is for the players to remove all their pieces off the board through a process that involves blocking the other player’s attempts to do the same. Backgammon relies equally on luck and skill to produce a winner, although it is generally understood that a lack of skill will not help a player win, even with a good dose of luck.

Backgammon, like many popular board games today, can also be found on the internet alongside online poker and other online casino games. This evolution of class board games has changed the entire concept of this form of entertainment. Today players can play classic board games against opponents who are sitting in their own living rooms literally thousands of miles away – the only thing they have in common being their mutual passion for the game.