Do you think that today’s mad-dash grab for the hottest toys is just a phenomenon of modern times? Not necessarily. In the past as in the present, where we find children, we find toys, as shown by...
Amphitheaters, with their gladiators, executions, and macabre contests, have fascinated people for millennia. They have featured in countless novels, books, and video games. One of the best-preserved...
Researchers believe that they have found the oldest balls ever uncovered in Eurasia. The set of leather balls were found in graves of Central Asian horse riders in northern China. They are offering...
Roman gladiators are some of the most iconic characters in history and have defined how we think of entertainment in ancient Rome. Their portrayal in films and stories has turned them into archetypal...
The arenas built by the Romans are without a doubt their most notorious monuments. They were the scene of public executions, where combats between criminals, prisoners of war and slaves were held,...
Archaeologists digging in Jordan may have found the oldest chess piece in the world. John Oleson, an archaeologist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, believes he and his...
The main halls and secured vaults of museums around the world are loaded with vast arrays of grotesque antique weapons, golden lined velvet robes, ceremonial swords and crowns, jewel encrusted...
This weekend the ‘World Championship in Medieval Combat’ was held in the Ukraine where hundreds of warriors clanking around in armor , swinging swords and axes, in a scene reminiscent of an episode...
The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...
In the English-speaking world, the word ‘tarot’ is most commonly associated with the occult and divination. It is one of the oldest forms of fortune telling, although its origins are somewhat obscure...
Ouija boards—also called spirit boards or talking boards—have been part of various cultures long before the introduction of the "game" in the 19 th century. "Ouija", in fact, is the name of the game...
The game of Snakes and Ladders is today considered a classic, and is loved by children from all over the world. Whilst the game itself is known my most people, its origin is less well-known. As a...
Every two years, when the Winter or Summer Olympics comes around, we hear about how the games staged at Olympia in Greece since 776 BC came to a sudden end in the late fourth century AD. The finger...
University of California, Santa Barbara From games of chance to tests of physical skill, ancient North America Indians took their sport and recreation seriously, research shows. “Games are ubiquitous...
The delightful hobby of playing games isn't a modern invention. While people in ancient times didn't have Pokemon Go to entertain themselves, they still spent hours of fun games both inside and...
In ancient Greece, successful athletes were rich and celebrated like they are today. Evidence for this comes in the form of the oldest known skeleton of a young athlete, buried with rich honors at...