Humans have always loved to play. Crossing cultures and centuries, games have been a consistent way to blow off some steam, exercise strategic thinking, and channel our natural competitive sides. Archaeologists and historians have uncovered ancient game boards, dice, and other artifacts that reveal how our ancestors enjoyed themselves in centuries or even millennia gone by.
While the tools and materials may have changed over time, many of these classic games are still widely played today, thanks to modern technologies making them more accessible. But which are the oldest games you can still play? Let’s take a look.
Poker (17th Century and Beyond)
Poker is the world’s most famous card game, although there is no single set of rules. Instead, the game is split up into multiple variants, including five card draw, seven card stud, and Omaha.
Poker traces its origins back to 17th-century France, where it was known as poque before evolving and spreading through different cultures, with elements of Persian and German card games influencing its development.
By the 19th century, poker had become a staple in the United States, where the community variant known as Texas holdem poker was first created. This is a community game that requires players to make their hands out of the cards they have personally been dealt, and the community ones placed on the table. This creates more options strategy options for players who must think as much about the hands their opponents could make as they do about their own.
Texas holdem has become the most popular poker variant in the world today, thanks to online poker rooms and major tournaments like the World Series of Poker. Poker combines skill and psychology, with dedicated players spending their entire lives learning and refining to master their game.
Beginning with the poker boom in the early 2000s and continuing through to today, online poker platforms have brought the game to a global audience by adding convenience, variety, and the ability to play whenever and wherever you are through their websites and mobile apps.
Chess
Chess is arguably the most iconic strategy game in history. Its roots can be traced all the way back to the 6th century AD, when it was first played in India as chaturanga. Back then, the game looked different from today, with different pieces used to represent India’s military at the time. The most notable piece in caturanga missing from today’s standard chess game is the elephant.
Eventually, the game spread to Persia and then to Europe, where it evolved into modern chess by the 15th century. Chess has fascinated kings, scholars, and casual players for over a millennium, with players using it to challenge themselves and others.
While the rules are easy to learn, mastering the game requires years of study, practice, and strategic thinking. Every game is a new puzzle to solve, testing the mind and rewarding careful planning.
Like poker, chess has enjoyed a new lease of life thanks to online platforms like Chess.com that let players compete against millions of others from around the world, as well as providing educational resources to help players to learn to play chess. .
More recently, AI-powered chess apps allow players to practice against different difficulty levels, while online multiplayer modes let you challenge opponents from across the globe.
Tic-Tac-Toe / Naughts and Crosses
Tic-Tac-Toe, also known as Naughts and Crosses, is one of the simplest and oldest games still played today. Archaeologists have found grids carved into ancient Roman tiles, suggesting that it was enjoyed throughout the empire around the 1st century AD.
Tic-Tac-Toe’s charm lies in its simplicity. The game requires only a 3×3 grid and two players, each taking turns to place their symbol (X or O). Despite its straightforward rules, the game can still spark competitive tension. Although all you need to play is a pen and paper, or even just some sand and a stick, Tic-Tac-Toe has been digitized in countless forms. It’s available on mobile apps, online platforms, and even as part of educational games aimed at teaching logic and strategy.
You can play against friends, AI opponents, or even challenge yourself with variations like 4×4 or 5×5 grids.
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games and is believed to be over 5,000 years old, having originated somewhere in Mesopotamia.
Excavations in ancient Iran have uncovered artifacts resembling backgammon boards, suggesting that people in ancient civilizations enjoyed this strategy-based game, though the rules may have changed over that time.
Like most of the other ancient games on this list, backgammon requires strategy and quick thinking, making every match unpredictable and exciting. The goal is to move all your checkers off the board before your opponent does, with dice rolls adding a random element that requires players to adapt their approach on the fly.
Digital versions of backgammon are widely available, both in online and offline versions, allowing you to play solo against AI or challenge opponents from anywhere in the world. Many apps offer tutorials and practice modes, making it easy for newcomers to learn the game while seasoned players can sharpen their skills.
