Board games - Boards and Counters
#SUBHEADING#Everyday Games with Everyday Things#SUBHEADINGEND# Board games were played from the earliest times; they were played even in ancient Egypt. Evidence of boards are found throughout history in the strangest and most makeshift of places, ship's timbers, loose boards and lumps of rock. The less privileged classes made improvised boards, scratching grids with stones, nuts, glass or gaming counters. Evidence of a game grid can be found on a stone built into a fort on Hadrian's Wall, where men when having breaks played board games during the building of the wall. An ancient game board has been found in ancient Egypt, it had been cut into a stone block on the roof of a temple and priests apparently played games while they waited for the sky to clear, in order to observe stars. There are also boards that have been cut into cloister seats of many English cathedrals. In 1699 two men were punished for making nine holes with their knives after evening prayers for the game of Nine Men's Morris or Merels. #IMAGE# #IMAGE# There are examples of Medieval boards in the collections that have been made from every day objects; a wooden bread board that was reused as a board for merels, also a chalk mould that has been used for an Alquerque board, which is an ancient predecessor of Draughts. #IMAGE# The game Merels is one of the oldest games in the world, a board of this type has been cut into a temple at Kurna, Egypt 1440 BC, it is very similar to Tic-Tac-Toe or the present day noughts and crosses and is played with counters.#IMAGE# #SUBHEADING#Counting On History#SUBHEADINGEND# Many of the ancient games used gaming counters just as we use them today made from many different materials such as bone, chalk, wood and glass. Gaming counters that have been found have also been made from disk shaped slices of hart's pedicle (the lowest part of the antler on a male deer). Many are highly decorated and often have a hole in the centre where the heart of the pedicle has been removed; there are many examples of counters with these central holes in Hull's collections. Counters made from glass were known as 'oculi' or eyeballs in Roman times, due to their rounded appearance as a consequence of being melted. They were made by slicing small sections of canes, arranging them on a surface such as a terracotta tile and reheating them in a furnace. They then deformed under the influence of gravity and made a flattened, rounded 'button' shape. The most common glass counters are green with small yellow circles; we have a number of these in our collections, though many others are known. Counters have been used for many different types of War, Hunt and Race games throughout the ages.
Board Games - The Roll of Knucklebones and Dice Throughout History
The history of toys and games goes back thousands of years. Throughout Hull's museum collection's there are many objects to show you the different kinds of games that were played in Britain and how they have developed through the centuries. See how knucklebones and dice were important in this development - Come and play!
The Survival of Games - War Games
The history of toys and games goes back thousands of years. Throughout Hull's museum collection's there are many objects to show you the different kinds of games that were played in Britain and how they have developed through the centuries. See the creation of War Games - Come and play!
The Survival of Games - Hunt and Race Games
The history of toys and games goes back thousands of years. Throughout Hull's museum collection's there are many objects to show you the different kinds of games that were played in Britain and how they have developed through the centuries. See the creation of Hunt and Race Games - Come and play!
Home and Leisure Life
This section contains stories about what people used to do in their leisure time and about their homes. People have always played games since ancient times. Some stories explore the types of pastimes there once were. Leisure time was not just about playing games. Sewing at home was once a very popular hobby. One story is about the Singer sewing machines that were often used. Leisure activities that took place outside the home included watching puppet theatres. Two stories take a look at what everyday items in the home are made from, including toothpaste!
Romans Through the Looking Glass: Roman Glassware
At the Hull and East Riding Museum, there is a collection of Roman glass that is not only beautiful to look at but has a fascinating story to tell about its use during the Roman Empire. This story explains a little about where and how the glass was made and who would have used it.
