Games with a History

11/7/2023 8:29:00 AM
Image: https://www.istockphoto.com

Do you know?

  • "The Game of Uruguay" holds the Guinness World Record as the largest board game ever, covering 2,680 square meters.
  • The "Spiel des Jahres" (Game of the Year) award in Germany is one of the most prestigious board game awards globally. It has been awarded annually since 1979 to outstanding board games.

Let's explore more about these exciting games!

Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:

Listen and complete the passage.

trademarked evils attempts distributor
Landlord renters manufacturer  


Checkers is one of the most popular board games in the world. The oldest form of the game of checkers began in Egypt in 1400 B.C. and was called alquerque. Checkers is related to another ancient game called draughts. International draughts has a 100-square board. English draughts, also known as checkers in the United States, uses a 64-square board. In 1756, William Payne, an English mathematician, wrote the first book in English about checkers. It is not known when checkers was brought to the United States.

Monopoly began as a game called The Game. The Landlord Game was invented in 1903 by a young Quaker woman named Elizabeth Magie. She wanted to teach people about the of landlords, who have an unfair advantage over . Charles Darrow redesigned The Landlord Game and sold it to Parker Brothers, a popular game . According to Parker Brothers, Darrow was the world's first game designer to become a millionaire.

Monopoly® is the best-selling game in the world. Over 200 million copies in 80 countries and in 26 languages have been sold. A Braille edition of Monopoly was produced in the 1970s. In 1978, a chocolate version of the board game sold for $600. The favorite game piece is the racecar, and the newest game piece is a money sack.

Scrabble® is a very popular game in the United States and Canada. Scrabble appears in one out of three homes in America. It was invented during the Great Depression by Alfred Butts. He called it Crisscross Words.

Although the first to sell Crisscross Words failed, Butts and his partner did not give up. They eventually the name Scrabble in 1948 and produced the game themselves. By the 1950s, it had become so popular that it had to be rationed in the stores because the small factory could not keep up with customer orders. In 1972, the Selchow and Righter Company, a game , bought the trademark rights to Scrabble. The rest, as they say, is history!

Read and answer the following questions. 

Games with a History

Image: viktoriya/adobe.stock.com

Checkers is one of the most popular board games in the world. The oldest form of the game of checkers began in Egypt in 1400 B.C. and was called alquerque. Checkers is related to another ancient game called draughts. International draughts has a 100-square board. English draughts, also known as checkers in the United States, uses a 64-square board. In 1756, William Payne, an English mathematician, wrote the first book in English about checkers. It is not known when checkers was brought to the United States.

Monopoly began as a game called The Landlord Game. The Landlord Game was invented in 1903 by a young Quaker woman named Elizabeth Magie. She wanted to teach people about the evils of landlords, who have an unfair advantage over renters. Charles Darrow redesigned The Landlord Game and sold it to Parker Brothers, a popular game manufacturer. According to Parker Brothers, Darrow was the world's first game designer to become a millionaire.

Monopoly® is the best-selling game in the world. Over 200 million copies in 80 countries and in 26 languages have been sold. A Braille edition of Monopoly was produced in the 1970s. In 1978, a chocolate version of the board game sold for $600. The favorite game piece is the racecar, and the newest game piece is a money sack.

Scrabble® is a very popular game in the United States and Canada. Scrabble appears in one out of three homes in America. It was invented during the Great Depression by Alfred Butts. He called it Crisscross Words.

Although the first attempts to sell Crisscross Words failed, Butts and his partner did not give up. They eventually trademarked the name Scrabble in 1948 and produced the game themselves. By the 1950s, it had become so popular that it had to be rationed in the stores because the small factory could not keep up with customer orders. In 1972, the Selchow and Righter Company, a game distributor, bought the trademark rights to Scrabble. The rest, as they say, is history!

According to the article, what is the most popular game in the world?

  • Draughts
  • Monopoly
  • Checkers
  • Scrabble

According to the article, what is the difference between checkers and international draughts?

  • The size of the board used in the game
  • The popularity of the games worldwide
  • The rules for capturing pieces
  • The country where the games originated

What was the original purpose of The Landlord Game?

  • To teach people about the history of real estate
  • To provide entertainment for Quaker communities
  • To instruct about land management
  • To highlight unfair practices in renting property

What can be inferred about the Braille edition of Monopoly produced in the 1970s?

  • It becomes one of the most expensive edition.
  • It was the first board game in Braille.
  • It allows visually impaired players to join.
  • It was designed to be an edible version.

What is the passage mainly about?

  • The technological advancements in board game design
  • The economic impact of board games on global markets
  • The history and evolution of various board games
  • The role of board games in educational development

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms:

All our work and planning went by the _____ after our funding was pulled.

  • board
  • council
  • committee
  • panel

Don't _____ because it's worth a lot more than you think.

  • get this antique vase down to a science
  • buy this antique vase off the shelf
  • sell this antique vase short
  • bring this antique vase to life

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between THREE and SIX words, including the word given.

She nearly let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party because of her nervous laughter when asked about it. (GAME)

=> Her nervous laughter when asked about the surprise party almost .