For close-up details of the painting "Children's Games," click the image to go to the museum's image viewer.

Unschooling and Games Lots of Links!

Video Games       Hangman

Chess        Snakes and Ladders

Chinese Checkers

CLICK FOR MORE GAMES

The painting above is by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, of Flanders. The real one is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, I think. (I think it because I read it, but sometimes such info is outdated or things are on loan to other museums.) In English it's called "Children's Games," but he called it Kinderspiele. It was painted in the late 16th century.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Games Museum, University of Waterloo, in Ontario—the website itself has many details and images.

The Online Guide to Traditional Games

HISTORY of traditional games, from Medieval times to now! Not only table games, but bocce, darts, dominos, dice, and more.

Compendia Traditional Games. This is an English site with lots of rules, history, info on games in rehab, and they also have a store in London, but there's a trove of freebies. From their site:

Board games are scratched into the floors of ancient cities and medieval church pews. Egyptian emperors are found buried with their dice and Viking chieftains with playing pieces. Indian rulers have played Ludo with real live slave girls.

Games are part of our language. Are you trying to 'play your cards right' or waiting to see 'how the dice falls'. What will you do when 'the chips are down'?

In every culture, in every time people have played games: to amuse themselves, to challenge each other and to teach their children. Now computer games are being turned into board games.

Why?

Because it's better to play together.


Politics of children's games—great article on the history of games, unlike anything I've seen before, moving into modern times.


Title art by Holly Dodd