Maybe.  The Biblical Magi, or Three Kings, were said to have visited Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh shortly after the reign of “King” Herod the Great, who ruled from 37-4 BC.  They are said to have come “from the east” and it’s disputed whether that means that they were Babylonians, Persians or from Yemen, but that’s all basically the same general area when we’re talking about games at that time.

So regardless of your religious believes and if the Magi were kings, astronomers, astrologers, sorcerers or just plain wise men, games had already been in existence for centuries and there’s a decent chance Melchior, Casper, Balthasar played them.

A recent article on the Discovery News site (see HERE) based on another article published in the journal Antiquity, sums up gaming history in the following way:  board games most likely originated in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent at around 3500 BC and spread to other regions in the Mediterranean and then Europe via the Roman Empire who had that area under it’s control at the time.  India and China also had board games very early on, but their creation dates are unknown.

The article points to two very early examples of board games, one being The Royal Game of Ur (sometimes called “The Game of Twenty Squares” see right) which was unearthed in the Royal Tombs of Ur in Iraq which date back to the First dynasty of Ur, approximately 26th century BC.  The other game is Senet, which is from predynastic Egypt and has 30 squares (versus 20 in Ur) and is dated to approximately 3100 BC.

Now, by the time the Magi were to have lived, Augustus (Octavious) was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which had spread to include Gaul (France) and the majority of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Judea and the city of Jerusalem.  And games had followed “on the coattails of the Roman conquest.”

Games started as a pastime for the elite and wealthy, which makes sense, as they were the ones who had the leisure time to spare.  But as years passed, games were played by men of many castes and, as I mentioned earlier, we don’t know if the Magi were kings, astronomers or something else entirely, but they definitely weren’t apart of the lowest caste of society as they were trekking around with gifts of gold, frankincense (a perfume/incense) and myrrh (an anointing or embalming oil).

So if the Magi were playing games, what kind of games were they playing?  According to Bruce Whitehill, founder of the Association of Game & Puzzle Collectors, many early games are race games or games of conquest “required the strategic capture or entrapment of an opponent’s pieces, or the positioning of your own.”  While that may sound a bit like checkers or chess, they weren’t “invented” for a couple more centuries.

Games at that time were passed from generation to generation and city to city and during their journeys got changed or modified to appeal to the new users.  Which makes it surprising that there are games still played today in a form almost identical to how they were played at the time of the Magi.  What are they?  Mancala and Backgammon

So this hectic holiday season, regardless of what you’re celebrating, sit back and enjoy some games with friends and family.  It’s what mankind’s been doing for centuries!  Have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!

Scattergories Categories, Winning Moves $20 REVIEW

Okay, so I invented it – which is probably why I like it so much!  But in all seriousness, I can’t remember having so much fun playing a game with a large group!  It also plays well if you have smaller groups but there’s really no limit to the number of players who you can entertain with this game and with short, quick rounds you can play until the Christmas goose needs to be carved.

Dweebies, Gamewright $10 REVIEW

The ultra-adorable game Dweebies is GREAT for when the kids (aged 7+) ask you to sit down and play a game.  Because there’s a little hidden strategy, adults aren’t bored and kids are happy to be playing something so cute!  And the game is quick so if you destroy your younger opponents you can offer to play again without annihilating your entire afternoon. Bonus that it has a great looking tin package  so it makes a perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer.

Q-Bitz, Mindware $25-18 REVIEW

Q-Bitz is an awesome way to get some quiet around the house – and I’m not just talking about shutting up the kids, it works on adults too!  Since the game is all about recreating patterns with sets of dice, players are silently focused on the puzzles – there might be a groan or two when your 8-year old beats your mother-in-law for the fourth time, but  get her a cocktail and suggest one or two more rounds; I’m sure they’ll all say out of your hair for a bit longer.

Scrabble Flash, Hasbro $30-25  REVIEW

With it’s cute little plastic case, Scrabble Flash is the perfect game to leave on your coffee table to occupy guests who show up early or to divert their attention while you deal with any sort of disaster in the kitchen or wrap a last minute gift.  It can be a one-player or multi-player game and the rounds are quick so it’s easy to fill 5 minutes or a half-an-hour.  And the technology is magical so playing next to the Christmas tree is perfect holiday fun!

Chicken Cha Cha Cha, Rio Grande Games $35 REVIEW

Yea, this game’s been a round for a while but so what?!  I just found out about this game in 2010 and it’s completely my favorite game aimed at younger children but playable by adults.  I also stink at it.  But the little wooden chickens and the nice sturdy box make it a gift that you know will last far beyond the whirlwind of chaos on Christmas morning.  Then again for $35 you would hope it could withstand almost anything a 4-year-old can do!

Excape, Rio Grande Games $25 REVIEW

Like Chicken Cha Cha Cha, this game isn’t new but it’s new to me this year.  I love dice games and this has quickly risen to my favorite multi-player dice game.  It’s great for a small group of 3-6 players and you don’t have to be 100% focused on the game but it’s still got a lot of player interaction.  While it’s a bit pricey, I’m sure you’ll play this one over and over if Santa leaves one under your tree.

Stix & Stones, Educational Insights $25-20 REVIEW

I like the idea of this game a lot, but as I mentioned in the review, my play testers and I changed the rules a bit to make it better fit our group.  Still, regardless of how you choose to play it (your rules, their rules, my rules, whatever!) drawing with sticks, stones and a little red arrow makes this game super accessable even for those who have had “drawing skills” on their wishlist for Santa for YEARS.

Ratuki, USAOPOLY $10, REVIEW

This one is really for the kids.  The rounds are quick and you can keep 2-5 kids/tweens occupied for a while with this card game.  And isn’t it worth $10 to know that the kids aren’t tearing apart the house looking for their Christmas presents, devouring the Christmas cookies or tormenting the dog?  Think about that and how much time you just spent cleaning the place up.  Trust me, it’s worth it.

Games that also got high marks but haven’t been played enough to make this year’s list:

Stomple (Spinmaster, $30-15, REVIEW)

Solitaire Chess (ThinkFun, $20-12, look for a review of this in 2011)

Thanks for reading and I hope you all have been good this year so Santa brings you lots of fun games!  Happy Holidays! - Kim

Holiday Yahtzee, A Christmas Story Yahtzee, Charlie Brown Christmas Yahtzee
Personally I think that Yahtzee is a game shelf staple (read review here), so if you need to give someone a holiday themed version to get them interested in trying Yahtzee, so be it!  Because these games use images that represent numbers the play is a bit different and kind of clunky for scoring, but I like Yahtzee enough to let it slide.  FYI I think the A Christmas Story version is much easier on the eyes than the Holiday version.

All can be found on Amazon.com for $11 and up, Ages 8 and Up, 2 or More Players

I Spy Holiday Wishes Card Game
It’s a continuation of Briarpatch’s extremely prolific I Spy line and plays a bit like “I spy” meets memory with holiday themed cards.  You need to remember all of the gifts on the wish list, spy them and collect to win!  For about $6 it’s a great stocking stuffer for the younger crowd.

Can be found at Amazon.com and FunagainGames.com for ~$6, Ages 4 and up, 2-4 Players

ReFraze Holiday Pack
If you read the review on ReFraze (click here) you’ll know that this game was developed as a trivia-esque word game for a holiday party.  Well now you can see what sparked the development of the ReFraze line!  It’s definitely a smaller deck but there are only so many holiday questions you can ask.

Can be found at Amazon.com for ~$14, Ages 12 and up, 2 or More Players

Halli Galli Christmas Edition
This is a simple to learn card game with an awesome big bell in the middle ala Pit (one of my all-time faves!).  Players keep a stack of cards with holiday themed images in front of them and they take turns flipping cards over.  When you see a total of EXACTLY five similar items on the table you ring the bell and collect the cards.  The player with the most cards wins and there are penalties for ringing in at the wrong time.  Good game for tweens and kids because they have wickedly fast reflexes.  This one may be a bit hard to find, but  you could always just buy the non-holiday version and wrap it in some pretty holiday paper.  They’ll still enjoy it – I swear.

Can be found at Amazon.com and FunagainGames.com for ~$5-$15, Ages 6 and up, 2-6 Players