Popular Victorian Era Board Games: Classics and New Inventions

The Victorians were avid board game players. Their era saw the rise of many games still played today:

Traditional Staples

• Chess: Surged in popularity; clubs flourished; seen as a mark of intellect.
• Checkers (Draughts): Simpler, accessible alternative to chess.
• Backgammon: Ancient game of strategy and chance, still favored.

Victorian Innovations

• Ludo: Invented in England (1890s); simple dice race game, family favorite.
• Snakes and Ladders: Originally "Chutes and Ladders"; moralistic game teaching virtue/vice.
• The Landlord's Game (1903): Precursor to Monopoly (1930s), reflecting Victorian fascination with property economics.

Other Popular Pastimes

• Parlour Games: Charades, riddles, word games.
• Card Games: Whist, Euchre, Cribbage, Hearts—played for fun and small stakes.
• Crokinole: Dexterity game sliding discs on a circular board; invented in Canada (1870s), popular in England.

The Victorian era was a golden age of board game innovation, blending tradition with new inventions that provided entertainment, social bonding, and moral education.