There are many board games, apart from chess, that have their origin in the Middle Ages and that appears represented in the Cantigas de Alfonso X El Sabio. Among them is backgammon and other lesser-known board games such as halatafi, this could be another reason why we could affirm that medieval times were neither as dark as certain authors have wanted to show us, nor as boring as we have seen in multiple feature films. Here are 5 medieval games that you can still enjoy on long winter nights but also on hot summer nights (even in the online version).
1. Chess
Chess is a game that came to our lands in the Middle Ages through India and Persia, and that in Europe took on the appearance that we know today. It is a strategy game whose objective is to put the enemy king in checkmate, a term that comes from a Persian word that meant "the king is finished". The original Asian pieces that were represented, the elephant became a bishop, the counselor became a queen, the chariot became a tower, as a symbol of the strengths of that time. Emblematic is the chess set known as The Lewis Chessmen which is kept in the British Museum and was discovered on the Scottish Isle of Lewis. It is believed to have been made in Norway between 1150 and 1200 from walrus ivory and whale teeth. One of the most popular openings, the initial phase of the game of chess, is known as the Ruy López or Spanish opening, which was popularized in the 16th century by the Spanish chess player of the same name.
2. Backgammon
It is one of the oldest two-player board games. The pieces are moved from a roll of the dice and the players win by removing the opponent's pieces from the board. Backgammon belongs to the family of tables and although luck is an important factor in the outcome of the game, strategy is also essential to beat the opponent.
3. Halatafi
Also known as The Fox and the Geese, it is mentioned in the Icelandic saga of Grettir written perhaps by a monk in 13th-century Iceland. Basically the halatafi, which has Viking roots, has as its object that a player with a piece (the fox) captures the thirteen pieces of the opponent (the geese) without being captured.
4. queek
Queek is played with a few stones on a large checkered canvas spread out on a smooth, flat surface such as a table or checkerboard. Its approach is very simple:the players bet how many of those stones will fall on the white or black squares; the winner will be the one who comes closest to the correct number.
5. Raffle
According to Sally Wilkins, author of the book Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, the raffle is a game of three dice that could be considered the predecessor of slot machines. Players bet and take turns rolling the dice; the winner will be the one who gets a roll in which all three dice show the same number.