Race games

Race game is a large category of board games, in which the object is to be the first to move all one's pieces to the end of a track. This is both the earliest type of board game known, with implements and representations dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BC in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran; and also the most widely dispersed: "all cultures that have games at all have race games." Race games often use dice to decide game options and how far to move pieces.

They may be categorized by their ratio of luck to skill. Other classifications include geographical distribution or derivation; and shape of track (including spiral, cross and circle, and square—either boustrophedon as in Snakes and Ladders or "labyrinthine" as in Thaayam).

Simple race games involve pure luck. Each player has only one piece to move, and the outcome of the game is thus totally dependent on chance. The Game of the Goose is the progenitor of most simple Western race games, although Snakes and Ladders is descended from games of India, Nepal, and Tibet. The ancient Egyptian game Mehen was likely a simple race game.

Complex race games combine luck and skill. Players have more than one piece to move (typically four), and so choices of move can be made that will put a player in advantageous positions. Many modern complex race games including Ludo, Parcheesi, Trouble, and Sorry! ultimately derive from India's Pachisi and Chaupar.

Multiplex race games greatly increase the role of strategy, while retaining the element of chance. Backgammon, the most well-known representative of this category, is a member of the Tables family of games, which also includes Trictrac,Nard, and Acey-deucey. The ancient Egyptian game Senet and the ancient Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur were almost certainly race games, and may belong to this category.

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