How Snakes & Ladders, An Indian Board Game, Became A Global Phenomenon
How Snakes & Ladders, An Indian Board Game, Became A Global Phenomenon
How Snakes & Ladders, An Indian Board Game, Became A Global Phenomenon
By Samuel Clark
October 26, 2020
Summary
Landing on a snake is never a good thing in - be it in real life or in the wonderful world of board games.
The game itself has several varying names such as Moksha Patamu, Nagapasa, and Gyan Chaupar to name but a few.
Stemming from the same set of dice board games as Pachisi, it is claimed to have been played in Ancient India as far back as 200BC. However, we have to travel 1500 years forward from that date to the late 13th century to find the man attributed with its innovation and unlikely rise to prominence.
Dnyaneshwar used the game to teach children about karma and kama.
Like the modern-day version, it was played on a rectangular board with ascending rows of squares and peppered with intricate inscriptions of snakes and ladders.
The game was commonly played with cowrie shells as a replacement for dice with seven of the shells rolled and the amount facing up signifying how far the player could go in one turn.
Dnyaneshwar was not only an unintentional board game designer but is also credited with writing the oldest surviving texts written in the Marathi language.
Muslim, Jain and Buddhist adaptations have also been discovered, showing how far-reaching the game spread. From its Indian origins, the game reached Nepal and Tibet where old paintings show how the game developed with each version carrying unique adaptations.
In the 19th century, John Jacques brought the game to England where it grew into the more relaxed, childish version we now know and love.
Milton Bradley, an American based board game company, took the game over to the US where the love for rainy days full of board games blossomed.
Reference
Clark, S. (2020, October 25). How Snakes & Ladders, An Indian Board Game, Became A Global Phenomenon. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://madrascourier.com/insight/how-snakes-ladders-an-indian-board-game-became-a-global-phenomenon/