The games dates back over 1700 years, and was discovered in western Norway. The archeologists uncovered 18 double sided pieces, all made of bone, which might have functioned like tokens. They also found one die, also made of bone, which unlike the modern cube shaped die, is an elongated skinny rod. Imagine rolling that at your next family game night.
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The University put together a video showing off all of the pieces they found. The video, which has a surprisingly good techno beat under it, shows just how delicate the remaining pieces are. The video also illuminates just how tough an archeologists job is, as they somehow spot these tiny pieces in the dirt. The discovery of this board game is reminiscent of the Medieval Russian board game found in a secret castle chamber.
While it’s unclear exactly how the game was played, the Archeologists think it was “reminiscent of Backgammon.” They also believe that it was probably inspired by another ancient game, the Roman Ludus Latrunculorum. It’s also possible that the game is precursor to the well known Viking age game, Hnefatafl, which, theoretically, could make an appearance in the upcoming Assassins Creed Valhalla.
What’s really cool is that a line can be traced from this ancient Norwegian board game to the present day, where the Norwegian Prime Minster was caught playing Pokemon GO before an important meeting.
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