Naturally, since dice games are some of the oldest available games to play, they have a rich and fascinating history. People have been playing with dice in their various inceptions and forms for thousands of years.

In fact, dice are some of the oldest known gaming tools to mankind. It is interesting to study the history of dice games for players who enjoy the different games available today, but even people who are not avid dice players can appreciate the rich history of the subject.

An Ancient Game

Since dice games may have been developed and played in multiple different cultures in their earliest stages, the precise origins of dice games are not clear. For example, Sophocles, the famous Greek poet, wrote that dice games were invented by a Greek man named Palamedes during the infamous siege of Troy. Other Greek and non-Greek historians dispute this assertion and even name other people whom they believe invented dice games as people know them today.

Yet, historians have managed to date dice games themselves back even further than when Sophocles claims the games to have been developed. They can, in fact, be dated back before 2000 BC, where illustrations of dice games have been found on Egyptian tombs and various dice-like objects and sets have been found inside burial sites and tombs, possibly to help to entertain the dead in the afterlife or to aid in the transitional period after death.

Will of the Gods

Dice were used in many different cultures for a multitude of reasons. Primarily, dice games were used to determine the will of the gods, since the outcome of the dice were believed to be controlled by the gods’ wills. Dice games were used to choose rulers, to help to split inheritance, and for other major purposes.

In ancient times, dice were made from seas shells, pebbles, fruit stones, or other small objects. Down the road, animal bones, particularly knuckle bones, were used to form dice. This is a far cry from the plastic often used today.

It is said that dominoes descended from dice games in China in previous centuries. Certainly, dice games have evolved a significant amount since their previous inception.