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Atlas

Era chapters with photo cards: a journey from the first stone games to today.

The journey

Seven chapters of human history, told through play

Scroll to travel through time. The colours change as the civilizations do.

before about 3000 BCE

Games began with what lay to hand: knucklebones, pebbles, seeds and a patch of ground.

Gobak Sodor
Indonesia +1 · Board and table gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Songo
Cameroon +3 · Board and table gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Bao
Comoros · Board and table gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Owela
Namibia · Board and table games
Knucklebone game
Afghanistan +1 · Dexterity and skill gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Street games
Bahamas · Dexterity and skill games

about 3000 to 1000 BCE

Games came with the first cities: boards for kings, dice for markets, and rules written down.

Kurash
Uzbekistan · Wrestling and martial sportsPlayable app · Play preview
E-sugoroku
Japan · Board and table games
Polder Windmill Keeper
Netherlands · Puzzles and mind games
Laamb Wrestling Bout
Senegal +1 · Wrestling and martial sportsPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app
Swiss wrestling
Switzerland · Wrestling and martial sports
Kushti / Pehlwani mud wrestling
India +1 · Wrestling and martial sportsPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app

about 1000 BCE to 500 CE

Empires and academies turned play into sport, strategy and art.

Egrang
Indonesia +1 · RacingPlayable app · Play preview
Mounted Archery Course
Hungary · Dexterity and skill gamesPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app
Kotta Pora
Sri Lanka · Wrestling and martial sportsPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app
Morra
Italy · Archery, throwing and target gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Karagoz
Turkey · Performance and storytellingPlay preview · in the Story & Theatre of the World app
Valiha tube zither
Madagascar · Musical instruments

about 500 to 1500

Along the Silk Road and the sea lanes, games, instruments and crafts travelled and changed.

Yote Capture Grid
Senegal +2 · Board and table gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Panduri
Georgia · Musical instrumentsPlay preview · in the String Music of the World app
Hornussen
Switzerland · Bat-and-ball gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Dalgona
South Korea · Dexterity and skill games
Camel racing dash
Jordan · RacingPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app
Chaturanga
India · Board and table gamesPlayable app · Play preview

about 1500 to 1800

Trade and empire carried pastimes across oceans while village traditions took their lasting shape.

Gorodki
Russia · Dexterity and skill gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Canal ice-skating marathon
Netherlands · RacingPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app
'Ulu Maika
United States · Dexterity and skill gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Intha leg rowing on the lake
Myanmar · RacingPlayable app · Play preview
Steelpan
Trinidad and Tobago · Musical instrumentsPlay preview · in the Drum Music of the World app
Nouka Baich
Bangladesh +1 · RacingPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app

1800 to today

Street games, national sports and revivals: heritage that people are still playing in their own lifetimes.

Canal pole vault
Netherlands · Water and winter sportsPlayable app · Play preview
Kho-Kho
India +3 · Street and playground gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Kingyo-sukui
Japan · Dexterity and skill gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Chinlone
Myanmar · Dexterity and skill gamesPlayable app · Play preview
Kiiking
Estonia · Puzzles and mind games
Ring Tilting
Croatia · Dexterity and skill gamesPlay preview · in the Sports & Skill of the World app

undated

Crafts, instruments and dances handed from hand to hand, too old or too continuous to date.

Kente strip weaving
Ghana · Crafts and makingPlay preview · in the Textile Crafts of the World app
Matryoshka
Russia · Crafts and makingPlay preview · in the Paper & Paint of the World app
Tabla Bol Rhythm
India +3 · Musical instrumentsPlay preview · in the Drum Music of the World app
Zellij tile mosaic
Morocco · Crafts and makingPlay preview · in the Craft Designs of the World app
Ebru paper marbling
Turkey · Crafts and making
Marimba
Worldwide · Musical instruments