Games & Toys Facts for Kids
Fun facts about games, toys, and play
Chess was invented in India around 1,500 years ago β it was originally called "chaturanga," meaning four divisions of the military.
Monopoly was originally designed to teach people about the dangers of property monopolies. Its precursor, "The Landlord's Game", was invented by Elizabeth Magie in 1903 β Charles Darrow adapted and popularised it as Monopoly during the Great Depression.
Snakes and Ladders originated in ancient India as a moral game about karma called "Moksha Patam" β snakes represented vices, ladders represented virtues.
The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor ErnΕ Rubik β it took him a whole month to solve his own puzzle.
The yo-yo is one of the oldest known toys in history β evidence of yo-yos has been found in ancient Greece dating back 2,500 years.
Pong was one of the first commercially successful arcade games, launched in 1972 β the machine at Andy Capp's Tavern in California broke down because it was too full of quarters.
Jigsaw puzzles were invented in the 1760s by a London cartographer who glued maps onto wood and cut them into pieces to teach geography.
Playing cards originated in China during the Tang Dynasty around the 9th century AD β over 1,100 years ago β before spreading to Persia, the Arab world, and Europe in the 14th century.
The fastest possible checkmate in chess takes just two moves and is called "Fool's Mate" β it only works if one player makes terrible moves.
Over 3 billion people worldwide play video games β that's more than a third of the entire global population.