Before football, cricket, chess and video games, humans were already playing. But what was the first game ever played? The answer may be thousands of years older than we imagine.
Today, games are a major part of human life. We play sports, board games and digital games for entertainment and competition. But the history of games began long before modern civilization.
The exact first game in the world is impossible to identify because prehistoric humans played games long before written records existed.
Mehen: One of the Oldest Known Games
One of the fascinating ancient games was Mehen, played in ancient Egypt.
Mehen was a board game named after a serpent deity. Its board had a distinctive coiled-snake design divided into spaces. Archaeological evidence connects the game with ancient Egypt, with examples dating back thousands of years.
A tomb painting from around 2700 BCE also provides evidence of Mehen being played.
That means people were enjoying organized board games nearly 5,000 years ago.
Senet: Another Ancient Egyptian Game
Another famous ancient game was Senet.
Senet was played on a rectangular board containing 30 squares arranged in three rows. Players moved pieces across the board, using a combination of strategy and chance.
The game became particularly significant in ancient Egyptian culture and was eventually associated with ideas about the journey into the afterlife.
Was Mehen Really the First Game?
Not necessarily.
Archaeologists have discovered even older boards and gaming objects from the ancient Near East. Some may date back to approximately 3850–2300 BCE.
However, there is an important problem: researchers cannot always determine whether these objects were actually used as games.
So, saying that one particular game was definitely “the first game in human history” would be misleading.
Why Did Ancient Humans Play Games?
Games were probably more than simple entertainment.
Ancient games could involve:
- Competition
- Strategy
- Luck
- Social interaction
- Religious beliefs
- Ritual traditions
Some ancient gaming boards were even found in burial contexts, showing that games could have cultural and symbolic importance.
The Surprising Connection With Modern Games
There is an interesting similarity between ancient and modern humans.
Thousands of years ago, people moved pieces across boards. Today, we move pieces on chessboards, compete on football fields and play games on smartphones.
The technology changed—but the human desire to play remained.
The Mystery Continues
We may never know the exact name of the first game ever played on Earth.
It may have been a simple race, a throwing game, a physical competition or a game using stones and sticks that left no archaeological evidence.
What we do know is that playing games is not a modern invention.
Long before stadiums, televisions and smartphones existed, humans had already discovered the joy of playing.
