Social game

[9] Card games are much younger and can be traced back to traditional bans in Europe from the 14th century.

[11] Early examples of commercial board games in Europe, some with the well-known names of their authors, are Snakes and ladders, sold in England from 1892 and marketed in Europe from 1893 by Ravensburger, Reversi, Salta, which was sold from 1899, Mensch ärgere dich nicht, created in 1910 based on the Indian game of Pachisi, Laska invented in 1911 by world chess champion Emanuel Lasker and the game of Coppit), designed in 1927 in the modern Bauhaus stype.

[12] In the US, commercial board games were marketed from the second half of the 19th century by publishers such as Parker and Milton Bradley (MB).

[15] The authors of the last two games mentioned, Sid Sackson and Alex Randolph, respectively, had a significant influence on the further development of board games in the following decades, especially in Germany, with titles like Sleuth, Focus, Can't Stop and Metropolis or Enchanted Forest, What the Heck?, Inkognito and Good & Bad Ghosts.

Playing cards are thought by scholars to have been invented in China before AD 1000 and were introduced into Europe in the late 14th century from Egypt.

The game was sufficient well known in the early 16th century that, in 1537, Martin Luther wrote a satirical letter to the Pope from the "Holy Order of Karnöffel Card Players".

The game is still played today in various forms, especially in Switzerland, in German North Frisia, in Greenland and the Faroe Islands of Denmark.

[20] Ombre spread rapidly across Europe generating a host of other games including Quadrille which was played in England.