Features
The Rise of Contemporary Art Puzzles
A handful of independent jigsaw companies are bringing art by living artists into a playful new medium.
board games
Art
We Know Exactly Who Loses at Monopoly of Gentrification
Two artists replaced the game’s iconic locations with a politically charged set of properties and events highlighting the impact of gentrification on Black communities.
Test 2018 posts
Dazzling and Didactic Board Games from the 19th Century
Games serve as curious records of 19th-century British beliefs and prejudices, reflecting the attitudes of a growing empire towards its own society as well as towards those beyond its borders.
Art
How the World’s Oldest Printed Board Game Rolled Propaganda into Play
Long before the era of Candy Crush and Neko Atsume, the games that captured our attention were often the ones that required just a board, a dice or two, and a handful of tokens.
Art
Playing at Women's Liberation, World War I, and Colonialism in Vintage Board Games
In the 1917 board game "Suffragetto," two players compete as either police or suffragettes to defend their political bases.
In Brief
Do Not Pass “Bo”: Archaeologists Unearth 2,300-Year-Old Board Game in China
It includes a 14-face die carved from an animal tooth, 21 rectangular game pieces featuring painted numbers, and a broken tile that once made up part of the game board.
Art
Gaming the System: A More Realistic Version of Monopoly
OAKLAND, Calif. — Earlier this year, there was a kerfluffle on the internet when users voted to oust the iron token in Monopoly in favor of a cat. It was a significant change to the aesthetics of the game — the iron had been around since the 1930s — but not a significant change to its gameplay.