10 Crazy Gaming Facts Every Gamer Should Know
Whilst we are all raised to enjoy the simple pleasures of playing games, the humble pastime may be more surprising than you think. So here are 10 unusual facts about games.
1. Chess
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The game of chess has enjoyed fame as one of the world’s most immersive and tricky games for nearly 1,300 years. And although the game was originally designed to be played by humans, mankind suffered a humiliating defeat when one of chess’ grandmasters lost a match to a computer named Deep Thought in 1988.
2. Poker
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Whilst we can all recognise the four suits in the pack, we might not all know that the suits have a French origin that represents different classes of men; clubs for peasants, hearts for clergy, diamonds for merchants, and spades for royals. And similarly, there’s a range of fascinating odds to consider such as your chances of getting a top starting hand is only 2.1%. But as online casino sites such as Betsafe prove, there are hundreds of ways in which you can play this massively popular game, and the site even has a helpful poker school section to help you get to grips with the basics.
3. Monopoly
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Although the game of Monopoly may have provided endless family arguments, it has also provided some cause for celebration too. Most notably by the smuggling maps and compasses inside the board game, it helped prisoners of war escape a Nazi prison camp in World War II.
4. Dominoes
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We can all recognise the humble domino, but few of us will realise where dominoes originated from. In fact, dominoes evolved from dice which is why they have their distinctive spots!
5. Checkers
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Checkers, or draughts as it is also known, has often been thought of a poorer cousin of chess. But the game is actually much older than chess as it is thought to have originated as early as 1400 BC.
6. Roulette
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Another popular casino game with a surprising past is roulette. But the most eerie fact about roulette is that if you add up all of the numbers on the wheel, they add up to ‘666’ which is why roulette is commonly referred to as ‘the devil’s game’.
7. Pool
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Whilst just about everyone has enjoyed a game of pool, few people realise how different the game used to be. Not only was it originally meant to be played outdoors, but it also only developed cushions later on in its development as a way to stop the balls flying off the side of the table.
8. Darts
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Another popular bar-room game with a surprising past is darts. And whilst we may all be familiar with the plastic flights of a dart, most of us would be alarmed to find that they were originally made out of turkey feathers.
9. Cluedo
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One of the world’s most iconic boardgames has to be the mystery game of Cluedo. But would it be so recognisable if it had kept its original name of Murder?
10. Noughts and crosses
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Also known as Tic-tac-toe, it may look like child’s play but there are in fact 255,168 possible outcomes of this fun game.