Games have always been a popular way for humans to blow off some steam. Archaeologists have uncovered a plethora of evidence from Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Egypt, all showing that our ancestors had created their own games back then.
Today is no different. Almost all of us have played one game at some point in our lives and it is highly likely that we still do on a regular basis. Of course, the games played during the Roman Empire were different from the ones many of us enjoy today. While back then “Nux” and “Venus” were common dice and marble games, they’ve fallen out of favor for these popular options.
Roulette
Roulette is one of the oldest games on this list, having originated in France in the 18th century. Its origin is reflected in the fact that roulette means “little wheel” in French, a name that also very concisely explains the basic mechanics of the game. While it was once the exclusive domain of French casinos, today roulette is available through computers, smartphones, or tablets around the world.
This widespread availability has made it one of the most popular games played worldwide, with just about every casino offering at least one version to its customers.
Putting an exact figure on the number of people who play roulette is difficult because of how dispersed the game is. However, there are more than 3,000 land-based casinos in the world, with a similar number of online casinos. Based on this, and some other industry data, estimates put the figure at around 1-2 billion people enjoying roulette in some form.
Chess
Chess is another older game that remains popular today. It is believed to be around 1,500 years old, with early predecessors being played in India. Chess’ popularity varies in different parts of the world, with former Eastern Bloc nations dominating the top 10 FIDE country rankings. It was brought back into the spotlight recently thanks to the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, with many more people taking up the game after watching it.
Chess is a strategy game that requires you to move in such a way as to protect your own pieces while attacking your opponent’s. While learning the basics doesn’t take too long, you could spend your entire life perfecting your chess playing strategies.
Minecraft
Minecraft was released way back in 2011. While it is a relative spring chicken in comparison to roulette and chess, it is a pensioner in the video game world. Yet, despite its age, Minecraft remains one of the most popular games played today.
There are a number of factors contributing to this success, including the fact that Minecraft can be enjoyed on almost any modern device and that it is completely open-ended, giving players the freedom to build almost anything their creativity can conjure up.
League of Legends
League of Legends is a battle arena game that’s even older than Minecraft, having been released in 2009. It was initially inspired by a custom map for Warcraft III, but was released as a free-to-play game instead of the traditional model that was popular at the time.
Being free and a spin-off from another popular franchise, League of Legends quickly developed a huge following. It’s since become one of the biggest esports games in the world, ensuring it remains relevant and popular for years to come.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike was one of the most popular first-person shooter franchises in the 1990s and 2000s. Valve continued the series’ development into the 2010s with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Counter-Strike Online 2, and Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies in 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively. However, it was the 2012 game that has managed to live on to become one of the most popular games played in 2021. By visiting this site you can know sa gaming.
A 2013 update to the game called “Arms Deal” helped to make the game a long-term fan favourite by introducing weapon skins, microtransactions, and other new features. Since then, Valve has been continually pushing updates and made it free-to-play in December 2018. This has helped CS:GO to outperform other map-based Warzone games such as the more widely-known Call of Duty franchise, in terms of the number of players, for some time.
