Sports and Games and When They Were Invented

Combat sport in which competitors attempt to throw or pin their opponent to the ground using holds and leverage

Water sport in which athletes propel boats using oars in races over straight measured courses on rivers or lakes

Bat and ball game of two teams of eleven, played around a pitch twenty-two yards long

Club and ball sport of hitting a ball round a course into a series of holes in the fewest strokes

Racing horses over a set course, run under written rules and organized around betting

Bat and ball game of two teams taking turns to bat and field around a diamond of four bases

Contact team sport with an oval ball that may be carried, passed backward or kicked forward

Sport in which competitors race boats powered by wind in sails across courses marked by buoys on open water

Team sport played with a ball that outfield players may not touch with the hands or arms

Combat sport in which two athletes throw punches at each other while wearing padded gloves inside a roped ring

Sport in which athletes race bicycles on roads, tracks or trails over various distances and terrains

Racket sport played by two or four people hitting a shuttlecock over a high net on a rectangular court

Racket sport played by two or four players hitting a ball over a net on a marked court

Fast team sport played on skates with sticks and a puck, scoring into the opposing goal

Contact sport with an oval ball, in which a team must advance the ball ten yards to keep possession

Winter sport in which participants slide on snow using long narrow skis attached to boots for racing or recreation

Sport of routines on apparatus such as bars, beams and rings, testing strength, balance and flexibility

Martial art and sport in which practitioners throw or pin opponents using leverage and balance rather than brute strength

Team sport played with curved sticks and a hard ball on grass or artificial turf

Combat sport using swords in which fencers score touches on their opponent while following right of way conventions

Racket sport played across a table divided by a low net, with a light hollow ball

Team sport in which players score through a raised hoop, and may not run while holding the ball

Racing cars over closed circuits or road courses, timed to thousandths under a technical rulebook

Team sport of hitting a ball over a high net with the hands, to ground it in the opposing court

Running, jumping and throwing events contested on a track and in the field around it

Strength sport in which athletes attempt to lift the heaviest possible barbell overhead in two recognized movements

Racing through water over set distances in one of four prescribed strokes, in a pool or open water

Team sport played on a court where players throw a ball into the opponent's goal using only their hands

Striking martial art in which competitors use punches kicks and blocks in forms or controlled sparring matches

Korean martial art emphasizing high fast kicks and dynamic movements now practiced as an Olympic combat sport

Egyptian race game on thirty squares, played for two thousand years and buried with the dead

Small polyhedral objects usually numbered on each face thrown to generate random outcomes in games

Symmetrical toy spun on its axis by hand or with a string to remain upright through gyroscopic force

Game using the ankle bones of sheep tossed and caught in various patterns similar to modern jacks

Two-player game of placing black and white stones on the intersections of a nineteen by nineteen grid to surround territory

Lightweight frame covered with fabric or paper flown on a string in the wind for recreation or signaling

Toy consisting of two disks connected by an axle around which string is wound for up-and-down play

Two-player board game of sixteen pieces a side on a checkered board, played in some form for centuries

Sowing game in which players distribute seeds or stones into rows of pits to capture the most pieces

Set of rectangular pieces bearing suits and ranks used for many different games across cultures

Two-player strategy game on an eight-by-eight board using twelve pieces per side that move diagonally

Race game for two players using dice and fifteen pieces each on a board with twenty-four points

Tile game in which players match ends of rectangular pieces marked with pips from zero to six

Asymmetric pursuit game on a cross-shaped board where one fox tries to capture multiple geese

Alignment game for two players placing and moving pieces on a board of three concentric squares

Card game for two players that uses a peg board to keep score during play

Casino card game where players try to reach twenty one without exceeding the dealer

Family of card games in which players bet on the strength of a hand, and on each other's nerve

Trick taking card game for four players in two partnerships using a standard deck

Tile based game for four players that involves drawing and discarding to form winning hands

Stuffed toy bear in soft plush, named after a president who refused to shoot a tethered one

Card game in which players form sets and runs by drawing and discarding from a shared pile

Board game using cards to move pawns around a track while sending opponents back to start

Board game of buying streets and charging rent, played on a fixed circuit with dice and paper money

Word game where players form words on a grid using letter tiles with point values

Race board game for children that uses colored cards instead of dice to move along a path

Deduction game in which players work out the murderer, the weapon and the room by elimination

Dice game in which players roll five dice to achieve combinations listed on a score sheet

Strategy board game of world conquest using armies moved across a map of territories

Interlocking plastic bricks with studs and tubes, molded to a tolerance that lets pieces from any decade still fit together

Board game following a person through career, marriage and retirement, with pegs riding in plastic cars

Skill game where players remove plastic ailments from a cartoon patient using tweezers

Physical game where players place hands and feet on colored circles according to a spinner

Card game in which players match colors or numbers while trying to empty their hand first

Word game where players find words in a grid of letter cubes shaken inside a tray

Role-playing game in which players describe what their characters do and dice settle whether it works

Cube of twenty-six smaller cubes on a hidden pivot, whose six faces are scrambled by turning and must be restored

Trivia board game where players answer questions in six categories to collect colored wedges

Tower building game where players remove and restack wooden blocks without causing collapse

Falling-block puzzle in which four-square pieces must be fitted into complete rows before the stack reaches the top

Resource management board game where players build roads and settlements on a variable map

Tile-laying game in which players build a medieval landscape of cities, roads, fields and cloisters

Train route building game where players claim rail lines between cities on a map

Cooperative board game where players work together to contain disease outbreaks worldwide

Card game in which players avoid drawing an exploding kitten using special action cards