I know of several ancient multiplayer games, like Chess and Go, but what's the oldest single-player game? Solitaire? It seems like there must have been some single-player games before the invention of playing cards.
Message of the Day:
Bored? You'll find something new to do at MindThrow! Be a pal and Digg the MindThrow launch announcement (only takes 30 seconds).
8 Comments
Leave a comment
The comment login system is acting strange. If you get an error message saying you aren't logged in when you are, just reload the comment page and try again. I'm trying to track this bug down, but it's not easy.












I'd expect that both jacks and mahjong solitaire predate solitaire with cards.
"If I Were King"
"Name all of the animals"
Toss a rock in the air, then catch it.
"Catch your own tail". Our ancestors must have stopped playing THAT one millions of years ago. After a while they might have thought up "Can I start a fire" to occupy themselves.
Running could be a possibility. And if you've ever seen History of the World Part 1 the following things also existed: Clubbing women (or men) over the head and pounding the porpoise.
In the interest of not being vulgar, I was not going to suggest it, but I think that last one is probably the far-and-away winner.
Vulgar hell, I got on to suggest the five finger jig as the oldest solo game. And I usually win!