Clio's Board Games

Enduring Dutch passions: Tulips were as popular in Amsterdam of old as they are now... or in Amsterdam-/Dutch-themed board games (@weirdgiraffegames.com). Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

Iconic Amsterdam, #2: The city's best-known sight is not a palace or a cathedral, but the rows of private houses along the canals. Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

Iconic Amsterdam, #1: The network of canals (grachten), the biggest of them in semi-circles around the center, makes the topography of the city unique. Board games have picked up on it: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

Amsterdam in History and Board Games One of the great cities of Europe celebrates its 750th birthday this year – Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, famous for tolerance, trade, and tulips. While the earliest settlements in the reg…

ICYMI: Here's my exploration of Amsterdam's history through board games

Amsterdam in History and Board Games One of the great cities of Europe celebrates its 750th birthday this year – Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, famous for tolerance, trade, and tulips. While the earliest settlements in the reg…

16th and 17th century Amsterdam was a vibrant laboratory of capitalism - and has thus become a popular subject of board games:

British Museum photo showing a two-player board game with gaming counters known as the Royal Game of Ur. Dated c. 2,500 BC. The game board is composed of a hollow box made of wood adorned with shell plaques. There is a drawer at one end for storing game pieces and dice. The top of the board is covered with twenty square-shaped off-white shell plaques, each bordered with dark-blue lapis lazuli. The shell squares are intricately decorated with blue inlaid patterns including dots inside circles and eye-shapes. Five squares are inlaid with flower-shaped rosettes with red limestone and blue lapis lazuli petals. The game board is roughly rectangular in shape. Viewed from above in the photo, on the left side of the board is a block of 12 squares made up of 4 across by 3 down. On the right side of the board is a block of 6 squares made up of 2 across by 3 down. The two blocks are joined by two squares extending between the second square down on the end row of the left block and the second square down on the first row of the second block. Dimensions H: 2.40 cm, L: 30.10 cm, W: 11 cm, (W 5.70 cm at narrowest part) Beneath the board are 14 disc-shaped gaming counters. On the left are 7 white pieces, inlaid with 5 spots of blue lapis lazuli. On the right are 7 black pieces inlaid with five white spots. Between the game pieces are three tetrahedron-shaped dice. L to R: Dark blue, brown, cream.

The Royal Game of Ur is the world’s oldest playable boardgame!

Played by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia about 4,500 years ago!

It is a two-player race game, the rules of which have been deciphered from a cuneiform tablet.

Game from the Royal Cemetery of Ur. 📷 British Museum

#Archaeology

During the religious struggles of the 16th century, Amsterdam adopted a rare posture - tolerance. Not a popular choice with overlord Philip II of Spain! Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

Thank you! Amsterdam is certainly a unique place. You'd enjoy it!

What a great post on a very beautiful city!

Want to go there some day

Amsterdam in History and Board Games One of the great cities of Europe celebrates its 750th birthday this year – Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, famous for tolerance, trade, and tulips. While the earliest settlements in the reg…

Ever been to Amsterdam? Here are some board games reflecting the city's rich history:
cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

Christopher Duffy often notes the quality advantage of Prussia's army early in the Seven Years' War - neatly captured by the card-dealing mechanism in Friedrich. Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/09/21/f...

Frederick, the general, Frederick, the king - two different expressions of the same person in #Friedrich. Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/09/21/f...

From Roßbach to Leuthen: Hard to pull off for Frederick the Great, almost harder for players of Friedrich. Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/09/21/f...

Frederick the Great. A Military Life / Friedrich (Book & Game, #4) It’s been a minute three years since we last had a book & game pairing on this blog! Today, we’re looking at Prussia in the Seven Years’ War (1756—1763). Our book & game for this topic are …

ICYMI: Here's my book/game pairing on Prussia in the Seven Years' War!

Some great & dramatic games we had!

Julius Caesar – exciting sessions via Rally the Troops We have played with Clio already several games on Rally the Troops – not being able to often see each other live, this is our main and preferred option to spend time together with the boardga…

Julius Caesar from Columbia Games is one of the classic wargames. We had a pleasure - again, thanks to #RallyTheTroops - to play it several times with @cliosboardgames.bsky.social. And below I am presenting several exciting session reports from this! Enjoy!
theboardgameschronicle.com/2025/09/26/j...

Inside Frederick the Great's mind... in a book and a board game: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/09/21/f...

The Year of the Four Emperors: The Game.

Covered in more detail in DG's 2003 game "Ignorant Armies".

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10...

Looks like a bunch of barbarians ready to sack Rome... but in fact it's four would-be emperors and their 200,000 best friends!

They said: come to Rome, spend some time, it is nice & cozy. Then all of them arrived & caused a brawl!
Time of Crisis with @whovian223.bsky.social, @cliosboardgames.bsky.social & @playersaidblog.bsky.social on #RallyTheTroops. One of the most hilarious ends & tie-breakers!
@gmtgames.bsky.social

#OTD 45 years ago, the Iran-Iraq war began. Both countries exhausted themselves in the process of the war. (Image from #TwilightStruggle @jasondcmatthews.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social)

Frederick the Great. A Military Life / Friedrich (Book & Game, #4) It’s been a minute three years since we last had a book & game pairing on this blog! Today, we’re looking at Prussia in the Seven Years’ War (1756—1763). Our book & game for this topic are …

Book & Game: Frederick the Great. A Military Life (Christopher Duffy) and Friedrich (Richard Sivél, Histogame):

It does... but I feel it's getting better!

The War of Independence Through the Lens of Washington’s War, Liberty or Death, and Imperial Struggle After a somewhat longer break, we’re back with the American Revolution! We had concluded last time with the French entry into the war on the American side. Today, we’ll look at the cooperation betw…

Check out our latest InsideGMT article from @cliosboardgames.bsky.social: "The War of Independence Through the Lens of Washington’s War, Liberty or Death, and Imperial Struggle" insidegmt.com/the-war-of-i...

Ludwig Erhard (Chancellor Ratings, #1) Last year, I have inaugurated a new irregular series on my blog assessing the merits of UK prime ministers (illustrated through the lens of a single board game each). The rating system seemed robus…

#OTD 60 years ago, Ludwig Erhard’s CDU won the federal election in Germany – the zenith of Erhard’s short chancellorship. Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/l...

I think it's a simple, effective model of realistic uncertainty. Also makes away with some of the last-turn shenanigans so often encountered in games.

The defeat at Yorktown eroded the parliamentary support of Lord North, British prime minister. When his government was toppled, the way for peace was open (image from #WashingtonsWar @markherman54.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social). Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2025/09/07/t...

#OTD 100 years ago, the @spdde.bsky.social adopted the Program of Heidelberg– in which the party commited itself to the United States of Europe to achieve peace & prosperity in Europe. (Image from #Weimar @ulible.bsky.social)