Today we have a wonderful heritage of board games from across the world. People have been inventing and playing board games for millennia. These games have evolved over the ages and exist today as an incredible store of information and fun for all. One of the oldest games is the ancient Egyptian game of Senet which dates back to about 3500 BC, and an example of a game invented recently is Pente, was designed by Gary Gabrel in 1978.Many games reflect the competitive activities of their time such as races or the tactics and strategy of warfare. This can be seen in games such as Backgammon or Chess. Backgammon evolved from the ancient Roman game of Tabula, a race game between two players.The game of Chess has its origins in northern India around 3000 BC as the game Chaturanga. This is a Sanskrit name meaning four parts and refers to the division of a platoon in an Indian army in Vedic times into four parts, an elephant, a chariot, three horsemen and five foot soldiers. Chaturanga was introduced into Persia as the game Shatranj and from there spread westwards through Islamic expansion to Spain (Ajedrez) and then eventually become the modern game of Chess. Ethiopian chess called Senterej is also derived from Shatranj. Chaturanga also spread eastwards and evolved to become Chinese chess XiangQi and Japanese chess Shogi. Other eastern variants include Thai chess Makruk and Burmese chess Sittuyin.Chess has many interesting variants including Farmer’s Chess or Gala which still played in some farming villages in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Gala is played on a 10 x 10 board which has four 4 x 4 sections called castles and each player has two Kings or Galas. Circular Byzantine Chess is played on a 16 x 4 circular board.Another interesting predecessor of modern international Chess is Courier Chess. This game, also called Kurierspiel, is a southern German variant played on a 8 x 12 board. Lucan Van Leyden the great Dutch renaissance painter and engraver of Leiden gave us the famous painting, The Chess Players in 1508 at the age of fourteen. This painting depicts a game of Courier. This painting formed part of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin and in 1945 narrowly escaped destruction during bombings raids before being moved to Merkers salt mine near Erfurt and recovery by General Pattons Third Army. The village of Strobeck near Halberstadt in the Hartz Mountains possesses a Courier board presented to the village in 1651 by the Elector-Prince Frederick William of Brandenburg. The game is named for one of the more powerful pieces, the Courier.Mancala is these days the name given to a family of board games played throughout Africa, the Caribbean, India and south-east Asia. These games are usually played on wooden boards with two, three or four rows of holes carved into them. Sometimes these games are played in a set of holes scooped in the ground. The counters used for these games include stones, marbles, seeds, beans, cowrie shells or small lumps of dung. Mancala is an Arabic word meaning to transfer and comes from the way the player sow the counters into the holes. Mancala games have the most diverse set of names of any board game; there are hundreds of different names for the game of Mancala. The game originated in Africa and spread through Bantu expansion and then to south-east Asia by Arab traders and to the Caribbean by the slave trade. Examples of these names include Warri (Caribbean), Oware (Ghana), Maruba (South Africa), Tsoro (Zimbabwe), Gabata (Ethiopia), Layli Goobalay (Somalia), Pallanguli (Sri Lanka) and Chongkak (Malaysia).There are many other fascinating games that can provide hours of entertainment or form the basis for Social studies projects to bring to life the games, customs and language of other cultures. Other interesting games include Backgammon, Bashne, Brax, Bizingo, Bul, Checkers, Draughts, Fanorona, Go, Konane, Ming Mang, Mu Torere, Reversi, Shashki, Zamma and Zohn Ahl.

The much admired casino dice game of craps was previously referred to as ‘crapaud’ and it is believed that the history of the beginning of this game can be traced to back to the time of the crusades and since then it percolated down to the French who popularized it worldwide. The major requisites of the craps casino gambling game are a pair of dice and the players bet against the casino depending on the result of a series of rolls of the two dice or the outcome of a single roll.Craps is a very popular game and apart from casinos, it is also commonly played during leisure times. The game can be played by a single player or even several players. The game commences with the player rolling out the two dice. The game comprises of a series of rounds and every time the dice are rolled out for the first time in each round, it is called ‘come-out roll’. The player who rolls out the dice, is referred to as ‘shooter’.According to the rules, as it progresses, if the total valuation of both the dice rolled amount to 2, 3,7,11, or 12, then it signals that the round is over and a new round should be commenced immediately. If the result of the roll is 2, 3, or 12, then it is called ‘craps’. While, if the result is 11 or 7, then it referred to as a ‘natural’ or ‘win’. However, it is to be remembered that in case, any other number excluding the above like 4,5,6,8,9 and 10 roll out, then it is referred to as a ‘point’. Under such circumstances, the shooter will have to continue rolling the dice again and again till the result of 7 is arrived at. In case, the point situation is referred consecutively, the round is concluded and a new game begins with the same shooter. If the player manages to score a 7 with the come-out roll, then it is declared to be a ‘seven-out’ and that seals the round. A new game commences next with a new shooter.Players can indulge in multiple betting and in most cases they bet about how the round will conclude. In some other situations, they can also bet on the total scored before a 7 is rolled out etc. Betting in a casino is done by utilizing chips on the craps casino table with a boxman at guard of the chips.

A little known fact outside of the golfing world is that more than $10 Billion a year is gambled on golf right here in the United States alone. The only thing bigger is the Super Bowl and the Final Four combined!This is what my golf lessons are all about – to teach you the different gambling games, the science of betting, strategy, hustling, attitude and more.Hustling at golf is a lot easier than you think. Learning the games involved in any golf hustle or competition is well worth the few minutes it takes to go over the rules. Having the rules down before hand is key because if you are the expert and explainer of the rules, you’ll start the round with an edge.This is what hustling golf is all about – betting with an edge. For fun and money, people who play golf like to make things interesting either by wagering money, a soft drink at the end of the round or just plain bragging rights and “pick-up sticks” or “sticks” is a great and fun game to play the next time you get out there on the course.Sticks is a lot of fun and very entertaining. The game is played match play and for each hole a player loses, he takes one club in the winner’s bag out of play.The loser of each hole also can reclaim a club taken out of his/her bag on previous holes. Decide beforehand if putters are in play or not. Usually, players agree to keep the putters out of it and leave them alone as they are integral to the game but including them does add to the fun.Personally, putting with a wedge or a 2-Iron can be easy if you practice for just a few minutes before your next round so I suggest including the putter after just a few drills with your putting.In fact, after breaking their putters during a round, Fuzzy Zoeller used his wedge and Ben Crenshaw used his 2-Iron on separate occasions. Therefore, if you practice with a 2-Iron or wedge and your opponent does not, you’ll be at a major advantage if you include the putter – again betting with an edge.Time for a little golf hustle strategy – DO NOT immediately grab the driver from your opponent’s bag as most people do. It is the worst club to take away, period. Most players would actually do better without their driver, using their 3-Wood or 2-Iron to tee off with, leaving them 220 yards in the middle of the fairway instead of 260 yards deep into the rough.If you know your opponent’s weaknesses before hand, you’ll be much better prepared to choose as you’ve already learned the lessons as to what to choose first.The best club to take first is the sand wedge, hands down. A lot of players rely on the sand wedge for nearly every shot within 100 yards. It is nearly impossible to get up from any greenside bunkers without that club.However, look to see if the player carries a lob wedge. If they do, grab that first and then the sand wedge. Clearly, if a player carries a lobber, they rely on that and that’s what The Golf Hustler is all about – betting with an edge.Although a silly golf game for sure, this is an excellent game to start wagering for fun or profit for beginners. You’ll be forced to create shots, punching a 4-Iron to make it act like a 6-Iron or hitting a running hook to hit a 6-Iron as far as a 4-Iron, etc.
Either way, if you’re prepared, you’ll be in position to win a lot of money (or bragging rights).Also, the opportunity for “proposition bets” is abundant. If you’ve won several holes in a row, make the bet that you can hit it closer to the pin with your 5-Iron from 60 yards out than your opponent who still has his lob wedge or anyplace else where you think you have an edge, or any similar shot – use your imagination!As always, good luck, good hustling.Freddy Kaboot