Traditional Games as Christmas Presents | Jaques of London
The tree is lit, the room is warm, and someone has just upended a box of counters across the floor. Before long, three generations are gathered around a board, arguing cheerfully over whose turn it is. This is a scene that has repeated itself, in some form, for thousands of years.
The games at the centre of it are older than almost anything else in the house. Long before batteries and screens, people marked midwinter with play — and many of those games have barely changed. A good number of them still pass through our workshop, and every item we make for children is tested to UKCA and CE safety standards before it reaches a single stocking.
What follows is a short history of why these old games endure, and why they remain, for many families, the most meaningful presents under the tree.
Where Did Traditional Christmas Games Come From and How Old Are They Really?
The oldest board games predate Christmas itself by millennia. The Royal Game of Ur dates to roughly 2500 BCE and was excavated from the Royal Cemetery at Ur in modern-day Iraq; it now sits in the British Museum, its race track and markings still legible after four and a half thousand years.
That age tells us something simple. The urge to sit opposite another person and play, with a few counters and a shared set of rules, is among the most constant human habits there is.
Many of the games we associate with Christmas arrived along much the same path. Snakes and Ladders began in ancient India as Moksha Patam, a game of moral instruction, with virtues speeding you upward and vices dragging you down. It reached Britain in the 19th century and shed its sermon, keeping only the thrill of the climb and the groan of the slide.
By the Victorian period, the midwinter parlour had become the natural home for these games. Families without electric light filled the long evenings with cards, dice and boards, and the habit stuck fast enough to survive every distraction invented since.
You can still find the direct descendants of those parlour evenings among our traditional games, and the connection between an ancient race game and a modern family afternoon is closer than most people expect. The board changes; the delight does not.
Which Traditional Games Were Invented in Britain and Why Do They Matter?
Britain's contribution to the games cabinet is larger than its size suggests, and one example stands above the rest. In 1849, Jaques of London first sold the Staunton chess pieces, designed by Nathaniel Cook. They became the international standard for competitive chess and remain so under the World Chess Federation to this day.
That matters because it is rare for a single design to settle a question for good. Before Staunton, chess sets varied wildly, and players could be genuinely unsure which carved shape was meant to be a bishop. The clean, weighted Staunton forms ended the confusion and have never been improved upon.
Walk through our chess sets today and you are looking at the same silhouette a Victorian player would recognise at a glance. The knight's head, the cross atop the king — these are not decoration but a shared visual language, agreed in London and adopted worldwide.
Britain gave its drawing rooms other staples too: draughts, dominoes, and the countless wooden amusements that filled a child's toy shelf. You will find many of their modern equivalents among our board games.
These games matter because they are quietly democratic. A Staunton board costs nothing to understand once you know the moves, and the same set serves a curious six-year-old and a seasoned grandmaster. Few British inventions have travelled so far while asking so little of the people who use them.
How Did Traditional Games Survive Centuries of Change to Reach Your Living Room?
Survival is not guaranteed for any object. Fashions turn, factories close, and plenty of once-popular games have vanished entirely. The games that reached your living room did so because each generation chose to teach them to the next.
Part of the answer is sheer simplicity. A race game, a hunt across a board, a contest of counters — these need no instruction manual thicker than a postcard. A grandparent can explain the whole of Snakes and Ladders in under a minute, and that ease of handing down has carried it across continents and centuries.
Materials played their part too. Wood lasts. A boxwood chess piece or a hardwood draughtsman survives decades of handling, which is why so many families still play with sets older than the people holding them. The same thinking runs through our wooden toys, built to be kept rather than replaced.
Christmas itself acted as a preservative. Because these games became tied to a yearly ritual, they were protected from the churn of everyday fashion. A game played only once a year, reliably, around the same table, is far harder to forget than one left out all season.
If you want proof of how lively that tradition remains, our guide to the best family games for Christmas Day shows how the oldest formats still hold a room. Survival, in the end, was never an accident. It was a choice, made again and again.
Why Do Families Remember Traditional Games Long After the Wrapping Paper Is Gone?
Ask anyone about a childhood Christmas and the memory is rarely the present itself. It is the game that followed: the uncle who cheated at draughts, the sister who won every round and never let anyone forget it, the long dusk spent hunched over a board while dinner went cold.
Traditional games earn these memories because they force people to face one another. There is no screen to stare into, only the person opposite and the small drama unfolding between you. That shared attention is what sticks, long after the wrapping paper has been swept up.
They also flex to fit the room. The same evening can hold a gentle game for the youngest and a sharper contest for the adults once the children are asleep. Our suggestions for the best after dinner games for Christmas for all ages and the best Christmas games for adults to play at home show how one cabinet carries a whole household through the day.
There is also the matter of repetition. A game is not played once and discarded; it is played again next year, and the year after, until it becomes a fixture of the season. That repetition builds the shared history families treasure.
Even the small ceremony of opening matters. A board tucked into a Christmas Eve box sets the tone for everything that follows. The gift is not the object. It is the promise of the hours spent using it together.
What Makes Traditional Games Better Christmas Presents Than the Latest Toy or Screen?
The newest toy has one great weakness: it dates. A game released this year is designed to feel current, which means it is also designed, however quietly, to feel old next year. Traditional games have no such problem, because they stopped being new centuries ago and never once lost their appeal.
A screen, meanwhile, tends to pull a child inward and away. A board does the opposite. It needs a second player, then a third, and before long it has gathered the whole room. The game becomes the reason everyone sits in the same place at the same time.
There is a practical argument too. A well-made wooden set does not need charging, updating or replacing. It works the first Christmas and the twentieth, and it can be handed to a grandchild without apology. That longevity is rare among modern presents, and it is built into the materials themselves.
These games also teach without lecturing. Patience, fair play, how to lose and how to win graciously — all of it arrives through the game rather than a talking-to. Chess, draughts and the oldest race games have been quietly doing this work for generations.
If you are weighing up what to give, our round-up of 7 superb Christmas games is a sensible place to begin, and the wider range within our traditional games covers every age at the table. The most meaningful present, more often than not, is the one still being played long after it was unwrapped.
Shop the range: Traditional Games as Christmas Presents
Our most relevant picks, made by a British family company since 1795.
Frequently Asked Questions About Traditional Games As Christmas Presents
Who invented Ludo and where did it come from?
Ludo derives from Pachisi, an ancient Indian cross-and-circle game played for centuries on cloth boards. The modern Western version was patented in England in 1896. The name comes from the Latin word meaning 'I play.' Jaques of London has been among the classic British games manufacturers producing traditional sets for generations. The game's simple race format — moving counters around a square board by rolling dice — has made it a perennial favourite for family play across all ages.
When was Snakes and Ladders first made?
Snakes and Ladders originated in ancient India as a moral instruction game called Moksha Patam, where ladders represented virtues and snakes represented vices, teaching players about karma and consequence. It was introduced to Britain during the 19th century and quickly became a children's favourite. The Victorian version retained the moral symbolism before evolving into the straightforward race game known today. Its enduring appeal lies in its simplicity — no reading or strategy required, making it accessible from a very young age.
Is Draughts a British game?
Draughts is not exclusively British in origin. Versions of the game existed in ancient Egypt and across medieval Europe. The 12-a-side game played on a 64-square board became standardised in France — known there as Jeu de Dames — before becoming widely popular in Britain. The rules were formally codified in the 18th century. Draughts has been a staple of British games manufacturers, including Jaques of London, for well over a century, and remains one of the most widely played two-player strategy games in the world.
Why is it called Tiddlywinks?
The precise origin of the name 'Tiddlywinks' is uncertain, though the game itself was patented in Britain in 1888. 'Tiddly' was 19th-century slang for something small, and 'wink' may refer to the small disc used in play. The game involves pressing a larger disc against the edge of a smaller one to flip it into a cup. What began as a parlour game became a surprisingly competitive pursuit — Cambridge University formed a Tiddlywinks club in 1955. Jaques of London has long produced traditional Tiddlywinks sets for family play.
Where did Skittles originate?
Skittles is believed to have originated in ancient Germany and the Low Countries, where various forms of pin-knocking games were played outdoors. It spread across Europe during the medieval period and became enormously popular in Britain as both a pub game and a fairground attraction. The basic principle — toppling upright pins with a ball or disc — has remained consistent for centuries. Indoor table Skittles, sometimes called 'Shove Ha'penny Skittles' or 'Devil Among the Tailors,' became a popular British parlour and pub game and is still produced by traditional games makers today.
How old is the game of Chess?
Chess is generally believed to have originated in India around the 6th century CE, evolving from a game called Chaturanga before spreading through Persia and into Europe. The modern rules, including the powerful queen and bishop movements, were established in Europe by the late 15th century. The Staunton chess pieces — now the international standard for competitive play — were designed by Nathaniel Cook and first sold by Jaques of London in 1849, according to FIDE historical records and Jaques of London company history, cementing the set's place in chess history.
Are traditional board games good presents for children?
Traditional board games are excellent presents for children of almost any age. Games such as Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Draughts, and Chess develop skills including counting, strategic thinking, patience, and turn-taking — all without a screen. Unlike many electronic toys, well-made traditional games from established makers such as Jaques of London are built to last for years and can be passed between siblings and generations. They also provide a natural opportunity for children and adults to spend focused, engaged time together, which is particularly valuable during the Christmas holidays.
What traditional games can the whole family play at Christmas?
Several traditional games suit mixed-age family groups at Christmas. Snakes and Ladders and Ludo work well for younger children, while Draughts and Chess offer greater challenge for older players. Card games, Dominoes, Skittles, and Tiddlywinks can all be played across generations with minimal setup. Jaques of London produces a wide range of classic games suited to family play, including beautifully crafted Chess sets using the internationally recognised Staunton design first sold by Jaques in 1849. Having a selection of games available across Christmas gives families flexible options for different moments and group sizes.
Why do traditional games make better Christmas gifts than electronic toys?
Traditional games offer lasting value that electronic toys rarely match. They do not require batteries, software updates, or Wi-Fi, and quality sets from makers such as Jaques of London are built to endure decades of play. Board games and card games bring people into the same room, encouraging conversation and shared experience rather than solitary screen time. The rules of games such as Chess — played in recognisably modern form for centuries — do not become obsolete. A well-chosen traditional game given at Christmas can genuinely be played year after year, often becoming a family tradition in its own right.
Which traditional games were popular in Victorian Britain at Christmas?
Victorian Britain embraced parlour games enthusiastically during the Christmas season. Chess was widely played, and the Staunton chess set — designed by Nathaniel Cook and first sold by Jaques of London in 1849 — became the definitive standard during this period. Draughts, Dominoes, Tiddlywinks (patented 1888), and card games were all common Christmas pastimes. Snakes and Ladders arrived in Britain during the 19th century and gained popularity in Victorian households. Jaques of London, founded in 1795, supplied many of these games throughout the Victorian era and remains Britain's oldest games maker.