With people’s horizons limited by the pandemic, the national broadcasters have been digging about in their cupboards and have made available some of their old classics.  BBC4 have also got in on the act, replaying their 2009 series about the history of popular games in Britain.  The three-part series, “Games Britannia“, is presented by historian and English lecturer, Benjamin Woolley, and covers “games in Britain from the Iron Age to the Information Age”.

– Image from bbc.co.uk

The first part was repeated last Monday (20th July), and explains how ancient and medieval games were more than just fun, but by the late Middle Ages gaming had become increasingly associated with gambling. The episode concludes in the Victorian era with establishment of the world’s first commercial games industry.  The second episode will be shown tonight (at 10.40pm) and traces the surprising political and social impact that board games have had in Britain over the last two hundred years, while the concluding part is next week (at 11pm) and moves onto computer gaming.

– Image from video on bbc.co.uk

The first episode is currently on BBC iPlayer and will be available for about three weeks; the second and third episodes will be available shortly after broadcast.