See also:
Escape the Plague
Let them eat cake

• Royal Game of the Goose and
  Game of the Labyrinth
• The Game of Solomon
• Quantum
• Nodus
• Lewis Carroll's Chess Wordgame
• Archimedes' Square/Monograph

• The Game of the Dragon and
  Hnefatafl (Viking game)
• Renaissance Playing Cards
• Grand Tans
• Nine Men's Morris, Fox and Geese
• Six Disks/Teddybears
• Chrononauts

These two authentic ancient games are the ancestors of all modern boardgames: "Labyrinth" from Minoan Crete, "Goose" from the Renaissance. Both are a race to the center. "Goose" is purely chance, while "Labyrinth" allows for backgammon-like strategies. The provided book of rules and historical notes by antiquities scholar Peter Aleff is fascinating reading. The two-sided, 24" octagonal framed wood gameboard is handcrafted, with brass reinforcing brackets and a brass-finish carry handle. The superb quality carries through to 16 handpainted wood pawns, lively wood dice and a velvet cover. Customers tell us this game is a great hit as wedding presents. Suitable for 2 to 8 players, all ages. And it's a major attraction at our Renaissance Festival booth in Crownsville, Maryland. $195 (plus $10 oversize shipping surcharge)

We're honored to have an exclusive of this game invented by the beloved author of countless books on recreational mathematics. The handpainted, 15" square fringed game cloth (washable) serves for four games for two players, plus a variety of jumping and positional solitaires. The title game lets players invade the opponent's castle, capture as in checkers. Another game is an unusual version of "Nim". A smaller version of Chinese Checkers can be played by 2 or 3 players. And "Caravan" has camels crossing the desert, with strings attached. The 18 disks include 6 each of 3 colors. Directions are on a parchment "scroll". For 1 to 3 players, ages 8 to adult. $49

First published in 1984, Quantum has been a Kadon exclusive since 1987. In Quantum, Peter introduced a unique random-start idea: shake the contoured board to scatter the weighted counters to land where they may. There are two different games to play: connect opposite sides of the board with your 10 pieces, or capture the 4 central cups. The pieces first fall blank side up. Reverse them as you play to reveal their true character and strengths: circles move one step at a time; stars stride along like chess queens. Peter's website gives a wealth of further information. Genuine mahogany frame holds the 10½" molded playing tray. For 2 to 4 players, ages 10 to adult. $39

From the inventor of the now sadly out-of-print Celtic knot tile game Tara comes another aesthetically wonderful, brain-teasing puzzle, Nodus. Its 25 blue tiles invite you to solve hundreds of different combinations of beautiful knot patterns of interwoven loops and create your own, as well. The booklet provides 30 challenges, small and large, to get you started. Murray has provided Nodus sets in light blue and dark blue, so you can even combine the two sets for super assemblies. Use logic and increasing skill to merge tiles in ever more complex knots. They're called "knots", though their geometry is one of infinite paths and loops. This marvel of human inventiveness will both enchant and relax you for years of fun. Recommended for ages 10 to adult. $39

Sorry, temporarily not available

This refreshingly different word game is based on a notation in Lewis Carroll's diaries. Martin Gardner, author of The Annotated Alice, has defined suitable rules. Move letters like chess queens to form words and score points. There's no capturing, and you can't sabotage your opponent's scoring row, though you can try to blockade the opponent's moves. The charming 22" red game cloth is printed in white to look like Alice's picnic tablecloth, with a decorative border and even a magic mushroom. Washable. A total of 110 letter tiles serve for this and several other games on the same board, plus solitaires. Enduringly entertaining for 1, 2 or more players, ages 8 to adult. $49

How cool is this? This solution can easily transform into any tetromino (the 5 shapes made of four squares), also known as Tetris pieces. If old Archie only knew!

This 14-tile dissection is the oldest documented puzzle in the world, and the decipherment of Archimedes' rediscovered manuscript is a hot topic among historical scholars and mathematicians. Also known as the Stomachion, it even made the front page of the New York Times, December 14, 2003. Luminous transparent colors in a sculpted 7" acrylic tray. Long unanswered:  Just how many ways can this square be solved? On October 31, 2003, Bill Cutler's program found the full answer of 536 distinct solutions. (Read the full story.) How many other convex shapes can the 14 tiles make? Bernd Rennhak in Germany found all 637 solutions. He also found that the set can solve 13 of the 14 tetratan shapes. The permutations are staggering. An amazing fact is that each tile's area is a whole number, based on the square as a 12x12 matrix. That gives each of the 3 colors we added an equal share of the total area. Here truly is ancient genius made visible. Some of the tiles have sharp points, so we recommend ages careful 10 to adult.$42