International Tabletop Day is both a holiday and an inclusive community-based gaming event that was created and is hosted by the fine people at Geek and Sundry. For those not familiar with Geek and Sundry, they are an internet television production company that creates shows for fans of gaming, comedy, music, literature, and comics.

This holiday they created aims to inspire people of all ages to gather a group of friends and family members and play their favorite board games. It doesn’t matter if those games are classics such as Clue, Monopoly, and Life, or more recent games such as Betrayal at House on the Hill, Seven Wonders Duel, or Pandemic. All that matters is that people have a good time.

The History of International Tabletop Day

International Tabletop Day is a holiday that’s observed on April 30th and it has been since Geek and Sundry created the holiday in 2013. Of course, this holiday only celebrates something that has existed for thousands of years.

Since the dawn of civilization, people have played a variety of games. One of the oldest games in the world was found in the Royal Cemetery of Ur in Southern Iraq. This was a board game made of wood and shell that was seemingly created around 2,600 B.C. The rules of the game were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in the 2nd century B.C. Now, that’s an old game.

Most people agree that the oldest modern board game is probably Monopoly. This game was invented by Lizzie Magie in the U.S. in 1903. She invented the game as a way to demonstrate the fact that economies that reward wealth creation are better than ones in which wealth is held in the hands of a few.

Originally called The Landlord’s Game, this game had two sets of rules. One set had taxes as a major feature and the other set, which is played today. Magie ended up selling the game to Parker Brothers, and they published the game as Monopoly in 1935.

Observing International Tabletop Day

International Tabletop Day is enjoyed by people all over the world nowadays. It’s a day for friends and families to come together in the spirit of play. It doesn’t matter if people play competitive board games or if they prefer more cooperative board games.

Either way is a great way for people to have some fun. And while they’re having all this fun, they should definitely let the world know what they’re playing and how much fun they’re having. They can do this by using the hashtag #InternationalTabletopDay on social media. See you at the gaming tables!