On May 31, 2024, an exhibition dedicated to the history of board games, which have always played an important role in leisure activities, will open in the Parade Vestibule of the Armory Chamber. The exhibition will present games from the medieval era to the early 20th century that were popular among the upper classes: chess, checkers, tric-trac, cards, and puzzles. Some of these were already widespread on the territory of Rus' in the 9th–12th centuries, as evidenced by archaeological finds — chess pieces, tokens, dice, and boards with marked fields.
Many of the games on display have survived to this day. For example, in the Muscovite state chess was one of the favorite pastimes not only among the nobility but also among ordinary townspeople. Royal children were obligatorily taught chess, and in the Armory Workshop there were turners whose sole occupation was the making and repair of chess and checkers. Checkers and the "prototype of backgammon" — tric-trac — were no less popular in tsarist and imperial Russia.
Chess in a case. Germany, Frankfurt am Main, late 17th – early 18th centuries. Museums of the Moscow Kremlin
Visitors will encounter puzzles that have now transformed into numerous variations of sliding puzzles, Tetris and jigsaw puzzles, as well as "tabletop travel games": with their help players learned the names of cities and the layouts of real railway routes.
Part of the exhibition is devoted to card games that became widespread in the mid-18th century and were legalized by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1761. Games such as ombre or piquet were permitted, since their outcome depended not only on chance but also on the players' skill and logical thinking.
The exhibition will feature about 80 game sets and many individual items. Among them are antique chess pieces and card decks, a board for tric-trac, a chess set for four players, chess carved by Empress Catherine II herself, accessories for biryulki, 19th-century travel board games, a set of tokens for a card game, "palace" betting coins, gaming tokens and much more.
A set of tokens for card games. Russia, Kholmogory (?), early 19th century. Museums of the Moscow Kremlin.
Exhibition dates: 31 May – 11 September 2024, Parade Vestibule of the Armory Chamber.
