They say a well-made game can never go out of fashion, and judging by the number of people still playing the Royal Game of Ur 5,000 years later, that seems to hold water. Thanks to the internet, many people are now discovering games that were long thought lost to the sands of time, and we’ve picked out some of the most interesting examples for you here.
Marbles
If we think about iconic games played by previous generations, marbles is one of those that appears on the background reels of TV shows set in the 60s and 70s to set the context. It was, for a long time, a beloved and widespread game, but collections faded from popularity over the years. Then, in just the last few years, a surprising revival took place.
At a time when real sports became severely limited, people turned to alternatives to fill in the gaps, and that’s where Jelle’s Marble Runs over on YouTube came in. For many, the organized races and events on the channel often with elaborate designs and sophisticated timekeeping tech, became as much a legitimate sport as any other, despite the simplicity.
Plinko
Despite feeling like one of the golden oldies of game concepts, Plinko is actually a relatively modern creation. It started as a segment on The Price Is Right back in 1983, rapidly becoming the game show’s most popular feature with a massive $50,000 prize up for grabs. It involved dropping discs through a wall of pegs and trying to get it to land in a prize space at the bottom.
Nowadays you can find Plinko online in all kinds of places. In the online casino world, Plinko has been adapted for real money gambling and comes in several varieties across casino sites, alongside other games like slots and bingo. It’s also a popular pre-stream activity for chat rooms ahead of livestreams, where winners can win channel points, and appears in a lot of different games by itself.
Crokinole
If you’ve never heard of the game of Crokinole, we won’t blame you. It is an extremely traditional Canadian table game, and while the rules are naturally more complicated than this, in short, it’s a game of tactically and carefully flicking discs across a round table. Within Canada it has maintained a certain level of popularity for generations, but it wasn’t until that previously mentioned sports drought that it spread out further.
Starting with a review by British YouTube board game channel Shut Up and Sit Down, legions of enthusiasts worldwide suddenly became aware of Crokinole. Board game sites everywhere started picking up their own versions, and online simulations gained popularity as well, with competitions now regularly running in places as far out as Australia. There has also been an uptick in demand for Crokinole tables, despite good ones setting people back hundreds if not thousands.
With retro often now being the latest fashion, this isn’t a complete list and neither will these be the last examples of game resurrection. As interactive tech like VR develops as well, there’s seemingly no end to the ideas that could be dug up.
