I've just had a chance to catch up with the first part of a three part series about gaming on BBC4. Games Britannia is part of the Game On season, celebrating the act of play. This three parter by historian Benjamin Woolley "looks at how popular games in Britain, from the Iron Age to the Information Age, are a rich source of cultural and social history".
The first part takes the viewer from the 1st century BC to the Victorian age and the birth of the first commercial games industry. It was during this period that games from around the Empire (but particuarly the orient) were Anglicised and turned into the games we recognise today as Snakes and Ladders and Ludo.
Next weeks programme looks at the political & social impact of boardgames. I'm also assuming there will be some mention of Roleplaying games as this thread on EN World suggests at least one gaming group were approached and asked to play D&D for the camera's.
I forgot to add that the next programme Monopolies and Mergers is on BBC4 on MONDAY 14th December at 21:00. As with the previous programme it will also be available on the i-player for viewing after it’s terrestrial debut.
ReplyDeleteWell watching it in the iplayer now less than 10 minutes left to go and they're not on the D&D segment yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing it'll feature in the last of the three programmes... But as this seems to be a serious look at games maybe they'll skip over the normal "lets laugh at the roleplayers" segment. I missed last nights programme but will try to catch up with it today.
ReplyDelete