Robert Charles Bell
Encyclopedia
RC Bell was the author of several books on board game
s, most importantly Board and Table Games 1 & 2 (reprinted as Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations). He was instrumental in popularizing traditional games, and is acknowledged as one of 11 "principal sources" in David Parlett
's Oxford History of Board Games.
He died in 2002. As of 2007, much of his extensive collection of games and game paraphernalia resides at the University of Durham.
Bell used the basic categories suggested by Murray with some alterations. Because his treatment extended beyond board games, Bell also included the categories of Dice and Domino games; and in his second volume added Games of Words and Numbers, Card Games Requiring Boards, and Games of Manual Dexterity. In addition, there is mention of the sub-genre of Solitaire and Puzzle games.
Bell drew on a wide range of sources, including Edward Falkener, Stewart Culin
, Willard Fiske
, HJR Murray
, John Scarne
, and many others; as well as his own research and collection.
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s, most importantly Board and Table Games 1 & 2 (reprinted as Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations). He was instrumental in popularizing traditional games, and is acknowledged as one of 11 "principal sources" in David Parlett
David Parlett
David Parlett is a games scholar from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. His published works include many popular books on games and the more academic volumes "Oxford Guide to Card Games" and "Oxford History of Board Games", both now out of print...
's Oxford History of Board Games.
Life
He was born 1917 in Sudbury, Ontario; came to England in 1928; and was educated at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire and St Bartholomew's Hospital by 1941. He became a consultant plastic surgeon. His first work on games was Board and Table Games (1960). He was on the editorial board of the British Journal of Plastic Surgery. He later produced many articles on coin collecting for World Coins.He died in 2002. As of 2007, much of his extensive collection of games and game paraphernalia resides at the University of Durham.
Categories of board & table games
Bell gives origins, history and some game-playing details for some 180 games in the 2 volumes of his main work (Board and Table Games). He divides board games into four main categories:- A Race gameRace gameRace game is a large category of board games, in which the object is to be the first to move all one's pieces to the end of a track. This is both the earliest type of board game known, with implements and representations dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BC in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran; and...
requires the pieces to move from a start point to a finish point usually based on the throw of dice (e.g. LudoLudo (board game)Ludo is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls. Like other cross and circle games, it is similar to the Indian Pachisi, but simpler...
). - A War game involves movement (and occasionally placement) and is typically won with the capture of all opponent pieces (e.g. DraughtsDraughtsDraughts is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemy's pieces. Draughts developed from alquerque...
) or a special opponent piece (e.g. ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
). - A Positional game requires the winning player to form a pattern or shape by merely placing (Tic-tac-toeTic-tac-toeTic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...
and Go are respectively the simplest and most complex examples) or placing and moving pieces on a board (Nine Men's MorrisNine Men's MorrisNine Men's Morris is an abstract strategy board game for two players that emerged from the Roman Empire. The game is also known as Nine Man Morris, Mill, Mills, Merels, Merelles, and Merrills in English....
). - MancalaMancalaMancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia...
games involve players distributing seeds across a series of holes and collecting the contents of holes that achieve specific numeric or numeric/positional status. Typically one wins by collecting the most seeds, or rendering the opponent unable to move.
Bell used the basic categories suggested by Murray with some alterations. Because his treatment extended beyond board games, Bell also included the categories of Dice and Domino games; and in his second volume added Games of Words and Numbers, Card Games Requiring Boards, and Games of Manual Dexterity. In addition, there is mention of the sub-genre of Solitaire and Puzzle games.
Bell drew on a wide range of sources, including Edward Falkener, Stewart Culin
Stewart Culin
Stewart Culin was an ethnographer and author interested in games, art and dress. He believed that similarity in gaming demonstrated similarity and contact among cultures across the world.-Early life:...
, Willard Fiske
Willard Fiske
Daniel Willard Fiske was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York.Fiske studied at Cazenovia Seminary and started his collegiate studies at Hamilton College in 1847. He joined the Psi Upsilon but was suspended for a student prank at the end of his...
, HJR Murray
Harold James Ruthven Murray
Harold James Ruthven Murray , was an English educationalist, inspector of schools, and prominent chess historian. He was the first to publish the theory that chess originated in India...
, John Scarne
John Scarne
John Scarne was an American magician and book author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, gambling, and related topics.-Early life:...
, and many others; as well as his own research and collection.
Publications
- Bell, Robert Charles. The Boardgame Book. LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: Bookthrift Company, 1979. - Bell, Robert Charles. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. Mineola, New YorkMineola, New YorkMineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
: Dover Publications, 1980. ISBN 0-486-23855-5- Reprint: New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Exeter Books, 1983.
- Reprint: New York
- Discovering Mah-Jongg - Shire Publications.
- Discovering Chess - Shire Publications
- Discovering Old Board Games - Shire Publications #182 ISBN 0 85263 235 5
- Discovering Backgammon - Shire Publications #201 ISBN 0 85263 263 0