Secret Games of the Gods: Ancient Ritual Systems in Board Games

by Nigel Pennick

The first comprehensive survey of the different methods of divination, this book delves into games originating from many countries and cultures, showing how each is based upon a vision of the universe in which the "will of the gods" is discovered through ritual practice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087728752X
• ISBN13: 9780877287520
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Insightful and Interesting

After noticing the relationship between games, tombs, and religion, this seemed a natural line of investigation for me. What I was really seeking was a relationship between board games found in various cultures and I was fascinated at Pennick's thesis. Pennick indicated that the Hindu Paramasayika grid is a pattern used by many grid games and, ultimately, into Celtic games like Tawlbrwd (the ancient Irish game) which featured the sacred hole in the middle with patterns of 8 around it (much like the Paramasayika that has a sacred space of 9 squares representing the Brahma in the middle). There seems to be a relation between the 9 square grid that becomes simplified into the 8 square grid of Ashtapada and eventually, chess and checkers. Unfortunately, Pennick doesn't always show the best evidence for his connections. While he doesn't always use the forbidden academic phrase popular among conspiracy theorists that something is "obvious" (meaning there is no actual evidence, as a rule), there is a tendency to simply cite similar examples as though it proves the connections. The other weakness in the book is that Pennick is so fascinated by the occult that the interesting historical examples sometimes become supporting characters to discussions of divination and fortune-telling. Though there is no doubt as to the use of arrows, stones, and dice in fortune-telling prior to the advent of cards, it often seems that Pennick goes overboard in explaining "how to" when readers like me are more interested in the fact of the practice and the why. Still, this is a book that will remain in my library long-term. It offers a few clues with regard to the history of games that are often ignored in more specifically academic volumes.

an overview of games played by different cultures around the

Secret Games of the Gods : Ancient Ritual Systems in Board Gamesby Nigel Pennick Two types of people will be most interested in this book. People who are interested in the history of European divination will be very pleased with the first two thirds of Secret Games of the Gods which goes into great detail about different systems for predicting the future. The last third of the book in an overview of games played by different cultures around the world and their connection to spiritual practices of these cultures. This is the area of interest that brought me to this book. In the area of the history of game playing, Secret Games of the Gods is an excellent resource, comparing similar games from different cultures and from differing periods of time. Some of the games mentioned have (to my knowledge) not been described in any other text on this subject. Mr. Pennick gives detailed accounts of the history and mythology behind the different games outlined in his book. He also discusses the rules for the games and gives illustrations of the boards and pieces used. I have used his descriptions to reconstruct several of the games in the book and found them to be stimulating and entertaining. From reading the book is clear that Mr. Pennick passionately believes in the spiritual, metaphysical and extra-perceptional aspect of game playing and how this relates to our connections to "powers higher then our selves." Sometime this passion can be off putting to those of us who are less inclined to that sort of thing. But this does not distract from the completeness of his work which should be included in any library on game playing.