Math Games & Activities from Around the World

Math Games & Activities from Around the World — page 9
By that time the Chinese had already been playing three in a row games for centuries Game diagrams carved on the tops of stone walls and the steps of important buildings can still be found in many parts of the world The first European picture of children playing a three in a row game appeared in Spain more than seven hundred years ago in the Book of Games In the picture two children sit on either side of a large board for a game called Alquerque de Tres The Span ish name means mill with three The game board they used is just like the board for Tapatan see page Arabic speaking Moors came to Spain from North Africa in the eighth century They taught the Spanish people how to play games like Chess and Alquerque Later the Spanish King Alfonso the Wise had this information written down in the Book of Games Soon these games spread to other parts of Europe and lat er to America Now you will have a chance to learn several three in a row games that children play in other parts of the world As you will see some of these games are more complicated than Tic tac toe But the object of the game is always the same to be the first player to get three markers in a row MAKE A MILL