Review and Popularity of Games of Renaissance Era

People around the world love to have fun. Over the years games have been invented to entertain people. Many of the inventions and ideas made for entertainment have been put into the category of games. Games have been even been took part in long ago in the past. In the Renaissance many unique sports and activities were for enjoyment and pride. Major games played in the Renaissance included card games, board games, and sports that were used for entertainment.

Card games were a major part of the Renaissance. Many of the games played were played with a normal deck of cards. Two popular games were Maw and One in thirty which is similar to Blackjack(eHow). Many card games only required a small amount of people to play such as Maw. People could easily play it with a range of two to ten players. A fun thing people in the renaissance enjoyed doing while playing cards was gambling. Although gambling was fun to do, a person in this time could still enjoy a friendly game of cards with no risks of money.

Another form of games in the renaissance included board games. About the same type of checkers and chess were played like they are today. Even though board games were played, they were not as popular as sports. In the Renaissance sports were very popular. Some Activities they did were fencing and archery. Henry VIII was a very good archer and practiced at the butts (Ridley253). Popular sports included swimming, throwing, jumping, wrestling, and bowling. Some team sports that were played consist of soccer, mob football, hockey, and lacrosse (Baker). Most sports were played by wealthy people. For lower classes it was illegal to play football, and most did not have enough time to play many sports anyway the lower classes had to spend most of their time working(Baker). Many nobleman and kings were rich enough to have bowling alleys and tennis courts on the side of their houses. Tennis became very popular in this time. There were a couple versions of tennis including lawn tennis and royal tennis(Ridley254). Henry VIII and Charles V were partners in a tennis match versus the Prince of Orange and Marquis of Brandenburg(Ridley254).

In the Tudor age the tournament was an important event. Nobles and gentlemen thought the tournament was the greatest sport of all (Ridley247). Knights jousted and ladies watched from the stands. Ladies chose the knight they wanted to win and cheered them on. Sometimes the knights would take additional risks for their fans. Sometimes if the knight the lady was cheering for won the tournament a lady would give him a kiss(Ridley247).

The tournament became the most popular in the Tudor age. (Ridley247). The hosts of the tournament began to give the contenders of the tournament armor to reduce the risk of people getting severely injured. Also they soon made the lances weaker so the knight would not be able pierce through the other knight’s armor. "If a knight could make his lance splinter, they would be considered skillful"(Ridley248). Although they were cautious about the tournaments, people were still hurt. It took good horsemanship to avoid blows from lances and win the tournament. Henry VIII was knocked off his horse and was unconscious for two hours(Ridley248). After one injury from a tournament, Henry didn’t compete again.

In conclusion a variety of games were popular during the time of the Renaissance. Although card and board games were fun, sports were the most popular. Sports that were popular then, are still played today. The most admired form of game in the Renaissance was the tournament, and is even is played today! Games have been important parts of history and have made peoples lives more entertaining.