History is littered with things that were invented by accident. The X-ray machine, microwaves, and penicillin, to name just three examples, were essentially brought into this world by mistake. We can call them ‘happy accidents.’
You might be surprised to learn that some games — very well-known games, too — were also invented by accident. Some of these just happened organically, while others had original uses that have long been forgotten. We’ll run through some of these games below. The bottom line? It’s worthwhile playing around with an idea because you never know when you might just create the world’s next great game.
Monopoly
You’ll know Monopoly as an old, often boring board game that everyone owns yet no one enjoys playing. And that no one would enjoy it was precisely the point. Well, that was the point of the first version of Monopoly, which was called ‘The Landlord’s Game.’ That one was invented by American Elizabeth Magie back in 1904. Originally, it was simply an exercise to warn of the dangers of having monopolies. It wasn’t until a few decades later when someone decided to tinker with the concept and turn it into a game that people would want to buy — and boy, did they buy it; by 2015, more than 275 million copies had been sold, making it one of the most popular games of all time.
Roulette
We mentioned earlier how the X-ray and microwave were invented by accident. They were created by scientists who were simply playing around, and ending up stumbling upon a useful invention.
But there’s also a popular game that was accidentally invented by a scientist, too, and it’s one you’ll know: roulette. Blaise Pascal invented the roulette wheel in the 17th century while attempting to make a perpetual motion machine. A few years later, someone had the bright idea to add numbers to the machine, and the game was invented. Over the centuries, roulette has gone on a long and fascinating journey. It made its way from France to around the world, and today is one of the most popular online casino games. There are different versions of roulette — the best sites have both American and European roulette, the two most popular variants — but they all still use Pascal’s initial contribution.
Tetris
If you’re like most people, then not only have you played Tetris, but you also love it. The game is so popular that it remains a hit even four decades after it was invented.
And the interesting thing is that the game wasn’t even designed to be released. Russian Alexey Pajitnov created the game while working at a government-run research and development centre. He could never have predicted the journey that his humble work project would go on. Unfortunately for Pajitnov, the fact that he was working for the Soviet government meant that the game was their property, meaning he couldn’t make any money from the game.
Snakes and Ladders
As with Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders is a popular, casual game that started its life much differently. It dates back to India, where it was developed nearly two thousand years ago. Back then, snakes and ladders wasn’t a game at all — it was an educational tool designed to teach the population about sins and virtues. It wasn’t until the late 19th century after Snakes and Ladders had made its way to England that a more ‘fun’ element was added. Modern games make no reference to the moral implications of the game.
Mini-Golf
Who doesn’t love a game of mini-golf? It is not every day, after all, that you have the opportunity to hit a ball through a miniature windmill.
The game, as you might expect, stems from the larger game of golf. It was designed to help golfers practice their short game when they could not play on a full-size course. At some point, novelty items such as the aforementioned windmill and the like were added, and the rest is history.
