Sugoroku refers to two different forms of a Japanese board game: ban-sugoroku which is similar to western tables games like backgammon, and e-sugoroku which is similar to Western snakes and ladders.
Man and woman playing ban-sugoroku (from Hikone Screen)
A board and pieces for playing "double six", Liao dynasty
E-Sugoroku (1925)
Tables games are a class of board game that includes backgammon and which are played on a tables board, typically with two rows of 12 vertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among the oldest known board games, and many different varieties are played throughout the world. They are called 'tables' games because the boards consist of four quadrants or 'tables'. The vast majority are race games, the tables board representing a linear race track with start and finish points, the aim being to be first to the finish line, but the characteristic features that distinguish tables games from other race games are that they are two-player games using a large number of pieces, usually fifteen per player.
Tables game
Roman Ludus duodecim scriptorum board from the 2nd century, Aphrodisias
Burzoe demonstrates the game of nard to the Indian Rajas
Backgammon set from around the 10th century, China
