HeyJaredThe 20th Century Project
"The Twentieth Century Project" is dedicated to appreciating and debating which games of the 20th century are the most influential.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 25, 2026
- Audience
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 24, 2026
Latest issues
Boggle / Big Boggle (opens the original)
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I was shocked to discover that Boggle was published in the early 70s.1 Yes, the game uses plastic in the case (and cover for shaking), but I’d expected earlier editions (possibly wooden); that my childhood’s Boggle was just the latest iteration. Because (as I’ve mentioned) dice are some of the oldest game components. I didn’t expect adding letters to the dice as a recent innovation.<a class="im
MUD1 / Multi-User Dungeons (opens the original)
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Before 2004’s World of Warcraft (and similar games), there were online “Multi-User Dungeons,” such as ‘97s Ultima Online, a “Massively Multiplayer Online RPG.” But before they could be massive, they had to be small. And some of the earliest computer games were things like Rogue or Nethack<
Yahtzee (opens the original)
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Dice are one of the oldest things you’ll find in a game.Actually, dice are some of the oldest things we’ve found, period. (Along with things like Pottery and Jewelry). The Egyptian game Senet is 5,000 years old, with ‘throwsticks’ (long, cylindrical dice). But dice (and their precursors) date back at least 12,000 years, and archeologists think they may have been used as divination tools (prior to becoming games)1. Humans love finding patterns, even non-existent patterns tha
Pong (opens the original)
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Before Pac Man and Tetris … way before Personal Computers, there was Pong.A friend of my father owned a restaurant supply business, and when we would go to his house he had a spare pinball game and a few arcade games. (This must have been around ‘79 or ‘80). Even then, Pong seemed archaic when compared to newer machines. And yet, it also had a slightly hypnotic draw …<a class="image-link image2 is-viewa
Empires in Arms, Fire in the East, & World in Flames (opens the original)
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Sometimes you just want to take over the world (or, the “important parts”). Risk hardly invented the genre; and even Axis & Allies might not fulfill the desires of a true wargamer. And sometimes (for some people) that is an endeavor that should not just be relegated to a mere afternoon, all-nighter, or a weekend.It is a quest. A life-altering journey.To that end, let us discuss some of the biggest monster wargames. If you want to take over Eu
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