Hasan Hasmani, our co-founder and CEO, is a self-professed history nerd (he almost became a history teacher), so you can imagine his excitement about the release of our newest board game, Trekking Through History.
As CEO of Underdog Games, Hasan is intricately involved in our board games. Pair that with his love of history, and you get the ideal person to reflect on the historic events that are featured in the game.
We know history lovers have a hard time narrowing down the greatest moments in human history, so just for fun, we challenged Hasan to pick his Top 10 favorite moments from the game. After much deliberation, here's what he came up with.
Play Senet with the Egyptians
Senet is one of the oldest board games ever created. It's hard to visualize what life was like 5,000 years ago, but knowing they had their own leisure time filled with board games allows us to connect with the past in a cool way.
Take a dip in The Great Bath
Ancient Europe and Africa get a lot of the attention as advanced ancient civilizations, but the civilization of Mohenjo-daro in the India-Pakistan region had its own sewer system 5,000 years ago and a public bath available to all! We don't really know what happened to the Mohenjo-Daro civilization but they thrived for almost 2,000 years
Drink "Hot Chocolate" with the Mayans
This has a special place in my heart because I'm a dark chocolate addict! Before coffee was widespread, chocolate (or xocolatl) was the drink of choice when you needed energy. They referred to it as the drink of the gods and would drink it before going to battle. In its purest form, cacao is very different than the chocolate we all eat today
Save Vietnam with the Trung Sisters
The Trung Sisters saved Vietnam from being taken over by China and are the national heroines of Vietnam! To date, they’re still the only two female leaders of Vietnam. This is an awe-inspiring story of two sisters standing up against injustice done to their family.
Discover Iceland with the Vikings
The Vikings were some of the greatest adventurers of their time. Roaming and discovering new lands, they stumbled upon Iceland. In so many ways, Iceland can be almost uninhabitable, but the Vikings decided to establish roots and it's led to a thriving country today. The stories of their original days in Iceland are worth reading.
Travel the Silk Road with Marco Polo
These days, we can just hop on a flight if we want to go from Italy to China and it'll take 10 hours. In the days of Marco Polo, this was not an easy feat! The adventures experienced in traveling along the silk road were so incredible that Marco Polo documented them and it inspired countless travelers for centuries after. One can only imagine the sights and marvels from 24 years on the road.
Give away untold riches with Mansa Musa
The Mali Empire in Africa is oft-forgotten in western education but was one of the richest empires in history. As a Muslim, Mansa Musa is an inspiring figure who spent time to bring the Muslim world together and establish an incredible hub of knowledge in Timbuktu. Every Muslim is required to make a piligramage to Hajj once in their life, and Mansa Musa decided to give away so much wealth, he single-handedly bought down the price of gold in multiple countries along the way.
Discover the secrets of Machu Picchu
The Incas had no written language and had few European Visitors, because who would think to climb a mountain to find a hidden city! Therefore, we have little knowledge of what life was like in Machu Picchu but it is believed to have been a royal estate with 750 staff. Imagine having your own getaway city!
Command a huge pirate fleet with Cheng I Sao
We don't often think of pirates as having their own armies but Zheng Yi Sao was in command of almost 400 ships and 40,000-60,000 pirates! That's the size of an Armada and she often conflicted with some of the richest and powerful empires at its time. She managed to live out a successful life even with that conflict and is considered one of the most successful pirates in history
Fly with the Wright Brothers
Our ability to travel the globe with ease originates in Kitty Hawk, North Caroline in 1903 when the Wright Brothers landed the first documented flight with a motor-powered airplane. The past 100 years have seen an explosion of globalization as we are able to experience the planet and connect to others in ways that weren't possible before the airplane.
March to the salt works with Gandhi
Gandhi is the hero of many around the world, inspiring every Indian and countless others around the world who were suffering at the hands of the British. The Salt Works March happened in 1930 and over 60,000 people were imprisoned due to British rule forcing Indians to buy salt from the British instead of making it themselves. What's remarkable about this is that not many know that the struggle for independence in India was not a short fight. India didn't gain its independence until 1947, and this remarkable march happened 17 years before.
Learn more about what our resident history nerd loves about Trekking Through History here.
