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Language Lesson: Latin Game Names
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My worst subject throughout has always been foreign languages. I took both Spanish and Latin in high school. I continued with Latin in college because I had to fulfill a requirement and since it was a dead language we didn't spend much time speaking it. Anyway, I was reading EnderWiggins review: What kind of nonsense is this? A Pictorial Review of Board Game Latin and thought I would see how many games have Latin names and what those names might mean. I haven't done anything with Latin in more than a decade. So, there are probably errors. There are also a few that I know I don't know. So, if you do please comment. Also, feel free to add any I might have missed even if you don't know the translation.
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Posted Fri Oct 10, 2008 12:01 am
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It should have its own entry, because Pachisi has 2 dice and Ludo has but a single die.
But more to the point of this list: Ludo means "I play".
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Imperial Racing Circle (though these chariots never raced in Ancient Rome) 
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The ones who are about to die salute you!
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29.
Board Game: Ubi
[Average Rating:5.37 Overall Rank:4597]
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Where
a cool (but now dated) geography trivia game
(And incidentally, trivia is Latin for "three roads". If you really wanna dig into the details of how words evolve over time, look into this one...)
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Multiple translations:
In a row, reads "The sower Arepo holds the wheels with effort"
In boustrophedon, reads "The Great Sower holds in his hand all works; all works the Great Sower holds in his hand"
For more trivia, see here.
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32.
Board Game: SPQR
[Average Rating:7.45 Overall Rank:508]
[Average Rating:7.45 Overall Rank:508]
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Senatus Populusque Romanus ... The Senate and the People of Rome
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34.
Board Game: Ad Astra
[Average Rating:6.10 Unranked]
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My knowledge of Latin is pretty much limited to the contents of this list, but one Latin phrase I do know is "Per Ardua ad Astra" - normally translated as "Through adversity to the stars" - the motto of the RAF.
I was very surprised to see only 2 games using it in the title though.
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Not sure if place names count for this list...
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Since this was originally connected to the game Circus Maximus, I suppose one could argue that the Latin noun "Gladiator" is intended here. Of course, the fact that the word transfers unchanged into English makes its inclusion here dubious.
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This is a modern version (hypothetical reconstruction based on our limited evidence of the mechanics) of the Roman game commonly known as "latrunculi" -- little robbers
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"Board" -- this is a modern version of an ancient backgammon precursor.
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A popular version of the werewolf game is entitled "Lupus in Tabula." This is a play on words that refers to the Latin phrase "Lupus in Fabula" -- i.e. the wolf in the story -- said of someone who arrives on the scene after having been spoken about (cf. "speak of the devil"). I always assumed the pun was to be translated as "The wolf at the table" or the "Wolf in the Board(game)" but the explanatory notes in the rules booklet discuss a werewolf being sighted in the town named "Tabula."
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Alea means "dice" in latin.
When Caesar decided to cross with his army the Rubicon river he said:
"Alea iacta est", the dice are now rolling.
We're on a roll, baby, now it's time to kick the senators asses! 
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How can we forget?
Seize the Stars
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On the box cover it reads "Pax Magnifica, Bellum Gloriosum", which translates to something like "Magnificent Peace, Glorious war".
I could be wrong.
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The name of the game is the name of the character. Gulo Gulo is genus and species of the wolverine.
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New Land
And a bit of Latin phraseology that I translated and am quite proud of, being an amateur at this stuff myself (and several people, more proficent than I have argued about whether it's correct or not,
AFAICT, this is the best translation I've found - that is more people seem to agree on it):
Sam sum. Sum Sam. Amasne ova viridia et pernam viridem?
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Great Greece
(My Big Fat Greece Game)
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Carolus Magnus
Charles the Great- Charlemagne
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48.
Board Game: Quid
[Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]
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49.
Board Game: Quod
[Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]
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50.
Board Game: Quad-S
[Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]
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Posted Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:40 am
I had no idea it was published in Latin! I translated that one line myself. I wonder if I got it right, according to the published version.
Here in Cincinnati, we have two sports facilities on the river. (Well, actually three, but that third one is an all-purpose facility.) The sports broadcasters in town refer to our sports "stadiums", which sounds wrong to my ear. Shouldn't it be "stadia"?
In Latin, yes. But when a language copies a word from another language, the word is typically inflected according to the rules of the copying language.
To pluralize "actor" and "monitor" in English, do you say "actores" and "monitores" (the Latin plurals) instead of "actors" and "monitors"?
Here in Cincinnati, we have two sports facilities on the river. (Well, actually three, but that third one is an all-purpose facility.) The sports broadcasters in town refer to our sports "stadiums", which sounds wrong to my ear. Shouldn't it be "stadia"?
In Latin, yes. But when a language copies a word from another language, the word is typically inflected according to the rules of the copying language.
Well until recently it would have been stadia in English as well. Now due to frequent use of the -iums form both are considered correct. Other latinate plurals are also falling to the wayside for example referenda and indices. This is a pretty recent occurrence - I don't think many educated Victorians would have used referendums.
Here in Cincinnati, we have two sports facilities on the river. (Well, actually three, but that third one is an all-purpose facility.) The sports broadcasters in town refer to our sports "stadiums", which sounds wrong to my ear. Shouldn't it be "stadia"?
In Latin, yes. But when a language copies a word from another language, the word is typically inflected according to the rules of the copying language.
Well until recently it would have been stadia in English as well. Now due to frequent use of the -iums form both are considered correct. Other latinate plurals are also falling to the wayside for example referenda and indices. This is a pretty recent occurrence - I don't think many educated Victorians would have used referendums.
Would educated Victorians have said actores and monitores instead of actors and monitors? I think not. It seems rather inconsistent to gratuitously decide to decline some English words taken from Latin using the original Latin declination, while declining other English words taken from Latin using English declination. Concretely, why should neuter -um nouns get declined by Latin rules, but not other nouns? The more I think about it, the more inconsistent and affected it seems. But then English is nothing if not inconsistent!
Would educated Victorians have said actores and monitores instead of actors and monitors? I think not. It seems rather inconsistent to gratuitously decide to decline some English words taken from Latin using the original Latin declination, while declining other English words taken from Latin using English declination. Concretely, why should neuter -um nouns get declined by Latin rules, but not other nouns? The more I think about it, the more inconsistent and affected it seems. But then English is nothing if not inconsistent!
While English usage certainly is inconsistent, it's not true that only 2nd decl neuters commonly retain their Latin plurals. "Species" (5th decl f), "crises" (3rd decl f), and "alumni" (2nd decl m) are some common examples.