Before the digital era, countless generations of kids grew up on board games, and plenty of us kept enjoying them as adults. That may have changed somewhat in the internet age, with mobile games, VR and 3D graphics that are almost lifelike. But the classics, with their dice and cards and face-to-face competition, remain unflaggingly popular. Author Tristan Donovan has delved into the history of these pastimes in his new book It’s All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan . He joined the Knowledge at Wharton Show on Sirius XM channel 111 to talk about the earliest known board games (you wouldn’t recognize what chess evolved from), what makes the most popular new games so appealing, and the real origin stories behind some of your old favorites. An edited version of the interview transcript follows. Knowledge at Wharton: Did your love of board games start when you were young? Tristan Donovan: Yes, absolutely. Our family played board games every Sunday.…