Girlfriend <3 (seriously, the only one who I (seldom) play boardgames with) Edit: And ninja'd but it still applies more or less Wikipedia suggests that the original game came from India and was titled Pachisi. England's version of the game was called Ludo. It appears Pachisi has been played ever since the 16th century where the Mongol emperor Akbar the Great would play this in a real life-sized version (where slaves dressed in the different colors were used as game pieces).
Wife ^_^v And the American equivalent to that game are these: Parcheesi, Aggravation, and Trouble (this is the one I thought of first)
Klux. Shameless self-promotion: it was the first thing I thought of as I'm working on a new tune right now.