Canada's 145th birthday has everyone in the WildPlay Clan thinking about why we're proud to be Canucks.

Our country has contributed a lot to the worlds of business, art, environment - no industry goes untouched. But our favourite reason to wave the maple leaf is to celebrate the smart and creative Canadian inventors who have contributed their incredible ideas to the world of play!

From the time of sticks and stones to bats and balls, playing games have brought people together. Total strangers and loved ones discover their spirit of unity from competition, challenge and collaboration.

In the spirit of joining others in a truly red and white way, try these Five Canadian-Made Games (our Tree-Top Favs):

Basketball.

Possibly our best known sports gaming success, basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian physical education instructor at the YMCA, in 1891.

Naismith wanted his students to participate in sports during the winter, and wound up inspiring the world with his soccer ball tossed into peach baskets.

We bet he had no idea his winter-born activity would inspire the immeasurable skill development of millions who learn techniques of shooting, passing, dribbling,  rebounding, and offensive and defensive player  techniques.

Trivial Pursuit.

True or false: This 1980s, this Canadian-born board game of questions and answers, by Montreal's The Gazette photo editor Chris Haney and The Canadian Press sports editor Scott Abbott, has had phenomenal international success :)

FUN FACTS: Trivial Pursuit has been sold in more than 26 countries and 17 languages, has been adapted for television, arcade, and video games.

Five-pin bowling.

While the original sport is just fine to pass the time, as Canadians we made bowling our own with the fun 5-pin version - unleashed only in our true north alleyways!

FUN FACT! Today's bowling pins often feature UV-glow capability for popular neon nights; but the five-pins were made of plastic-coated maple! A truly Canadian way to play.

Table Hockey.

Ontarian Donald Munro collected scraps of metal and wood from around his neighbourhood one Christmas, and the invention of mechanical Table Hockey was born!

While Munro simply intended to help his family survive the Great Depression of the 1930s, his game expanded through retail sales (originally selling for under $5.00), and today you can play this quintessential Canadian game in any mood!

Slahal.

From right here in beautiful BC, Bill Kuhnely (Vancouver Island) invented this bone and stick gambling game that's not only rich in fun but in culture. Here's how to play.

The game straddles multiple roles in Native culture - entertainment, family pastime, sacred ritual, and means of economic gain.

There you go, five terrific all-Canadian ways to play; but the list doesn't stop there. What other games and fun activities invented by creative Canucks do you love to play?