The board gameMonopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages.[1]Young girls playing a board game in theIisalmi library in Finland, 2016
Aboard game is a type oftabletop game[2][3] that involves small objects (game pieces) that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patternedgame board,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] potentially including other components, e.g. dice.[6] The earliest known uses of the term "board game" are between the 1840s and 1850s.[7][4][9]
While game boards are anecessary and sufficient condition of thisgenre,card games that do not use a standard deck of cards, as well as games that use neither cards nor a game board, are often colloquially included, with some referring to this genre generally as "table and board games" or simply "tabletop games".[2][3]
This timeline was made with information from the Wikipedia articles on Board Game, Hasbro, Board Game Cafe, Tabletop Simulator, and Monopoly. All information on this timeline was from those Wikipedia pages as they were on November 24th, 2024
Board games have been played, traveled, and evolved in most cultures and societies throughout history[11] Board games have been discovered in a number of archaeological sites. The oldest discovered gaming pieces were discovered in southwest Turkey, a set of elaborate sculptured stones in sets of four designed for a chess-like game, which were created during theBronze Age around 5,000 years ago.[12][13] Numerous archaeological finds of game boards exist that date from as early as theNeolithic period including, as of 2024, a total of 14 Neolithic sites reporting 51 game boards, ranging from mid-7th millennium BC to early8th millennium BC.[14][15][16][17]
TheRoyal Game of Ur, estimated to have originated from around 4500 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, an example of which was found in the royal tombs of ancientMesopotamia (c. 2600 BC –c. 2400 BC),[18][19][20] is considered the oldest playable boardgame in the world, with well-defined game rules discovered written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer inc. 177 BC –c. 176 BC.[21][15]
Another game similar to the Royal Game of Ur was discovered in 1977 by the Italian Archaeological Mission in grave no. 731, a pseudo-catacomb grave atShahr-i Sokhta, aUNESCO World Heritage archaeological site in Iran. This board game set, comprising 27 pieces and 4 different dice, dates to 2600–2400 BCE. For the first time, the entire set has been scientifically analyzed and reconstructed by researchers,[22] and it is considered the oldest complete and playable board game ever discovered.[23]
Currently,Senet is argued to be the oldest known board game in the world, with possible game board fragments (c. 3100 BC)[24] and undisputed pictorial representations (c. 2686;BC –c. 2613 BC)[25] having been found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials dating as far back as 3500 BC.[26] However, while Senet was played for thousands of years, it fell out of fashion sometime after 400 A.D. during theRoman period;[25] the rules were never written down, therefore they are not decisively known.[27] Similarly,Mehen is one of the oldest games dated with reasonable confidence, i.e.,c. 3000 BC –c. 2300 BC,[28][21] with some estimating it dates back toc. 3500 BC.[29] The rules, scoring system, and game pieces, however, are unknown or speculative.[29][21]
The title of the oldest known board game has been difficult to establish.[29] An example of this ismancala, which includes a broad family of board games with a core design of two rows of small circular divots or bowls carved into a surface, which has had numerous estimations of its generic age due to the many variants that have been discovered in different locations across Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia.[29] These are dated across many different historical periods, from archaeological sites dating the game atc. 800 BC –c. 200 BC (Roman Settlements);c. 2500 BC –c. 1500 BC (Egypt); and evenc. 7000 BC –c. 5000 BC (Jordan). The later based on divots carved out oflimestone in a Neolithic dwelling fromc. 5870 BC ± 240 BC,[16][29][30] although this later dating has been disputed.[31] Furthermore, when considering the Neolithic period game boards discoveries, caution has been given against considering these finds as representing earliest human game playing, as the absence of evidence of such games does not equate to evidence that no games were played during earlier periods.[32]
Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript
The 1880s–1920s was a board game epoch known as the "Golden Age", a term coined by American art historian Margaret Hofer[33] where the popularity of board games was boosted throughmass production making them cheaper and more readily available.[34]: 11 The most popular of the board games sold during this period wasMonopoly (1935), with 500 million games played as of 1999.[35]
The number of board games published by year (1944–2017), as listed onBoardGameGeek. Expansion sets for existing games are marked in orange.
In the late 1990s, companies began producing more new games to serve a growing worldwide market.[36][37]The Settlers of Catan (1995) is often credited with popularisingGerman-style board games outside of Europe and growing the hobbyist game market to a wider audience.[38] The early 21st century saw the emergence of a new "Golden Age" for board games called the "Board Game Renaissance".[36][39][40] This period of board games industry development, of which board games such asCarcassonne (2000) andTicket to Ride (2004) were a major part, saw a shift away from the 20th-century domination by well-established standby Golden Era board games likeMonopoly (1935) andGame of Life (1960).[41]
Board games have a long tradition in Europe. The oldest records of board gaming in Europe date back toHomer'sIliad (written in the 8th century BC), in which he mentions the Ancient Greek game ofpetteia.[42] This game ofpetteia would later evolve into the Roman game ofludus latrunculorum.[42]
Germany
Kriegsspiel is a genre of wargaming developed in 19th centuryPrussia, to teach battle tactics to officers.[43]
Ireland
Fidchell boards dating from the 10th century has been uncovered in Ireland,[44] with the game said to date back to at least 144 AD.[45]
Scandinavia
The ancient Norse game ofhnefatafl was developed sometime before 400AD.[46]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the association of dice and cards with gambling led to all dice games except backgammon being treated as "lotteries by dice" in the Gaming Acts of1710 and1845.[47] One of the most prolific publishers of board games of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the English board game publisherJohn Wallis and his sons (John Wallis Jr. and Edward Wallis).[48] The global popularisation of board games, with special themes and branding, coincided with the formation of the global dominance of theBritish Empire.[49] Examples of british empire games included:
British Empire Games
Game title
Release date
Creator
Description
Ref
A Tour Through the British Colonies and Foreign Possessions
1850
John Betts
This board game was arace game that consisted of a board with 37 numbered pictures, each correlating to a British colony, arranged in four circular levels, numbered 1 (Heligoland, Germany) to 37 (London, England), three concentric ones and an inner fourth level of London ("Metropolis of the British Empire"). Ateetotum was spun with a player's piece correspondingly moving ahead through the spaces of the game board, upon which a corresponding description to the space the player lands was read out aloud from an accompanying rule booklet by the presiding player (a player abstaining from directly playing the game), except when directed in the book. The descriptions included commentary about the various colonies and occasional game board movement directions to the player. There winner would be the player to reach London first.
Arace game where five players ('sailors') follow distinctly colored tracks, on a board decorated with islands; seas; and ships, with each player restricted to the path of their own color. The player's followed the instructions printed in circles along the tracks, which contained sailor-themed dangers and advantages.
Due to a number of factors, such as the decrease of industrial working hours and the implementation of a Saturday half-day holiday, United States shifted from agrarian to urban living in the nineteenth century, which provided greater leisure time and a rise in middle class income.[54][55] The American home, once an economic production focus, started to become one for entertainment, enlightenment, and education under maternal supervision, where children were encouraged to play board games that developed literacy skills and provided moral instruction.[55]The first board games published in the United States wereTravellers' Tour Through the United States and its sister gameTraveller's Tour Through Europe, published in 1822 by New York City bookseller F. & R. Lockwood.[56][57] Margaret Hofer described this period, from 1880s–1920s, as "The Golden Age" of board gaming in America.[34] Board game popularity was boosted, like that of many items, throughmass production, which made them cheaper and more easily available. In the 19th century, the industry itself was still developing, albeit significantly more rapidly; however, the games manufactured in America were still primarily for children.[58] Beginning in the late 20th century, during the period known as board game renaissance, games started to evolve considerably, from a strategic play standpoint and also in terms of increased advertising and marketing.[58] In modern day United States, board game venues have recently grown in popularity. In 2016 alone, more than 5,000board game cafés opened in the United States.[59]
A version of the 4,600-year-old board game of theRoyal Game of Ur, was found in the ancient Mesopotamian royal tombs of Ur (c. 2600 BC –c. 2400 BC),[26] is the oldest discovered playable board game.[56][60][61] The game's rules of this version were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC, and involved two players racing their pieces from one end of a 20-square board to the other in a similar way to backgammon, with the central squares being used for fortune telling.[61][21][12]Backgammon also originated in ancient Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago.[62]
Though speculative,Go has been thought to have originated in China somewhere in the 10th and 4th century BC.[63][64] While no archeological or reliable documentary evidence exists of the exact origins of the game, according to legend,Liubo was invented in around 1728–1675 BC in China by Wu Cao, a minister ofKing Jie the lastXia dynasty king. China developed a number of chess variants, includingxiangqi (Chinese chess),dou shou qi (Chinese animal chess), andluzhanqi (Chinese army chess), each with their own variants.[65] Games likemahjong, andFighting the Landlords (Dou DiZhu) also originated in China.In modern-day China, board game cafes have become popular, with cities like Shanghai having more game cafés than Starbucks.[66]
Han dynasty glazed pottery tomb figurines playing liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board
In Thailand,makruk (Thai: หมากรุก), or Thai chess, is a strategy board game that is descended from the 6th-century Indian game ofchaturanga or a close relative thereof, and is therefore related to chess. It is part of the family of chess variants.
In Cambodia, where basically the same game is played, it is known as ouk (Khmer: អុក) orouk chatrang (Khmer: អុកចត្រង្គ)
Iran
TheShahr-i Sokhta board game set, comprising 27 pieces and 4 different dice, dates to 2600–2400 BCE. The entire set has been scientifically analyzed and reconstructed by researchers, and it is considered the oldest complete and playable board game ever discovered.[23]Jiroft civilization game boards[68][verification needed] in Iran, is one of several important historical sites, artifacts, and documents shed light on early board games.
The first-ever scholarly reconstruction of the Shahr-i Sokhta board game
Game board made ofchlorite stone relief in the form ofScorpion man, characteristic of the gaming tradition in West Asia from the 3rd to 1st millennium B.C.
South Korea
A board game of flicking stones (Alkkagi) became popular among people in South Korea after variousKorean variety shows demonstrated its gameplay on television.[69]
Some games, such as chess, depend completely on player skill, while many children's games such asCandy Land (1949) andsnakes and ladders require no decisions by the players and are decided purely by luck.[78]
Two Qataris playing the traditional board game ofdamah
Many games require some level of both skill and luck. A player may be hampered by bad luck inbackgammon,Monopoly, orRisk; but over many games, a skilled player will win more often.[79] The elements of luck can also make for more excitement at times, and allow for more diverse and multifaceted strategies, as concepts such asexpected value andrisk management must be considered.[80]
Luck may be introduced into a game by several methods. The use ofdice of various sorts goes back to one of the earliest board games, theRoyal Game of Ur. These can decide everything from how many steps a player moves their token, as inMonopoly, to how their forces fare in battle, as inRisk, or which resources a player gains, as inCatan (1995). Other games such asSorry! (1934) use a deck of specialcards that, when shuffled, create randomness.Scrabble (1948) creates a similar effect using randomly picked letters. Other games use spinners, timers of random length, or other sources of randomness.German-style board games are notable for often having fewer elements of luck than many North American board games.[81] Luck may be reduced in favor of skill by introducing symmetry between players. For example, in a dice game such asLudo (c. 1896), by giving each player the choice of rolling the dice or using the previous player's roll.
Another important aspect of some games is diplomacy, that is, players, making deals with one another. Negotiation generally features only in games with three or more players,cooperative games being the exception. An important facet ofCatan, for example, is convincing players to trade with you rather than with opponents. InRisk, two or more players may team up against others.Easy diplomacy involves convincing other players that someone else is winning and should therefore be teamed up against.Advanced diplomacy (e.g., in the aptly named gameDiplomacy from 1954) consists of making elaborate plans together, with the possibility of betrayal.[82][83]
Inperfect information games, such as chess, each player has complete information on the state of the game, but in other games, such asTigris and Euphrates (1997) orStratego (1946), some information is hidden from players.[84] This makes finding the best move more difficult and may involve estimating probabilities by the opponents.[85]
Many board games are now available as video games. These are aptly termed digital board games, and their distinguishing characteristic compared to traditional board games is they can now be playedonline against a computer or other players. Some websites (such as boardgamearena.com, yucata.de, etc.)[86] allow play inreal time and immediately show the opponents' moves, while others use email to notify the players after each move.[87] The Internet and cheaper home printing has also influenced board games via print-and-play games that may be purchased and printed.[88] Some games use external media such as audio cassettes or DVDs in accompaniment to the game.[89][90]
There are alsovirtual tabletop programs that allow online players to play a variety of existing and new board games through tools needed to manipulate the game board but do not necessarily enforce the game's rules, leaving this up to the players. There are generalized programs such asVassal,Tabletop Simulator andTabletopia that can be used to play any board or card game, while programs likeRoll20 andFantasy Grounds are more specialized for role-playing games.[91][92] Some of these virtual tabletops have worked with the license holders to allow for use of their game's assets within the program; for example,Fantasy Grounds has licenses for bothDungeons & Dragons andPathfinder materials, whileTabletop Simulator allows game publishers to providepaid downloadable content for their games.[93][94] However, as these games offer the ability to add in the content throughuser modifications, there are also unlicensed uses of board game assets available through these programs.[95]
The modern German board gameCatan is printed in 30 languages and sold 15 million by 2009.
While the board gaming market is estimated to be smaller than that forvideo games, it has also experienced significant growth from the late 1990s.[39] A 2012 article inThe Guardian described board games as "making a comeback".[96] Other expert sources suggest that board games never went away, and that board games have remained a popular leisure activity which has only grown over time.[97] Another from 2014 gave an estimate that put the growth of the board game market at "between 25% and 40% annually" since 2010, and described the current time as the "golden era for board games".[39] The rise in board game popularity has been attributed to quality improvement (more elegantmechanics,components, artwork, and graphics) as well as increased availability thanks to sales through the Internet.[39]Crowd-sourcing for board games is a large facet of the market, with $233 million raised onKickstarter in 2020.[98]
A 1991 estimate for the global board game market was over $1.2 billion.[99] A 2001 estimate for the United States "board games and puzzle" market gave a value of under $400 million, and for United Kingdom, of about £50 million.[100] A 2009 estimate for the Korean market was put at 800 million won,[101] and another estimate for the American board game market for the same year was at about $800 million.[102] A 2011 estimate for the Chinese board game market was at over 10 billionyuan.[103] A 2013 estimate put the size of the German toy market at 2.7 billion euros (out of which the board games and puzzle market is worth about 375 million euros), and Polish markets at 2 billion and 280 millionzlotys, respectively.[104] In 2009, Germany was considered to be the best market per capita, with the highest number of games sold per individual.[105]
Some academics, such as Erica Price and Marco Arnaudo, have differentiated "hobby" board games and gamers from other board games and gamers.[106][107] A 2014 estimate placed the U.S. and Canada market for hobby board games (games produced for a "gamer" market) at only $75 million, with the total size of what it defined as the "hobby game market" ("the market for those games regardless of whether they're sold in the hobby channel or other channels") at over $700 million.[108] A similar 2015 estimate suggested a hobby game market value of almost $900 million.[109]
Board games serve diverse interests.Left:kōnane for studious competition.Right: kōnane for lighthearted fun.
A dedicated field of research into gaming exists, known asgame studies or ludology.[110]
While there has been a fair amount of scientific research on the psychology of older board games (e.g.,chess,Go,mancala), less has been done on contemporary board games such asMonopoly,Scrabble, andRisk,[111] and especially modern board games such asCatan,Agricola, andPandemic. Much research has been carried out on chess, partly because many tournament players are publicly ranked in national and international lists, which makes it possible to compare their levels of expertise. The works ofAdriaan de Groot, William Chase,Herbert A. Simon, andFernand Gobet have established that knowledge, more than the ability to anticipate moves, plays an essential role in chess-playing ability.[112]
Linearly arranged board games have improved children's spatial numerical understanding. This is because the game is similar to anumber line in that they promote a linear understanding of numbers rather than the innate logarithmic one.[113]
Research studies show that board games such asSnakes and Ladders result in children showing significant improvements in aspects of basic number skills such as counting, recognizing numbers, numerical estimation, and number comprehension. They also practice fine motor skills each time they grasp a game piece.[114] Playing board games has also been tied to improving children'sexecutive functions[115] and help reduce risks of dementia for the elderly.[116][117] Related to this is a growing academic interest in the topic of game accessibility, culminating in the development of guidelines for assessing the accessibility of modern tabletop games[118] and the extent to which they are playable for people with disabilities.[119]
With crime you deal with every basic human emotion and also have enough elements to combine action with melodrama. The player's imagination is fired as they plan to rob the train. Because of the gamble, they take in the early stage of the game there is a build-up of tension, which is immediately released once the train is robbed. Release of tension is therapeutic and useful in our society because most jobs are boring and repetitive.[120]
Playing games has been suggested as a viable addition to the traditional educational curriculum if the content is appropriate and the gameplay informs students on the curriculum content.[121][122]
Harold Murray'sA History of Board Games Other Than Chess (1952)[123] has been called the first attempt to develop a "scheme for the classification of board games", in which he separated board games into five categories: "race", "war", "hunt", "alignment" / "configuration", and "mancala" games.[124][58]Robert Bell'sBoard and Table Games from Many Civilizations (1960)[125] similarly espoused a classification of board games, this time divided into four categories, "race", "war", "positional", and "mancala" games.[58] InDavid Parlett'sThe Oxford History of Board Games (1999),[126] based on the work of Murray and Bell,[58] he described a "classical" categorization of board games which consisted of four primary categories: "race", "space", "chase", and "displace" games.[126][127]: 17
Modern board games have been classified in a variety of ways, a classification that can be based on the board game's mechanics, theme, age range, player number, and promotion. The diversity of board games means that some games belong to several categories.[128]: 13
A board game'smechanics usually involve an assessment of a player or player/s achievements while adhering to a series of pre-establishedrules, i.e.gameplay, such as capturing opponents' pieces, calculation of a final score, or achieving a predefined goal. Board games have a range of rule complexity but also a range of strategic depth, both of which determine the ease of mastering the game, i.e., hard-to-master games likechess possess a relatively simple rule set but have great strategic depth.[129] Examples of categories based on a modern categorization of a board game's mechanics include:[60]
Board game categorization by mechanics
Board game categories
Description
Examples
Ref
Alignment
Alignment board games are a subcategory of space board games. In an alignment game, a player is required to position their tokens in an array of a prescribed length. Like space games, these games are often abstract games.
American-style board games are those from the North American region, usually having an emphasis on theme; randomness, usually through dice; numerous ways to win; and direct player conflict. These board games are also called Ameritrash board games; however, this term is not necessarily a negative label.
Auction board games are those that usebidding, a competitive assigning of value to different items, resources, privileges, or game scenarios, as a mechanism by which players attempt to obtain valuable in-game assets or establish a favorable turn order. These board games are also called bidding board games.
Area control board games are those with some form of map or board defining a space that players compete to dominate, usually through adding their own pieces to regions or areas or removing their opponents' pieces.
Bluffing board games involve convincing opponent players on the accuracy of a claim, which includes tricking opponent players into believing something that is incorrect. All bluffing board games revolve around an element of hidden information.
Campaign board games are defined by players following a series of connected scenarios, where the actions and outcome of one scenario will usually affect the next.
Chase board games often have an asymmetrical layout, where players start the game with different sets of pieces and objectives, usually rolling one or more dice to move a corresponding number of spaces along a looping track of spaces, or a path with a start and finish. When players land on certain spaces, it triggers specific actions or offers the player certain gameplay options. These board games are also known as roll-and-move games.
Civilization building board games are those that involve developing and managing a society of people, often from scratch, requiring the contemplation of long-term strategy, good resource management, and sometimes even conflict with opponents.
Collectible component board games involve collecting and trading certain game elements, usuallycards andminiatures. These games are built around strategy and collection building, but also luck. These board games are also often called building board games.
Configuration board games are a sub-category of space games. However, as opposed to alignment games, the objective of players is to line up their pieces to complete per-determined array targets in a particular order. Like space games, these games are often abstract games.
A connection board game is often an abstract strategy game, in which players attempt to complete a specific type of connection with their pieces. This could involve forming a path between two or more endpoints, completing a closed loop, or a player connecting all of their pieces so they are adjacent to each other.
Cooperative board games are those in which all the players work together to achieve a common goal rather than competing against each other. Either the players win the game by reaching a predetermined objective, or all players lose the game, often by not reaching the objective before a certain trigger event ends the game. These board games are also called non-competitive or co-op games.
Count and capture board games are where players use tokens in rows of designated positions to capture their opponent's pieces. They are often also called sowing or mancala games.
Cross and circle board games are race games with a board consisting of a circle divided into four equal portions by a cross inscribed inside it like four spokes in a wheel.
Indeck-builder board games, each player starts with their own identical deck of cards but alters it during play, with more powerful cards being added to the deck and less powerful ones being removed.
Deck construction board games involve players using different decks of cards to play, constructed prior to the game from a large pool of options, according to specific rules. This type of board game is also called a trading card board game.
Deduction board games involve requiring players to form conclusions based on what is occurring or has transpired based on available premises, such as provided clues either by the board game itself or by fellow players. These board games are also called Investigation games. Social deduction board games are a subcategory of deduction board games.
Dexterity board games are those that require accurate movements of the body in response to real-time game situations. These games are a particular form of physical board game wherefine motors skills are more important than physical attributes such as strength or endurance, including flicking, balancing, or even throwing objects around. Dexterity board games test motor skills, reflexes and coordination; and reward carefulness and punishing clumsiness. These board games are also known as action board games.
Displacement board games are those in which the main objective is the capture the opponents' pieces. These board games are also often called elimination or war board games.
Drafting board games involve a mechanism where players are presented with a set of options, usually cards, from which they must pick one, thus choosing the best options from a pool, leaving the remainder for the next player to choose from. They combine strategy, quick decision-making, and outguessing opponent players. The drafting mechanism can be a small part of a game, in order to select an ability for use during a round, or the entire decision space for a game.
In dungeon-crawler board games, players take the roles of characters making their way through a location, often depicted by a map with a square grid or a page in a book, defeating enemies controlled by another player, a companion app, or the game system itself.
Economic board games involve players managing resources and making smart decisions about how they spend or invest money. A player's strategy usually revolves around ensuring they have enough resources to achieve a strong financial position. Economic board games usually simulate a market in some way. These games are often also called Economic simulation games. The term economic board game is often used interchangeably with resource management board game.
Educational board games are those designed to teach new ideas, concepts, topics or understanding while playing. The board game's learning is based on a particular theme. While educational games exist for different age groups, they are usually designed for children.
Engine-builder board games are those where the course of the game involves building an engine, something that takes your starting resources or actions and turns them into more resources, which often eventually accumulate scored points.
Euro-style board games are those with a strategy focus, prioritising limited randomness over theme. These board games usually have competitive interactions between players through passive competition, rather than aggressive conflict, in contrast to the more thematic but chance-driven American-style board games. Euro-style board games are also called Eurogames or German-style board games due to the fact many of the early games of this style were developed in Germany.
Exploration board games are those that have an unexplored map of tiles or cards, which the game encourages players to explore by flipping them and dealing with the consequences, either beneficial or detrimental. These board games are also often called Travel or 4x games.
Fighting board games are those that encourage players to engage game characters in close quarter battles and hand-to-hand combat. They differ from Wargames in that the combat in Wargames exists as one part of a large-scale military simulation, while in Fighting games the focus is on the particular combat scenarios.
Hidden-role board games involving a player, or players, with a hidden role within the group, where the rest of the players have to identify them, avoiding any influence or tricks used to deflect any suspicions that they have those roles. Sometimes called hidden traitor board games.
Legacy board games are a sub-category of campaign board games, as they also involve players following a series of connected scenarios, where the actions and outcome of one scenario will usually affect the next. However, in legacy board games, a player's choices and actions cause permanent, often physical, changes to the game and its components, such as applying stickers to the board or tearing up cards, thus providing a one-time experience.
Math board games explicitly require players to use mathematical knowledge and concepts to achieve game objectives, thereby testing each player's number skills. These games combine mathematical skills, such as calculations, with regular game structures, such as sources of randomness.
A maze and labyrinth board game often requires players to navigate a series of complex pathways that are located on the game board. This type of board game tests a player's spatial awareness and problem-solving skills, often while adding in design elements from other types of board games.
Memory board games concern memorizing certain facts, figures, and other information while testing a player's ability to recall sequences, locations, or specific items.
Moral and spiritual development board games are those that prioritise player moral and spiritual development above any technical process of establishing a winner and loser.
Negotiation board games are where players must persuade fellow players to make deals and alliances or even offer bribes to get ahead in the game. The only exceptions to this are often euro games, which have stringent resource management rules.
Paper-and-pencil board games are those that can be played solely with writing implements, usually without erasing. They may be played to pass the time, as icebreakers, or for brain training.
Party board games are those that encourage social interaction. They are designed for larger groups of players with the aim of fostering social interaction amongst players, thus combining humour, creativity, and social interaction.
Push-your-luck board games that invite you to take ever bigger risks to achieve increasingly valuable rewards against the risk of significant loss. These board games are also called press your luck board games.
Race board games are those in which each player has the goal of being the player to finish first, either by moving all their pieces to the final destination or completing an objective, e.g., the first player to collect five gems. This also includes games where the objective is to be the first to reach a checkpoint by navigation or steering around obstacles, usually by having greater speed or control than your opponents. The basic requirement is that race mechanics be an operative mechanism; however, racing is not required to be part of the board game's theme.
Role-playing board games are those where players assume a fictional character identity to participate in the game and its narrative. These games combine the character development and narrative of classic role-playing games with the mechanics of a board game.
Real-time board games are those with time limitations, usually playing against a timer, necessitating quick decision-making under pressure. In some real-time games, players take their turns simultaneously, creating a fast-paced, chaotic environment.
The aim of resource management board games is to achieve objectives and gain an advantage through players acquiring, using, and managing a set of resources, which can be anything from physical materials, currency, and points to abstract concepts like time or influence.
Roll-and-write board games are those where players roll dice and decide how to use the outcome, writing it into a personal scoring sheet. Each decision impacts on a player's options for the rest of the game, so even in games where everyone uses the same dice, slightly different choices at the start can lead to very different end results. Some games replace dice rolls with card exposure or the writing with miniature-based roll-and-build.
Running-fight board games are those that combine the movement of race games with the goal of eliminating opponent player pieces like in chess or draughts.
Share-buying board games are those in which players buy stakes in each other's positions. These board games are typically longer economic-management games.
Social deduction board games are those where one or more players have a secret that the rest of the players need to figure out. Often, players are secretly assigned roles known only to them and must achieve their own objectives, commonly either establishing the odd one out or hiding the fact that they are the odd one out. These board games generally involve deceit, bluffing, and accusations.
In space board games are often abstract games where the objective is for players to line up their pieces in order to complete predetermined array targets. Space board game fall into either two of the following sub-cateogires:
Alignment board games
The goal of an alignment board game is to create a line of tokens of a prescribed length.Configuration board games
The goal of a configuration board game is to create a line of tokens of a prescribed length in a particular order.
Story-telling board games are those with a focus on narrative and description that is directed or fully created by the players. This can be an overarching story lasting the whole game, or across a campaign of multiple sessions, read from pre-written passages, or a sequence of vignettes tasking players with inventing and describing something. Story-telling board games often test a player's creativity, improvisation, and sometimes acting skills.
In territory building board games, players establish or gain control over a specific area. These games often use area majority mechanics, also known as influence or enclosure mechanics, where areas are created as the game progresses.
Trivia board games are those that test a player's ability to recalltrivia facts. Many are based on a simple design that revolves around a deck of cards with questions.
Unequal force board games are classified as any game whose core mechanics involve one player who is playing against all the other players right from the start or at least changes their allegiance, usually pledging it to the dark side. These board games are also known as hunt or one vs many board games.
Word board games involve the competitive use of language, testing each player's vocabulary, creative thinking skills, spelling or ability to quickly come up with words, phrases, or sentences.
Worker-placement board games are those where actions are taken by assigning worker tokens, from a player's allocated allotment, on designated game board spaces, which trigger specific actions, like collecting resources or completing tasks. Such board games are more commonly Euro-style board games, which concentrate on player interaction. Actions one player has taken often can not be taken by or come with a cost for other players.
Wargame board games are strategy-based board games with a war theme. Their mechanics are also closely tied to simulate battles, either fictional or historical, within differing settings, e.g. Napoleonic Wars, World War II, even Mars. Players pit armies against each other, represented by collections of miniatures or tokens on a map, with a grid or actual measured distances for movement. Players are required to eliminate the opponent's figures or achieve objectives to win, with combat usually dictated by dice rolls or card play. This type of game has three subcategories:
Tactical
Tactical wargame board games depict a skirmish, battle or series of battles, using smaller scale units and maps that depict a battleground that is a few miles or less in size.Operational
Operational wargame board games cover a broader scope of military actions, greater than single battles. These may cover an entire smaller war, or a series of operations, or even a campaign within a greater war.Strategic
Strategic wargame board games usually recreate a major war on a large scale. Typically, units in such a game will be corps or army level; however, in the monster wargame, divisions and even smaller-sized units can be depicted.
Parlett also distinguishes betweenabstract andthematic games, the latter having a specific genre or frame narrative, for examples regular chess versusStar Wars-themed chess.[124][60] The board games often have themes that emulate concepts in real-life situations or fictional scenario but can also have no evident theme.[177]
Such games have come under criticism, usually when trending thematic concepts, such as those based on popular television show licenses, have been used to supplement deficiencies in the game mechanics. When discussing this practice, Edwards wrote "A bad game, however, remains a bad game even if it has been themed to a favorite television show."[128]: 11 Parlett went so far as to describe these promotional and television spin-off games as being "of an essentially trivial, ephemeral, mind-numbing, and ultimately soul-destroying degree of worthlessness".[126]: 7
The prominent themes found in board games of the Golden Era included: travel, sports, courtship, racism, city life, war, education and capitalist enterprise".[33] Common modern thematic game categories include:
Thematic categorization of board games
Board game genres
Description
Examples
Ref
Adventure
Anadventure-themed board game has themes of heroism, exploration, and puzzle-solving, often involving the game characters in quests. The storylines for these types of games often make them fantasy board games.
An abstract strategy game is a game where player decisions, rather than random elements, determine the outcome. These games arecombinatorial, meaning they provideperfect information rather than hidden or imperfect information, and rely on neitherphysical dexterity nor non-deterministic elements likeshuffled cards or dice rolls during gameplay. Nearly all abstract strategy games are designed for two players or teams taking a finite number of alternating turns. Most games in this category are themeless or have minimal themes and typically lack narrative elements.
Animal-themed games involve animals as a major component of the theme or gameplay, often requiring players to attend to their management or control. Players can even be required to take on the role of animals in the game.
Arabian-themed board games are generally fantasy or adventure games that are set in, or inspired by, locations on the Arabian Peninsula of the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, or North/East Africa, including themes and imagery such as deserts, palaces, camels, jewels, and oases etc.
Civil war-themed board games have storylines concerning a violent battle for government control between two more groups from the same country. The majority of Civil War games are also categorized aswargame board games.
Afantasy-themed board game is one whose themes and scenarios exist in a fictional world, where magic and other supernatural forms are a primary element of the plot, theme or setting.
Industry / manufacturing-themed games encourage players to build, manage or operate tools and machinery in order to manufacture raw materials into goods and products. Many industry / manufacturing-themed games are economic games.
A historical simulation board game is a game that attempts to create a realistic model of a historical event, battle, or encounter. The game uses rules and otherludic elements to construct meaning about the event, and players can use these elements to interpret the game in specific ways. Common periods of history which have provided themes for board games include:
Ahorror-themed game is one that contains themes and imagery depicting morbid topics that are associated with fear, terror, or dread, often also including supernatural elements.
Medical-themed board games often can have elements of surgery, cures, recovery/recuperation/physical therapy, psychiatry, pharmaceutical prescription, and other medicine-related matters.
Murder mystery-themed board games are board games that often deduction or social deduction board games, where players investigate an unsolved murder, or murders, determining the criminal details or perpetrators.
Mythology-themed board games are those that incorporate a thematic narrative that defines how the game world or characters came into existence, especially those related or based on narratives of ancient civilizations. The storylines usually include supernatural elements, e.g. gods, goddesses and demigods, and are sometimes even set in a fabled or primordial time, which usually corresponds to a general corpus of folk stories (myths) that used to have some form of religious or sacred nature for the cultures focused on in the game.
Nautical-themed board games involve sailors, ships or maritime navigation as a major component of the theme or gameplay, often requiring players to effectively control ships as an objective.
Apirate-themed game has characters, themes, or storylines of nautical robbery or criminal violence, includingtreasure hunting, sea robbery,swords andcannons,swashbuckling, and ship racing etc. Pirate board games are usually thematically set between the 14th to 20th centuries.
Religious-themed games feature elements of their narrative, setting or characters that relate to current belief systems or religions of the world, either in their historical aspect and development through time, or their actual objects of faith, like sacred scriptures and articles of doctrine.
Science fiction-themed board games often have themes relating to imagined possibilities in the sciences. Such games need not be futuristic, or they can be based on an alternative past.
Space exploration-themed board games have storylines relating to travel and adventure inouter space. Often players must seek and gather resources and territories as objectives of the game. These board games are also simply called Space games.
Aspies / secret agents-themed board games often have themes or storylines relating to espionage. A common premise is that players must identify another player who has taken the role of spy or secret agent, in an attempt to reveal that player's allotted information. Since many Spies / Secret Agents-themed board games have an element of hidden information, they are therefore often also categorized as bluffing or deduction board games.
Sports-themed board games have themes or storylines related to the physical activity of sports, including football and racing (whether car, boat, bicycle, or horse) etc.
Train board games are those concerned with building and managingrailway routes. They often combine elements from many other game types, requiring the use of strategy, planning, and economic skills to gain an advantage over other players.
Travel-themed board games are travel-themed board games where the objective is to move to and from different geographic locations. Travel games usually employ a map as the main feature of the game board.
Zombie-themed board games often contain themes and imagery concerning the animated dead, including common storylines themes of an apocalypse, horror, and fighting. These games are a thematic sub-category of Horror-themed board games.
Book board games are those where a book is a major operative component, can be separated into two types:
Supplement
A book is used as a repository for game designs and rules, which are applied to common gaming equipment, i.e. a checkered board, paper and pencil, cards, dominoes, dice, etc.Narrative
A book is a board game's operative mechanism, involving storytelling, dice rolling or a "multiple-choice paragraph system".
Card board games are those where cards are the sole or central mechanism of the game. There are two types:
Stand-alone
In stand-alone card board games all the cards necessary for gameplay are purchased at once.Collectible
In collectible card board games players purchase either "starter" and "booster" card packs to compile an increasingly more powerful deck with which to compete with.
Electronic board games are those that have an electronic apparatus as the central component of the game, such as circuitry or sometimes simple computers. Electronic board games differ from both; electrified games, such asOperation which contain no circuitry; and those games requiring a website or app to be played.
Miniatures board games are board games that use detailed miniature models to represent characters or units. Games of this type use miniatures as part of their game mechanics, combining tactics and strategy with collecting and artistry. Of all board game types, miniature games can be some of the most complex to produce, and time-consuming for players, who often are required to paint the models.
A tile-based board game is one that uses small tiles as playing pieces or to create the board. These board games are also called "tile placement" or "tile-laying" board games.
The recommended age range of board game's target player market impacts of the categorization of that board game:
Board game categorization by age range
Board game audience
Description
Examples
Ref
Adult / mature
Adult and mature board games are those designed exclusively for grown-up players. Compared to family or children's games, adult / mature board games usually involve mature subject matter, including violence, mystery or sexual humour etc.
Children's board games are designed for kids and are usually straightforward enough for very young children to learn in a short period of time, having bright colors, and fun and engaging settings.
Board games can be characterised by the number of players they are designed for. Board games can be; solitairepuzzle games, where a player's performance is assessed against a specified target; or multiplayer games such as competitive games, where a comparison is made between two or more players' achievements, orCooperative board game where players all players win or lose as a team:[citation needed]
An expansion of the base board game is a set of additional components and rules for expanding on an original base game. An "expansion" requires the base game to play.
Fan expansion board games are non-commercial enhancements made by people other than a base game's designers or publishers. These are also called "unofficial" board games.
Print-and-play board games are those not published in a physical form but are those that require the players to download, print, and construct the game. Often, these games are downloaded electronically as a PDF file.
Travel versions of board games that are more amenable for packing and carrying while traveling, having smaller game components to make them more compact, and simplified rules to make them quicker to play.
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