Defined in contrast toEurogames, American-style board games, pejoratively called "Ameritrash", generally feature a prominent theme that is tied to the game's mechanics, encourage direct conflict between players, and have a greater degree of randomness or luck.[1][2]
Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. Black's pieces are typically a dark color but not necessarily black (e.g. inEnglish draughts official play they are red). Cf.White. See alsoWhite and Black in chess.
A method that removes another player's piece(s) from the board. For example: incheckers, if a playerjumps an opponent's piece, that piece is captured. Captured pieces are typically removed from the game. In some games, captured pieces remainin hand and can be reentered into active play (e.g.shogi,Bughouse chess). See alsoGame mechanics § Capture/eliminate.
card
A piece of cardboard often bearing instructions, and usually chosen randomly from a deck by shuffling.
A physical item included in the game. E.g. the box itself, the board, the cards, the tokens, zipper-lock bags, inserts, rule books, etc. See alsoequipment.
A capture method whereby an enemy piece is captured by being blocked on adjacent sides by opponent pieces. (Typicallylaterally on two sides as inTablut andHasami shogi, or laterally on four sides as inGo. Capture by blocking on two sides diagonally is done inStone Warriors, and surrounding on three sides is required inBizingo.) Also calledescort capture andinterception capture.
Anenemy piece is a piece in the same army or set of pieces controlled by the opponent; or, in a multiplayer game, a piece controlled by the partner of an opponent.
Engine-building
A board game genre andgameplay mechanic that involves adding and modifying combinations of abilities or resources to assemble avirtuous circle of increasingly powerful and productive outcomes.[4] A successfully built engine can create asnowball ordomino effect.
Equipment forLudo: four Ludo pieces, a die, a dice cup, a Ludo board
equipment
Refers to physicalcomponents required to play a game, e.g. pieces, gameboard, dice.
European- or German-style board games generally feature strategic depth with multiple ways to score points, indirect player interaction, relatively minimal themes, and limited randomness or luck.[5][6]
exchange
For games featuringcaptures, the capture of a piece followed immediately by the opponent's recapture.
Orgame board. The (usuallyquadrilateral) marked surface on which one plays a board game. Thenamesake of the board game, gameboards would seem to be anecessary and sufficient condition of thegenre, thoughcard games that do not use a standard deck of cards (as well as games that use neither cards nor a gameboard) are often colloquially included. Most games use a standardized and unchanging board (chess,Go, andbackgammon each have such a board), but some games use a modular board whose component tiles or cards can assume varying layouts from one session to another, or even during gameplay.
An advantage given to a weaker side at the start of a game to level the winning chances against a stronger opponent. Go has formal handicap systems (seeGo handicaps); chess has traditional handicap methods not used in rated competitions (seeChess handicap).
A piecein hand is one currently not in play on the gameboard, but may be entered into play on a turn. Examples are captured pieces inshogi orBughouse chess, able to bedropped into play as a move; or pieces that begin the game in a staging area off the main board, as inLudo orChessence.
Used in some two-player games to eliminate any advantage of moving first. After the first player's opening move, the second player may optionally swap sides.
Simple woodenpawn-style playing pieces, often calledHalma pawns
piece
Orbit,checker,chip,counter,disc,draughtsman,game piece,man,meeple,mover,pawn,player piece,playing piece,singleton,stone,token,unit.A player's representative on the gameboard made of apiece of material made to look like a known object (such as ascale model of a person, animal, or inanimate object) or otherwise general symbol. Each player may control one or more pieces. Some games involve commanding multiple pieces, such aschess pieces orMonopoly houses and hotels, that have unique designations and capabilities within the parameters of the game; in other games, such as Go, all pieces controlled by a player have the same capabilities. In some modern board games, such asClue, there are other pieces that are not a player's representative (i.e. weapons). In some games, such asmancala games, pieces may not represent or belong to any particular player.Mancala pieces are undifferentiated and typically seeds but sometimes beans, coins, cowry shells, ivory balls, or pebbles.Note that in chess usage the termpiece in some contexts only refers tosome of the pieces, which are also known aschessmen.See alsoCounter (board wargames).
Dice that are not cubes, usually some kind ofPlatonic solid. Polyhedral dice are generally referred to through the construction "d + number of sides" (ex. d4, d8, d12, d20). See alsodice.
A gamepiece that is isolated and often prone to attack.[3]
space
Aphysical unit of progress on agameboard delimited by a distinct border, and not further divisible according to the game's rules. Alternatively, a unique position on the board on which a piece in play may be located. For example, inGo, the pieces are placed on grid line intersections calledpoints, and not in the areas bounded by the borders, as in chess. The bounded area geometries can be square (e.g.chess), rectangular (e.g.shogi), hexagonal (e.g.Chinese Checkers), triangular (e.g.Bizingo), quadrilateral (e.g.three-player chess), cubic (e.g.Raumschach), or other shapes (e.g.Circular chess). Cf.gamespace. See alsoGame mechanics § Movement.
A space set aside from the main gameboard to contain piecesin hand. InLudo, the staging areas are calledyards. Inshogi, pieces in hand are placed onkomadai.
A player's opportunity to move a piece or make a decision that influencesgameplay. Turns to move usually alternate equally between competing players or teams. See alsoTurn-based game.
Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. White's pieces are typically a light color but not necessarily white (e.g.backgammon sets use various colors for White;shogi sets have no color distinction between sides). White often moves first but not always (e.g. Black moves first inEnglish draughts,shogi, andGo). Cf.Black. See alsoWhite and Black in chess.
Worker Placement
A genre of board games in which players take turns selecting an action while optimizing their resources and making meaningful decisions.[7]
