A board game is any game played on a board (that is, a premarked surface) with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across the board. Simple board games are often seen as ideal "family entertainment" as they can provide entertainment for all ages. Some board games, such as Chess, Go (Weiqi), Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), or Oware, have intense strategic value and have become lasting classics.

There are many different types and classifications of board games. Some games are simplified simulations of real life. These are popular for they can intermingle make-believe and role playing along with the game. Popular games of this type include Monopoly, which is a rough simulation of the real estate market; Cluedo/Clue, which is based upon a murder mystery; and Risk, which is one of the best known of thousands of games attempting to simulate warfare and geo-politics.

Other games only loosely, or do not at all, attempt to imitate reality. These include abstract strategy games like chess and checkers, word games, such as Scrabble, and trivia games, such as Trivial Pursuit. Also, DVD games were introduced into the marketplace in 2002 with the launch of the first edition of Scene It? (now distributed in the mass market channel by Mattel), and have spawned their own game category.

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Chess Samizdat

Article 57. For The Serious Student, by B. Bell
Tue, 07 Mar 2006 14:40:11 -0000
With computer databases and the amount of information available to students these days you would think that people who study chess to improve would be improving in leaps and bounds. Sadly this is not the case, but I hope to provide some information that may help...
Article 56. Chess pedagogical training and further education at the FIDE Trainer Course in Berlin, by IM Jovan Petronic
Fri, 10 Feb 2006 09:27:54 -0000
Offered by Headmaster of the FIDE Trainer Academy - GM Uwe Boensch. From 4 until 10 November 2005, at the international training course, chess pedagogues from various countries got together for the third time to refresh their knowledge and to get new insights in the sport of chess. 13 chess trainers from three continents and ten countries met to listen to lectures and receive practical training on the big historical grounds close to the modern Olympic Stadium of Berlin for six days...
Article 55. Exclusive Interview: Bessel Kok, by Goran Urosevic
Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:41:07 -0000
In the middle of November, Mr. Bessel Kok and Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici announced their candidacy for the posts of President and Deputy President of FIDE (The World Chess Federation) at the forthcoming elections in Turin in May 2006...
Article 54. Exclusive Interview: GM Peter Svidler, by Goran Urosevic
Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:40:36 -0000
Q: Greetings Mr.Svidler. Year 2005 was very successful for you. You have tied 2nd place at the World Chess Championship and got the highest rating ever of 2765. Can you tell us something about your preparations?
Article 53. 4th open (rapid) Kavala (Greece) 10-11.9.2005, by IM Jovan Petronic
Thu, 05 Jan 2006 05:01:38 -0000
On September 10-11, 2005, the traditional 4th open rapid (20'+10") tournament "Kavala 2005" was held in Kavala, Greece. The winner, Ilias Kazantzidis, scored a 100% result...
Article 52. Chess Rules You Can Bend, by B. Bell
Wed, 04 Jan 2006 16:11:24 -0000
I will use the Caro-Kann as my example because it is my response to e4. I was going over a game I had just played when a friend of mine (Nick, rating about 2300) came by and started reviewing my game...

Board Games with Scott

BGWS 047 - TransEuropa and Vexation
scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:55:33 -0000
TransEuropa is a good introductory train game where players have secret agendas to connect five cities using communal track. (11:28) TransEuropa (and the similar game, TransAmerica), is a great introduction to modern board games. It’s a light game where players connect cities across Europe by playing track that everyone shares. In this episode of [...]
BGWS 046 - 18xx
scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:17:10 -0000
18xx is a series of complex economic train games where players invest and manage multiple train lines, set in the 1800’s. (42:03) The 18xx series of games are a long-standing series of economic train games. Players invest in one or more train corporations and manage their routes on a board. In this episode of [...]
Blatant Plug - Tulipmania 1637
scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:10:12 -0000
(Begin Blatant Plug) I’ve designed my first board game, called Tulipmania 1637. It’s a stock market game that replicates the bubble market that was in 1637 regarding the price of tulip bulbs that almost destroyed the dutch economy. I made the game after visiting the Tulip museum in Amsterdam and learning all about Tulipmania, [...]

Board Game News

Scrabble Me
Randy Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:45:36 -0000
The latest edition of Scrabble, the classic family word game gets an innovative new twist: instead of all players sharing one board, each player gets their own board. In Scrabble Me, players build words simultaneously on their individual boards, and after each round, players have the option to choose a replacement letter from the bag or [...]
National SCRABBLE Association Endorses SCRABBLE Cubes
Randy Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:46:17 -0000
In an announcement that spells F-U-N for SCRABBLE fans, WorldWinner has signed an agreement with the National SCRABBLE Association (NSA) to jointly promote the online game SCRABBLE Cubes to tens of thousands of SCRABBLE fans on the NSA Web site, as well as online and offline events. WorldWinner is the leading provider of online game [...]
Own a Piece of Paradise with Monopoly Tropical Tycoon
Randy Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:43:41 -0000
Paradise is in the tropics, and here’s your chance to make a fortune with this prime time real estate in the latest DVD game from Hasbro, Monopoly Tropical Tycoon.

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Board Games with Scott 012 - Antike: is a weekly show where Scott Nicholson takes a board game, describe it, and lightly reviews it. This week's show is Antike, which is a relatively short (under 2 hours) empire building game about growing your empire, building troops, developing technologies, and then crushing your enemies!x