Portal:Games

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A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Games have a wide range of occasions, reflecting both the generality of its concept and the variety of its play. Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who participates as a player. A toy and a game are not the same. Toys generally allow for unrestricted play, whereas games present rules for the player to follow.

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role. (Full article...)

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A reconstructed hnefatafl gameboard

Tafl games (pronounced [tavl]), also known as hnefatafl games, are a family of ancient Northern European strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Names of different variants of tafl include hnefatafl, tablut, tawlbwrdd, brandubh, Ard Rí, and alea evangelii. Games in the tafl family were played in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, and Sápmi. Tafl gaming was eventually supplanted by chess in the 12th century, but the tafl variant of the Sámi people, tablut, was in play until at least the 18th century. The rules for tablut were written down by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732, and these were translated from Latin to English in 1811. All modern tafl games are based on the 1811 translation, which had many errors. New rules were added to amend the issues resulting from these errors, leading to the creation of a modern family of tafl games. In addition, tablut is now also played in accordance with its original rules, which have been retranslated. (Full article...)

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...that in 1967, Mac Hack became the first computer chess program to defeat a person in tournament play?
...that a reviewer called the narrator in the game Defenders of Ardania (pictured) "booze-obsessed", with a voice that sounds like "a Dalek doing an impression of Sean Connery"?
...that snooker player Stephen Maguire won his first ranking tournament at the 2004 European Open in Malta?
...that the Crawford-Gilpin House is alleged to have once changed owners due to being lost as a wager in a poker game?
...that The Big Bang Theory episode "The Santa Simulation" features a Christmas-themed Dungeons & Dragons game?

General images

The following are images from various game-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1This 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 (from Board game)
Image 2Mamluk playing card (king of cups), c. 15th century (from Card game)
Image 3Preferans, a trick-taking card game version popular in Croatia (from Card game)
Image 4Students using dice to improve numeracy skills. They roll three dice, then use basic math operations to combine those into a new number which they cover on the board. The goal is to cover four squares in the row. (from Game)
Image 5Historically, card games such as whist and contract bridge were opportunities for quiet socializing, as shown in this 1930s magic lantern slide photo taken in Seattle, Washington. (from Card game)
Image 6A fantasy LARP group (from Role-playing game)
Image 7Patolli game being watched by Macuilxochitl as depicted on page 048 of the Codex Magliabechiano (from Board game)
Image 8A group playing a tabletop RPG. The GM is at left using a cardboard screen to hide dice rolls from the players. (from Role-playing game)
Image 9Senet, one of the oldest known board games (from Board game)
Image 10Hounds and jackals (Egypt, 13th Dynasty) (from Board game)
Image 11A selection of pieces from different games. From top: Chess pawns, marbles, Monopoly tokens, dominoes, Monopoly hotels, jacks and checkers pieces. (from Game)
Image 12Young girls playing a board game in the Iisalmi library in Finland, 2016 (from Board game)
Image 13Association football is a popular sport worldwide.
Image 14The Card Players by Lucas van Leyden (1520) depicting a multiplayer card game (from Game)
Image 15Typical MUD interface for God Wars II (from Role-playing game)
Image 16The number of board games published by year (1944–2017), as listed on BoardGameGeek. Expansion sets for existing games are marked in orange. (from Board game)
Image 17 Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript (from Board game)
Image 18Parcheesi is an American adaptation of a Pachisi, originating in India. (from Game)
Image 19Royal game of Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600–2400 BCE (from Board game)
Image 20An adventurer finds a teleportation portal while exploring a dungeon in the role-playing video game Falcon's Eye. (from Role-playing game)
Image 21The board game Monopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages. (from Board game)
Image 22The Mansion of Happiness (1843) (from Board game)
Image 23Ancient Egyptian senet game board inscribed for Amenhotep III with separate sliding drawer, from 1390 to 1353 BC, made of glazed faience, dimensions: 5.5 × 7.7 × 21 cm, in the Brooklyn Museum (New York City). (from Game)
Image 24The modern German board game Catan is printed in 30 languages and sold 15 million by 2009. (from Board game)
Image 25Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment. (from Game)
Image 26The Card Players, 17th-century painting by Theodoor Rombouts (from Card game)
Image 27A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills. (from Game of skill)
Image 28Han dynasty glazed pottery tomb figurines playing liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board (from Board game)
Image 29Two Qataris playing the traditional board game of damah (from Board game)
Image 30Playing Cards, by Theodoor Rombouts, 17th century (from Game)
Image 31Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance. (from Game of skill)
Image 32Chinese mother-of-pearl gambling tokens used in scoring and bidding of card games (from Card game)