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is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment[]
The Card Players, an 1895 painting by
depicting a game of cards.
A game is structured , usually undertaken for
and sometimes used as an
tool. Games are distinct from , which is usually carried out for , and from , which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports/games) or art (such as
or games involving an artistic layout such as , , or some ).
Key components of games are goals, , , and . Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical , serve as a form of , or otherwise perform an , , or
Attested as early as 2600 BC, games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The , , and
are some of the oldest known games.
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
was probably the first academic philosopher to address the definition of the word game. In his , Wittgenstein argued that the elements of games, such as , rules, and , all fail to adequately define what games are. From this, Wittgenstein concluded that people apply the term game to a range of disparate human activities that bear to one another only what one might call family resemblances. As the following game definitions show, this conclusion was not a final one and today many philosophers, like Thomas Hurka, think that Wittgenstein was wrong and that Bernard Suits' definition is a good answer to the problem.
French sociologist , in his book Les jeux et les hommes (Games and Men), defined a game as an activity that must have the following characteristics:
fun: the activity is chosen for its light-hearted character
separate: it is circumscribed in time and place
uncertain: the outcome of the activity is unforeseeable
non-productive: participation does not accomplish anything useful
governed by rules: the activity has rules that are different from everyday life
fictitious: it is accompanied by the awareness of a different reality
Computer game designer , founder of , has attempted to define the term game using a series of :
Creative expression is
if made for its own beauty, and
if made for .
A piece of entertainment is a
if it is .
are cited as examples of non-interactive entertainment.
If no goals are associated with a plaything, it is a . (Crawford notes that by his definition, (a) a toy can become a game element if the player makes up rules, and (b)
are toys, not games.) If it has goals, a plaything is a challenge.
If a challenge has no "active agent against whom you compete," it is a ; if there is one, it is a conflict. (Crawford admits that this is a subjective test. Video games with noticeably
these include the patterns used to evade .)
Finally, if the player can only outperform the opponent, but not attack them to interfere with their performance, the conflict is a competition. (Competitions include
and .) However, if attacks are allowed, then the conflict qualifies as a game.
Crawford's definition may thus be rendered as[]: an interactive, goal-oriented activity made for money, with active agents to play against, in which players (including active agents) can interfere with each other.
"A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome." ( and )
"A game is a form of art in which participants, termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal." () According to this definition, some "games" that do not involve choices, such as , , and
are not technically games any more than a slot machine is.
"A game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context." ()
"At its most elementary level then we can define game as an exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is an opposition between forces, confined by a procedure and rules in order to produce a disequilibrial outcome." ( and )
"A game is a form of play with goals and structure." ()
"to play a game is to engage in activity directed toward bringing about a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by specific rules, where the means permitted by the rules are more limited in scope than they would be in the absence of the rules, and where the sole reason for accepting such limitation is to make possible such activity." ()
"When you strip away the genre differences and the technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation." ()
Games can be characterized by "what the player does." This is often referred to as . Major key elements identified in this context are tools and rules that define the overall context of game.
Games are often classified by the components required to play them (e.g. , a , , , or a ). In places where the use of
is well established, the ball has been a popular game piece throughout recorded history, resulting in a worldwide popularity of ball games such as , , , , , and . Other tools are more idiosyncratic to a certain region. Many countries in Europe, for instance, have unique standard decks of . Other games such as
may be traced primarily through the development and evolution of its game pieces.
Many game tools are tokens, meant to represent other things. A token may be a pawn on a board, , or an intangible item such as a point scored.
Games such as
do not util rather, their interactivity is defined by the environment. Games with the same or similar rules may have different gameplay if the environment is altered. For example, hide-and-seek in a
building differs from an
can be radically different depending on the
course, even with the same cars.
Whereas games are often characterized by their tools, they are often defined by their rules. While rules are , enough change in the rules usually results in a "new" game. For instance,
can be played with "real" baseballs or with . However, if the players decide to play with only three bases, they are arguably playing a different game. There are exceptions to this in that some games deliberately involve the changing of their own rules, but even then there are often immutable -rules.
Rules generally determine turn order, the rights and responsibilities of the players, and each player’s goals. Player rights may include when they may spend resources or move tokens. Common win conditions are being first to amass a certain quota of points or tokens (as in ), having the greatest number of tokens at the end of the game (as in ), or some relationship of one’s game tokens to those of one’s opponent (as in chess's ).
A game’s tools and rules will result in its requiring , , , or a combination thereof, and are classified accordingly.
include games of physical skill, such as , , , , and , and games of mental skill such as
include checkers, chess, , , and , and often require special equipment to play them.
include gambling games (, , , etc.), most require equipment such as cards or . However, most games contain two or all three of these elements. For example,
involve both physical skill and strategy while , , and
combine strategy and chance. Many card and board gam most
involve mental skill, strategy, and an element of chance, as do many strategic board games such as , , and .
Most games require multiple players. However, single-player games are unique in respect to the type of challenges a player faces. Unlike a game with multiple players competing with or against each other to reach the game's goal, a one-player game is a battle solely against an element of the environment (an artificial opponent), against one's own skills, against time, or against chance. Playing with a
or playing
against a wall is not generally recognized as playing a game due to the lack of any formidable opposition.
It is not valid to describe a
where the computer provides opposition. If the computer is merely record-keeping, then the game may be validly single-player.
Many games described as "single-player" may be termed actually puzzles or recreations.
Games can take a variety of forms, from competitive
Main article:
is a popular sport worldwide.
Many sports require special equipment and dedicated playing fields, leading to the involvement of a community much larger than the group of players. A
may set aside such resources for the organization of sports leagues.
Popular sports may have
who are entertained just by watching games. A community will often align itself with a local sports team that supposedly represents it (even if the team or most of its players only recently moved in); they often align themselves against their opponents or have traditional rivalries. The concept of
began with sports fans.
cited[] the balls and strikes of baseball as a clear example of , the operation of rules on the game's tools. While the
target is governed by the rules of the game, it epitomizes the category of things that exist only because people have agreed to treat them as real. No pitch is a
until it has been labeled as such by an appropriate authority, the plate , whose judgment on this matter cannot be challenged within the current game.
Certain competitive sports, such as
and , are not games by definitions such as Crawford's (see above) – despite the inclusion of many in the
– because competitors do not interact
they simply challenge each other in indirect ways.
are outdoor games that an area of mowed grass (or alternately, on graded soil) generally smaller than a "field" or . Variations of many games that are traditionally played on a
as "lawn games" for home use in a front or back yard. Common lawn games include , , , , , and .
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A tabletop game generally refers to any game where the elements of play are confined to a small area and that require little physical exertion, usually simply placing, picking up and moving game pieces. Most of these games are, thus, played at a table around which the players are seated and on which the game's elements are located. A variety of major game types generally fall under the heading of tabletop games. It is worth noting that many games falling into this category, particularly , are more free-form in their play and can involve physical activity such as mime, however the basic premise is still that the game does not require a large area in which to play it, large amounts of strength or stamina, or specialized equipment other than what comes in the box (games sometimes require additional materials like pencil and paper that are easy to procure).
This class of games includes any game in which the skill element involved relates to manual dexterity or hand-eye coordination, but excludes the class of video games (see below). Games such as , , and
require only very portable or improvised equipment and can be played on any flat level surface, while other examples, such as , , , , and
require specialized tables or other self-contained modules on which the game is played. The advent of home video game systems largely replaced some of these, such as table hockey, however air hockey, billiards, pinball and foosball remain popular fixtures in private and public game rooms. These games and others, as they require reflexes and coordination, are generally performed more poorly by intoxicated persons but are unlikely to result in in as such the games are popular as . In addition, dedicated drinking games such as
also involve physical coordination and are popular for similar reasons.
is an American adaptation of a board game originating in .
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Board games use as a central tool a board on which the players' status, resources, and progress are tracked using physical tokens. Many also involve
or cards. Most games that simulate war are board games (though a large number of video games have been created to simul see "Video Games" below), and the board may be a map on which the players' tokens move. Virtually all board games involve "turn-based" one player contemplates and then makes a move, then the next player does the same, and a player can only act on their turn. This is opposed to "real-time" play as is found in some card games, most sports and most video games.
Some games, such as
and , are entirely deterministic, relying only on the strategy element for their interest. Such games are usually described as having "perfect information"; the only unknown is the exact thought processes of one's opponent, not the outcome of any unknown event inherent in the game (such as a card draw or die roll). Children's games, on the other hand, tend to be very luck-based, with games such as
having virtually no decisions to be made. By some definitions, such as that by (), they are not games since there are no decisions to make to effect the outcome. Many other games involving a high degree of luck do not allow direct attac the random event simply determines a gain or loss in the standing of the current player within the game, which is independent the "game" then is actually a "race" by definitions such as Crawford's.
Most other board games combine strat the game of
requires players to decide the best strategic move based on the roll of two . Trivia games have a great deal of randomness based on the questions a person gets.
are notable for often having rather less of a luck factor than many board games.
Board game groups include ,
games, , , and , as well as the
and German-style board games mentioned above. Some board games fall into multiple groups and even incorporate elements of other genres:
is one popular example, where players must succeed in each of four main skills: artistry, live performance, trivia, and language skill.
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Further information:
Playing Cards, by , 17th century
Card games use a deck of cards as their central tool. These cards may be a standard
(52-card) deck of
(such as for , , , etc.), a regional deck using 32, 36 or 40 cards and different suit signs (such as for the popular German game ), a
of 78 cards (used in Europe to play a variety of
collectively known as Tarot, Tarock or Tarocchi games), or a deck specific to the individual game (such as
are examples of games that were originally played with a standard deck and have since been commercialized with customized decks. Some
are played with a small selection of cards that have been collected or purchased individually from large available sets.
Some board games include a deck of cards as a gameplay element, normally for randomization or to keep track of game progress. Conversely, some card games such as
use a board with movers, normally to keep score. The differentiation between the two genres in such cases depends on which element of the game is
a board game using cards for random actions can usually use some other method of randomization, while Cribbage can just as easily be scored on paper. These elements as used are simply the traditional and easiest methods to achieve their purpose.
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Students in Laos use 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.
Dice games use a number of
as their central element. Board games often use dice for a randomization element, and thus each roll of the dice has a profound impact on the outcome of the game, however dice games are differentiated in that the dice do not determine the success or failure of some other they instead are the central indicator of the person's standing in the game. Popular dice games include , , , /, and . As dice are, by their very nature, designed to produce , these games usually involve a high degree of luck, which can be directed to some extent by the player through more strategic elements of play and through tenets of . Such games are thus popul the game of
is perhaps the most famous example, though Liar's dice and Poker dice were originally conceived of as gambling games.
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Domino games are similar in many respects to card games, but the generic device is instead a set of tiles called , which traditionally each have two ends, each with a given number of dots, or "pips", and each combination of two possible end values as it appears on a tile is unique in the set. The games played with dominoes largely center around playing a domino from the player's "hand" onto the matching end of another domino, and the overall object could be to always be able to make a play, to make all open endpoints sum to a given number or multiple, or simply to play all dominoes from one's hand onto the board. Sets vary in the number of possible dots on one end, and thus of the number of com the most common set historically is double-six, though in more recent times "extended" sets such as double-nine have been introduced to increase the number of dominoes available, which allows larger hands and more players in a game. , , and
are very popular domino games.
is a domino game more similar in its play to a "trick-taking" .
Variations of traditional dominoes abound:
are similar in theory but are triangular and thus have three values per tile. Similarly, a game known as
uses four-sided tiles.
Some other games use til
is a variant of the
card game family that uses tiles numbered in ascending rank among four colors, very similar in makeup to a 2-deck "pack" of Anglo-American .
is another game very similar to
that uses a set of tiles with card-like values and art.
Lastly, some games use graphical tiles to form a board layout, on which other elements of the game are played.
are examples. In each, the "board" is made up
in Settlers of Catan the starting layout is random but static, while in Carcassonne the game is played by "building" the board tile-by-tile. , an abstract strategy game using tiles as moving pieces, has mechanical and strategic elements similar to , alth the pieces themselves both form the layout and can move within it.
Pencil and paper games require little or no specialized equipment other than writing materials, though some such games have been commercialized as board games (, for instance, is based on the idea of a , and
sets with a boxed grid and pieces are available commercially). These games vary widely, from games centering on a design being drawn such as
and "connect-the-dots" games like , to letter and word games such as
and , to solitaire and logic puzzle games such as
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A guessing game has as its core a piece of information that one player knows, and the object is to coerce others into guessing that piece of information without actually divulging it in text or spoken word.
is probably the most well-known game of this type, and has spawned numerous commercial variants that involve differing rules on the type of communication to be given, such as , , , and similar. The genre also includes many
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Video games are - or -controlled games. Computers can create virtual spaces for a wide variety of game types. Some video games simulate conventional game objects like cards or dice, while others can simulate environs either grounded in reality or fantastical in design, each with its own set of rules or goals.
A computer or video game uses one or more , typically a / combination (on ); a ,
or a motion sensitive tool. (). More esoteric devices such as
have also been used for input.
There are many
the first commercial video game, , was a simple simulation of . As processing power increased, new genres such as adventure and action games were developed that involved a player guiding a character from a third person perspective through a series of obstacles. This "real-time" element cannot be easily reproduced by a board game, which is generally limited to "turn-based" this advantage allows video games to simulate situations such as combat more realistically. Additionally, the playing of a video game does not require the same physical skill, strength or danger as a real-world representation of the game, and can provide either very realistic, exaggerated or impossible physics, allowing for elements of a fantastical nature, games involving physical violence, or simulations of sports. Lastly, a computer can, with varying degrees of success, simulate one or more human opponents in traditional table games such as , leading to simulations of such games that can be played by a single player.
In more open-ended computer simulations, also known as sandbox-style games, the game provides a virtual environment in which the player may be free to do whatever they like within the confines of this universe. Sometimes, there is a lack of goals or opposition, which has stirred some debate on whether these should be considered "games" or "toys". (Crawford specifically mentions 's
as an example of a toy.)
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From the very earliest days of networked and time-shared computers,
have been part of the culture. Early commercial systems such as
were at least as widely famous for their games as for their strictly educational value. In 1958,
dominated Visitor's Day and drew atten during the 1980s,
was known mainly for , which was offered as a hands-on demo to visitors.
Modern online games are played using an I some have dedicated
programs, while
require only a . Some simpler browser games appeal to demographic groups (notably
and the ) that otherwise play very few video games.[]
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Role-playing games, often abbreviated as RPGs, are a type of game in which the participants (usually) assume the roles of characters acting in a fictional setting. The original role playing games—or at least those explicitly marketed as such—are played with a handful of participants, usually face-to-face, and keep track of the developing fiction with pen and paper. Together, the players may collaborate on a story involv create, develop, and "explore" or vicariously experience an adventure outside the bounds of everyday life. Pen-and-paper role-playing games include, for example,
The term role-playing game has also been appropriated by the video game industry to describe . These may be single-player games where one player experiences a programmed environment and story, or they may allow players to interact through the internet. The experience is usually quite different from traditional role-playing games. Single-player games include , , , and . Online multi-player games, often referred to as , or MMORPGs, include , , , , , and . As of 2009, the most successful MMORPG has been , which controls the vast majority of the market.
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Business games can take a variety of forms, from interactive board games to interactive games involving different props (balls, ropes, hoops, etc.) and different kinds of activities. The purpose of these games is to link to some aspect of organizational performance and to generate discussions about business improvement. Many business games focus on organizational behaviors. Some of these are computer simulations while others are simple designs for play and debriefing. Team building is a common focus of such activities.
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The term "game" can include simulation or re-enactment of various activities or use in "real life" for various purposes: e.g., , analysis, prediction. Well-known examples are
and . The root of this meaning may originate in the human prehistory of games deduced by
from observing , in which children's games mimic the activities of adults to a significant degree: , , , etc. These kinds of games are preserved in modern times.[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to .
Main article:
Soubeyrand, Catherine (2000). . .
Green, William (). . 2008 Summer Journey ().
(1953). . Oxford: Blackwell.  .
(1957). Les jeux et les hommes. Gallimard.
(2003). . New Riders.  .
(2003). : Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press. p. 80.  .
Clark C. Abt (1 January 1987). . University Press of America.  .
(1971). The Study of Games. J. Wiley. p. 405.  .
Maroney, Kevin (2001). . The Games Journal.
Suits, Bernard (1967). . The University of Chicago Press.
McGonigal, Jane (2011). Reality is Broken. Penguin Books.  .
Woodcock, Bruce Sterling (2008). .
. Archived from
Avedon, E , Brian, The Study of Games. (Philadelphia: Wiley, 1971), reprinted Krieger, 1979.
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