board game

/ˌbɔərd ˈgeɪm/

/bɔd geɪm/

Other forms: board games

A board game is a type of game — like Monopoly — played on a specific board. Chess is another famous board game.

As you would guess, board games are played on boards, but not any type of board. Most games have a specific board that's designed for that game. You can play chess and checkers on the same board, but games such as Risk, Clue, Operation, and Trivial Pursuit each have their own specially designed board. Some board games are aimed at very young children while others are far more complex. There's probably a board game for everyone.

Definitions of board game

1. noun

   a game played on a specially designed board
   types:

   Scrabble

   a board game in which words are formed from letters in patterns similar to a crossword puzzle; each letter has a value and those values are used to score the game

   backgammon

   a board game for two players; pieces move according to throws of the dice

   checkers, draughts

   a checkerboard game for two players who each have 12 pieces; the object is to jump over and so capture the opponent's pieces

   chess, chess game

   a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king

   Chinese checkers, Chinese chequers

   a board game in which each player tries to move a set of marbles through a set of holes from one point of a six-pointed star to the opposite point

   darts

   a game in which small pointed missiles are thrown at a dartboard

   go, go game

   a board game for two players who place counters on a grid; the object is to surround and so capture the opponent's counters

   halma

   a board game in which players try to move their pieces into their opponent's bases

   beano, bingo, keno, lotto

   a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards

   ludo

   a simple board game in which players move counters according to the throw of dice

   Mah-Jongg, mahjong

   Chinese game played by 4 people with 144 tiles

   Monopoly

   a board game in which players try to gain a monopoly on real estate as pieces advance around the board according to the throw of a die

   pachisi, parchesi, parchisi

   an ancient board game resembling backgammon; played on a cross-shaped board

   shove-ha'penny, shove-halfpenny, shovel board

   a game in which coins or discs are slid by hand across a board toward a mark

   snakes and ladders

   a board game for children who use dice to move counters up ladders and down snakes

   noughts and crosses, tic-tac-toe, tick-tack-toe, ticktacktoe, ticktacktoo, tit-tat-toe

   a game in which two players alternately put crosses and circles in one of the compartments of a square grid of nine spaces; the object is to get a row of three crosses or three circles before the opponent does

   Parcheesi

   a modern board game based on pachisi

   shogi

   a form of chess played on a board of 81 squares; each player has 20 pieces

   type of:

   parlor game, parlour game

   a game suitable for playing in a parlor