types:
curling
a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target
bowling
a game in which balls are rolled at an object or group of objects with the aim of knocking them over or moving them
pall-mall
a 17th century game; a wooden ball was driven along an alley with a mallet
zero-sum game
a game in which the total of all the gains and losses is zero
dreidel
a game of chance played with a dreidel during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah
trivia
a competition or quizzing game in which contestants are asked about obscure or miscellaneous facts
ninepins,
skittles
a bowling game that is played by rolling a bowling ball down a bowling alley at a target of nine wooden pins
duckpins
a bowling game using a pin smaller than a tenpin but proportionately wider
bowls,
lawn bowling
a bowling game played on a level lawn with biased wooden balls that are rolled at a jack
bocce,
bocci,
boccie
a type bowling game played on a long narrow dirt court, originating in Italy
hockey,
hockey game,
ice hockey
a game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of six skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with angled sticks
tetherball
a game with two players who use rackets to strike a ball that is tethered to the top of a pole; the object is to wrap the string around the pole
water polo
a game played in a swimming pool by two teams of swimmers who try to throw an inflated ball into the opponents' goal
cat and mouse,
cat and rat
a game for children in which the players form a circle and join hands; they raise their hands to let a player inside the circle or lower their hands to bar a second player who is chasing the first
cat's cradle
a game played with string looped over the fingers
hopscotch
a game in which a child tosses a stone into an area drawn on the ground and then hops through it and back to regain the stone
jacks,
jackstones,
knucklebones
a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball
jackstraws,
spillikins
a game in which players try to pick each jackstraw (or spillikin) off of a pile without moving any of the others
jump rope
a child's game or a cardiopulmonary exercise in which the player jumps over a swinging rope
leapfrog
a game in which one child bends down and another leaps over
marbles
a children's game played with little balls made of a hard substance (as glass)
mumble-the-peg,
mumblety-peg
a game in which players throw or flip a jackknife in various ways so that the knife sticks in the ground
going to Jerusalem,
musical chairs
a child's game in which players march to music around a group of chairs that contains one chair less than the number of players; when the music abruptly stops the players scramble to sit and the player who does not find a chair is eliminated; then a chair is removed and the march resumes until only the winner is seated
bopeep,
peekaboo
a game played with young children; you hide your face and suddenly reveal it as you say boo!
post office
a children's game in which kisses are exchanged for pretended letters
spin the bottle
a game in which a player spins a bottle and kisses the person that it points to when it stops spinning
spin the plate,
spin the platter
a game in which something round (as a plate) is spun on edge and the name of a player is called; the named player must catch the spinning object before it falls or pay a forfeit
tag
a game in which one child chases the others; the one who is caught becomes the next chaser
tiddlywinks
a game in which players try to flip plastic disks into a cup by pressing them on the side sharply with a larger disk
baccarat,
chemin de fer
a card game played in casinos in which two or more punters gamble against the banker; the player wins who holds 2 or 3 cards that total closest to nine
blackjack,
twenty-one,
vingt-et-un
a gambling game using cards; the object is to hold cards having a higher count than those dealt to the banker up to but not exceeding 21
bridge
any of various card games based on whist for four players
casino,
cassino
a card game in which cards face up on the table are taken with eligible cards in the hand
crib,
cribbage
a card game (usually for two players) in which each player is dealt six cards and discards one or two
ecarte
a card game for 2 players; played with 32 cards and king high
euchre,
five hundred
a card game similar to ecarte; each player is dealt 5 cards and the player making trump must take 3 tricks to win a hand
fantan,
parliament,
sevens
a card game in which you play your sevens and other cards in sequence in the same suit as the sevens; you win if you are the first to use all your cards
faro
a card game in which players bet against the dealer on the cards he will draw from a dealing box
Go Fish
a card game for two players who try to assemble books of cards by asking the opponent for particular cards
four-card monte,
monte,
three-card monte
a gambling card game of Spanish origin; 3 or 4 cards are dealt face up and players bet that one of them will be matched before the others as the cards are dealt from the pack one at a time
Chicago,
Michigan,
Newmarket,
boodle,
stops
a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck); a player plays the lowest card of a suit in his hand and successively higher cards are played until the sequence stops; the player who plays a card matching one in the layout wins all the chips on that card
Napoleon,
nap
a card game similar to whist; usually played for stakes
old maid
a card game using a pack of cards from which one queen has been removed; players match cards and the player holding the unmatched queen at the end of the game is the loser (or `old maid')
piquet
a card game for two players using a reduced pack of 32 cards
pisha paysha
(Yiddish) a card game for two players one of whom is usually a child; the deck is place face down with one card face upward; players draw from the deck alternately hoping to build up or down from the open card; the player with the fewest cards when the deck is exhausted is the winner
poker,
poker game
any of various card games in which players bet that they hold the highest-ranking hand
rouge et noir,
trente-et-quarante
a card game in which two rows of cards are dealt and players can bet on the color of the cards or on which row will have a count nearer some number
rum,
rummy
a card game based on collecting sets and sequences; the winner is the first to meld all their cards
long whist,
short whist,
whist
a card game for four players who form two partnerships; a pack of 52 cards is dealt and each side scores one point for each trick it takes in excess of six
dominoes,
dominos
any of several games played with small rectangular blocks
nim
game in which matchsticks are arranged in rows and players alternately remove one or more of them; in some versions the object is to take the last remaining matchstick on the table and in other versions the object is to avoid taking the last remaining matchstick on the table
billiards
any of several games played on rectangular cloth-covered table (with cushioned edges) in which long tapering cue sticks are used to propel ivory (or composition) balls
bagatelle,
bar billiards
a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over
word game
any game involving the formation or alteration or discovery of words
board game
a game played on a specially designed board
fan tan,
fantan
a Chinese gambling game; a random number of counters are placed under a bowl and you gamble on how many will be left (0, 1, 2, or 3 modulo 4)
drawing,
lottery
players buy (or are given) chances and prizes are distributed by casting lots
craps
a gambling game played with two dice; a first throw of 7 or 11 wins and a first throw of 2, 3, or 12 loses and a first throw of any other number must be repeated to win before a 7 is thrown, which loses the bet and the dice
roulette
a gambling game in which players bet on which compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball will come to rest in
banking game
any gambling game in which bets are laid against the gambling house or the dealer