An abstract strategy game is a board game with perfect information, no chance, and (usually) two players. Many of the world's classic board games, including chess, go, and mancala, fit into this category. Play is sometimes said to resemble a series of puzzles the players pose to each other. A board game is any game played on a board (that is, a premarked surface) with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ... Perfect information is a term used in economics and game theory to describe a state of complete knowledge about the actions of other players that is instantaneously updated as new information arises. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-05, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Go, also known as Weiqi or Baduk, is a strategic, two-player board game originating in ancient China between 2000 BC and 200 BC. The game is now popular throughout East Asia. ... A foldable, wooden Mancala board Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called sowing games or count and capture games, which comes from the general gameplay. ... An example of a simple puzzle. ...

What counts as an abstract strategy game?

A purist's definition of an abstract strategy game requires that it cannot have random elements or hidden information. In practice, however, many games are commonly classed as abstract strategy games which do not strictly meet these criteria. Games such as Backgammon, Octiles, Can't Stop, Sequence and Mentalis have all been described as “abstract strategy” at some point or another, despite having a luck or bluffing element. The pragmatic definition seems to be that if a game is strategic and is abstract, the term “abstract strategy” should be applicable—this definition is unappealing to purists because the broader class of games falls clearly outside the scope of the techniques of theoretical analysis appropriate to “pure” abstract strategy games. Close-up of modern backgammon set. ... Cant Stop is a board game for up to four players. ... Sequence is a board-and-card game distributed by Parker. ... A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. ... This article is about the concept of abstraction in general. ...

The analysis of a “pure” abstract strategy game tends to fall under combinatorial game theory. Abstract strategy games with hidden information, bluffing or simultaneous-move elements are better served by Von Neumann-Morgenstern game theory, while those with a component of luck may require probability theory incorporated into either of the above. Combinatorial game theory (CGT) is a mathematical theory that studies a certain kind of game. ... Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... Probability theory is the mathematical study of probability. ...

In some abstract strategy games there are multiple starting positions of which it is suggested that one be randomly determined: at the very least, in all conventional abstract strategy games a starting player needs to be chosen by some means extrinsic to the game. Some games, such as Arimaa and DVONN, have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to abstract strategy game principles. However, most people would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position, the game itself still has no luck element. Indeed, Bobby Fischer promoted randomizing the starting position of a game of chess in order to increase the game's dependence on thinking at the board, which is surely the chief object of an abstract strategy design. Arimaa is a two-player board game invented by Omar Syed, a computer engineer trained in artificial intelligence. ... Dvonn is a two-player strategy board game in which the objective is to accumulate pieces in stacks. ... Bobby Fischer. ... One of 960 possible starting positions (#177). ...

List of Abstract Strategy games

Chess and Chess-like games

• Chaturanga
• Western Chess
• Janggi (Korean Chess)
• Makruk (Thai Chess)
• Shogi
  • Shogi variants
• Xiangqi
• Other Chess-like games

Chaturanga. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-05, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Janggi (Korean hangul: 장기; hanja: 將棋; revised: janggi; McCune-Reischauer: changgi) is one of a family of strategic board games of which Western chess, Japanese shogi, and the more similar Chinese xiangqi are also members. ... Makruk, starting position. ... Shogi (将棋 shōgi) is one of a family of strategic board games of which chess and xiangqi are also members, which derive from the 6th century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof. ... Many variants of shogi have been developed over the years, ranging from some of the largest chess-like games ever played, to some of the smallest. ... Xiangqi (Chinese: 象棋; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: hsiang-chi; (  listen)), is a two-player Chinese game in a family of strategic board games of which Western chess, Japanese shogi, and the more similar Korean janggi are also members. ... A chess variant is any game derived from, related to or similar to chess in at least one respect. ...

Paper and Pencil Games

• Dots and Boxes
• Noughts and Crosses, also known as Tic-Tac-Toe

Paper and pencil games are games that can be played solely with pencil and paper. ... Dots and Boxes (also known as Boxes, Squares, Square-it, Dots and Dashes, or Dots) is a pencil and paper game for two players (or sometimes, more than two). ... Tic-tac-toe, also called noughts and crosses and many other names, is a paper and pencil game between two players, O and X, who alternate in marking the spaces in a 3×3 board. ...

Other Games

• Abalone
• Alak
• Alquerque
• The Game of the Amazons (also known as Amazons)
• Andantino
• Arimaa
• Ataxx
• Blokus
• Boku
• Breakthrough
• Cathedral
• Chinese Checkers
• Connect Four
• Crossings
• Death Stacks
• Draughts (also known as Checkers)
• Entropy (1977 and 1994 games)
• Epaminondas
• Fanorona
• Five Field Kono
• Focus
• Fox games, such as Foxes and geese
• The Gipf project games:
  1. Gipf
  2. Tamsk
  3. Zèrtz
  4. Dvonn
  5. Yinsh
  6. Pünct
• Go
• Gobblet
• Gomoku - played on a Go board; can be played as a "paper and pencil game", since once played, a piece cannot be moved or removed from play.
• Gonnect
• Gounki
• Halma
• Havannah
• Hex
• Hexdame
• Hijara
• Jungle
• Kensington
• L Game
• Lines of Action
• Lotus
• Mak-yek
• Malaika
• Mancala and related games
• Martian Chess (for two to six players)
• Morris - Three, Six and Nine Men's Morris
• Mozaic
• Neutreeko
• Nim
• Ninuki-renju
• Orbit
• Othello, also known as Reversi
• Pente
• Phutball
• Quarto
• Qubic
• Quoridor
• Renju
• Rhumb Line
• Rubik's Checkers Challenge
• Rubik's Eclipse
• Rubik's Illusion
• Rubik's Infinity
• Rubik's Magic Strategy Game
• Rhythmomachy
• Spangles
• Tafl games
• Tanbo
• Teeko
• Terrace
• Three Musketeers
• Thud
• Trax
• Turnabout
• TwixT
• Y

Abalone is a two-player strategy board game which can be quaintly summarized as sumo wrestling with marbles, as the objective is to push opposing marbles off the edge of the board. ... Alak is a close relative of the board game Go played on a one_dimensional board. It was originally described in A. K. Dewdneys 1984 book The Planiverse; in 2001, Alan Baljeu modified the game to its present state. ... Alquerque (also known as Quirkat) is a board game that is thought to have originated in the Middle East. ... The Game of the Amazons (in Spanish, El Juego de las Amazonas; often called Amazons for short) is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented in 1988 by Walter Zamkauskas of Argentina. ... Andantino is a two-player dynamic board game of abstract strategy, invented by David Smith. ... Arimaa is a two-player board game invented by Omar Syed, a computer engineer trained in artificial intelligence. ... Ataxx screenshot Ataxx is a board game which first appeared in 1990 as an arcade video game by The Leland Corporation. ... A blokus game in progress Blokus is a board game invented by Bernard Tavitian and owned by the Sekkoia (Sequoia) company. ... Boku is a Mental sport played on a perforated hexagonal board. ... Initial position. ... Cathedral is a two-player abstract strategy board game based around a conflict between two factions (dark and light) for territorial supremacy within the bounds of a mediaeval city. ... Chinese checkers Chinese checkers is a board game that can be played by two to six people. ... Connect Four (also known as Plot Four) is a two-player board game in which the objective is to be the first to get four of ones own discs in a line. ... Crossings is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott. ... Death Stacks is an abstract strategy board game for two players invented by the science fiction author Stephen Euin Cobb. ... starting position on a 10×10 draughts board Checkers or draughts (pronounced drafts), is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemys pieces. ... There are at least two board games known under the name Entropy, one invented by Eric Solomon and published in 1977, the other by Augustine Carreno in 1994. ... Epaminondas is an abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott and originally introduced in Sid Sacksons A Gamut of Games as Crossings. ... Fanorona is a board game indigenous to Madagascar and derived from Alquerque. ... Five Field Kono is a board game played in Korea with the board shown below, B----B----B----B----B | | | | | | | | | | B----*----*----*----B | | | | | | | | | | *----*----*----*----* | | | | | | | | | | W----*----*----*----W | | | | | | | | | | W----W----W----W----W B and W indicate the counters of the players playing black and white respectively. ... Focus is an abstract strategy board game, designed by Sid Sackson and published in 1964 by Kosmos. ... The Fox games are a category of board games where one player is the fox and tries to eat the geese/sheep, and the other player directs the geese/sheep and attempts to trap the fox, or reach a destination on the board. ... The Gipf Project is an award-winning series of six abstract strategy games by designer Kris Burm. ... Gipf is a board game by Kris Burm, the first in his so-called Gipf project. ... Tamsk is the second board game in the Gipf project. ... Zèrtz is the third game in the Gipf project. ... Dvonn is a two-player strategy board game in which the objective is to accumulate pieces in stacks. ... Yinsh is the fifth game to be released in the Gipf project by game designer Kris Burm. ... Pünct is a two-player strategy board game. ... Go, also known as Weiqi or Baduk, is a strategic, two-player board game originating in ancient China between 2000 BC and 200 BC. The game is now popular throughout East Asia. ... Gobblet is a board game for two players. ... Gomoku, go-moku, or gobang (Japanese: 五目並べ, Gomoku Narabe, five points) is an abstract strategy board game. ... Gonnect is a board game, which could be described as the lovechild of Go and Hex. ... Gounki is an abstract strategy game in which pieces can combine and disperse to affect their movement possibilities. ... Halma (from the Greek word meaning jump) is a board game invented in 1883 by an English surgeon, Howard Monks. ... Havannah is an abstract strategy board game invented by Christian Freeling. ... Hex is a board game played on a hexagonal grid, usually in the shape of a 10 by 10 or a 11 by 11 rhombus. ... Jungle. ... Kensington is a board game devised by Brian Taylor and Peter Forbes in 1979, named after an affluent borough of London. ... The L game was invented by Edward De Bono, intended to illustrate lateral thinking. ... Lines of Action is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Claude Soucie. ... Lotus is a board game for two to four players developed by Dominique Teller and published by Ravensburger Spieleverlag. ... Mak-yek is a board game played in Siam and Malaysia (under the name Apit-sodok) on an 8 by 8 board by two players each having sixteen pieces or men. ... // Kenyas Angel Malaika, which is Swahili for angel, akin to the Arabic word for angels Malaika, was a song composed by Fadhili Williams in 1960, and was originally recorded by The Jambo Boys. It was later re-recorded at Equator Sound Studios (see Equator Records) by the British-born... A foldable, wooden Mancala board Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called sowing games or count and capture games, which comes from the general gameplay. ... Games in the mancala family include: // Popular games The most widely played games are probably: Oware, the national game of Ghana, is also known by Warri, Awele, Awari, Ouril, and other names. ... Martian Chess is an abstract strategy game for two to six players invented by Andrew Looney. ... Three mens morris is played on a three by three board (counting lines) and is a game of position. ... Six Mens Morris is a board game popular during the middle ages in England, France and Italy. ... Nine Mens Morris is a two-player strategy game with a long history in Europe. ... Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material. ... Nim is a two-player mathematical game of strategy in which players take turns removing objects from heaps, one or more objects at a time but only from a single heap. ... Pente is a board game created in 1978 by Gary Gabrel. ... Screen dump of WZebra 4. ... Pente is a board game created in 1978 by Gary Gabrel. ... Phutball (short for philosophers football) is a two-player board game described in Elwyn Berlekamp, John Conway, and Richard Guys Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays. ... Quarto is a board game for two players invented by Blaise Müller. ... a selfmade Qubic game Qubic is a four-in-a-row game played in a 4×4×4 matrix. ... Quoridor is a modern two-player abstract strategy game. ... Renju (Japanese:連珠) is the professional variant of Gomoku, a Japanese board game. ... Ernö Rubik (born July 13, 1944) is a Hungarian inventor, sculptor and professor of architecture. ... Rhythmomachy (or Rythmomachy, or Rithmomachia, or Arithmomachia, or sundry other variants; also the Philosophers Game) is an early European mathematical board game. ... Tafl games are a family of ancient Germanic board games played on a checkered board with two teams of uneven strength. ... This article is about a board game. ... Teeko is a board game, a game of strategy invented by John Scarne in 1945 and rereleased in refined form in 1952 and again in the 1960s. ... Terrace is a strategy game played on a three dimensional board. ... Three Musketeers is an abstract strategy board game by Haar Hoolim. ... Thud is a board game devised by Trevor Truran, inspired by the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. ... Trax is a two-player abstract strategy game, invented by David Smith in 1980. ... TwixT is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Alex Randolph. ... Y is an abstract strategy board game invented by Craige Schensted (now Ea Ea) and Charles Titus. ...

External links

• Joao P. Neto's World of Abstract Games
• Mark Thompson's Abstract Games page
• "Defining the Abstract" by J. Mark Thompson.
• The University of Alberta Games Group
• Glenn Rhoads' Assorted Fun page
• David Eppstein's CGT page
• Mind Sports Olympiad