Category: Old Board Games

If you are spending the weekend with your friends, try to play scrabble. This game can expand your vocabulary, enhance your spelling, and make you think of strategies that will enable you to score a lot of points.

What is Scrabble?

It is a classic word game that is consists of board and tiles. The game was invented by Alfred Musher Butts. The tiles consist of letters with corresponding points on them. The points on each letter were worked out using books and newspapers as references. Letters that are rarely used get more points also the board consists of 15×15 squares. 2 to 4 people can play the game. Each letter is printed on a tile that can be used to assemble words.

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How to Play Scrabble?

You should have an official scrabble board, tiles, and racks. So the game starts with each player getting one tile from a bag. The player with the closest letter to the beginning of the alphabet begins first. The players can decide if they want to take turns in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction. Each letter corresponds to a number. Each player gets seven tiles. The first player gets double points, and he or she can use all seven letters in one go. The next player puts another word. The words should include a letter that is part of the first word. It is allowed to build 2 or more words by touching more than two tiles from the other players. The other words should be valid. Especially relevant is that they should be found in the dictionary.

Board and Letter Scores

The first player should initially put his or her words in the middle part of the board. The star in the middle represents a premium board square. It multiplies score by 2x. You can find words such as a double word, double letter,  triple words and triple letters on the board. So you can get an advantage by using all the tiles on your rack. Doing this can give you an additional of 50 points. There are also blank tiles which you can use to substitute for letters.

Scrabble Trivia

The highest point in a single scrabble turn was 365. The word used was QUIXOTRY. It was put in a triple word score on the board. Furthermore, there are currently 29 languages used in Scrabble. The original name was Lexico. There are official tournaments in other countries which make the game complicated. You can make the right longest word by creating OXYPHENBUTAZONE. It is a kind of non – steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

Tips for Playing Scrabble

So, learn how to play a lot of two-letter words. These words contain high-value letters. You won’t get stuck by letters that are infrequently occurring in the dictionary. You should learn to letter “s” on existing words. Add suffixes such as “er” or “ed” if possible. Watch out for possible bingos or landing triple word tiles. Be careful with the letter Q because it is seldom used. Therefore these tips can get you a lot of points and help you win the game. Finally, to find all of my new blog articles at Best Board Games UK.

Chess history goes back decades to the ages. Everyone has heard about chess, and from the ancients playing with rock, it has evolved into some countries holding the most prominent chess tournaments.
For some, it’s a hobby to play with a friend some take it so seriously then competes and train to be the best.Chess is well known and played by millions but where it originated causes nothing but disagreements. It is a highly debatable subject. With so many stories, legends and gossip trails it starts and ends as a dispute.

It is thought to be a game that was invented by several brainy people as the game is just too complicated for one human brain to think of. The first champion of chess was Wilhelm Steinitz in 1886. The game is about domination and the best decision-making skills to be a champion.

Where did chess originate?

We can trace back the chess history to about 1500 years ago, but this is not certain it could go back even further it’s just uncertain. It is said the earliest prototype originated in India roughly before the 6th century before Christ. Some believe it was started in China then India than from there ended up at Persia. Once the Arabs had taken over Persia, Chess was popular among the Muslims later gained popularity in southern Europe.

It was in Europe that it advanced it is now current state around the time of the 15^th century.In the 15^th century chess was more a quick, tactical movement game rather than the extended plan each move game.
When it hit the 19^thcentury chess tournaments began. In 1886 the first world championship was held.
The 20^th century brought us the creation of the world chess federation now we have evolved with online chess gaming.

How has the game changed?

The famous chess game dating so far back still has the same features as the modern game of chess. The game then was played on an eight by eight squares the same as ours today. The difference there is our board is checkered the old boards were not.

Some identities of the character pieces are different although some people still prefer to play with the simple ancient designed pieces.The strategy is the same between the two, but there weren’t the dominant moves like the pawns double move, the powerful queen and the high angle from the bishop.
Then there is the queen. However, no woman was allowed on the battlefield.

There was the king’s advisor. He was however weak and could only move one square at a time in a diagonal direction. He was though used to guard the king piece from an attack.Chess is one of the most loved board games but like most things have changed over the times. We hope that more information can help us regarding the history of chess will come to the surface. To see what else we can discover about this historical and well-respected game of chess

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Regarded by many as the most excellent game consisting of cards, Bridge is the most challenging, but the enjoyable game you’ll ever play in your life! This article is made for people who are complete newbies to the game, so if you’re one, then you’ve come to the right place! The bridge is a pretty complicated card game if you compare them to others like solitaire, but once you learn how to play it, it becomes a piece of cake! So, without any further ado, let’s start!

Basics of the game:

• The game itself is divided into two parts, the bidding, and the play. Let’s look at the game first since it directly affects everything you need to know about bidding.
• First off, you’ll need at least four players, as the game is played in teams of two. Each opponent and his teammate sit opposite to each other, not together.
• There are 52 total cards in the entire deck, which essentially means that each player will get 13 cards. The cards are distributed in a clockwise direction, from the dealer to the left of him/her.
• There’s a total of four suits with different rarities, with spades being the highest, then hearts, then diamonds, and then finally clubs on the bottom of the list. The ranking only affects bidding, not the play.
• This is optional, but you can name only one suit as trump. Whether It be clubs or hearts, the trump will then be the highest suit, beating spades.
• The cards of each suit are also ranked in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Joker, and then the numbers 10 to 2. The Ace is the highest and two is the lowest.

The play:

The primary objective in Bridge is to win tricks with your teammate. What is a method? A trick consists of a total of four cards, one from each player.So, since each player has 13 cards, that means that you’ll have to play 13 tricks per game. There are a few rules for every trick though.

• The first rule is that the very first card that is played is called the lead, you’ll need to play a card belonging to the same suit as the lead card.
• The second rule is that if you don’t have the same suit’s card, you may play a card from any other suit as well.

Now, let’s look at the rules for determining the winner:

• If all the cards are of the same suit, the highest card of that suit wins. For example, if the cards are 8, King, 5 and Ace, then the ace wins.
• However, if there is a trump suit involved, the highest card of the trump suit wins.

The bidding:

This one is straightforward. Bidding is the act done before the play. In the bidding, you decide the trump suit, how many tricks will count as the win, and the lead.

That’s it for the basics of Bridge. This game is a tough one, so go out, find some friends and play to your heart’s content!

The ancient Chinese board-game GO is a fascinating and game involving a general strategy for two players. The goal of the game is to secure more territory than the one you are playing with using the playing pieces called ‘stones’. It is one of the oldest board games being almost 2,500 years old. It has relatively simple rules, but it is more complex and tactical than chess, because of the more prominent board and more pieces. There are two players who get either white or black pieces. If you are new to GO, this article will be of great help to you as it will guide you on its rules, basics and how to play! Be sure to read thoroughly and have fun!

Some necessary things to know:

Before we move to its basic rules, some things you’ll need to know are:

• GO is a game for two players.
• To play GO, you’ll need to have black & white pieces or stones and a board with lines/squares.
• The board will be filled up during the game. It is empty at the start.
• You will need to take turns with your partner to place the stones. One stone will be placed per turn.
• Once you place a stone on the board, you can’t change your move or take it back.
• The player in possession of the black stones gets to move first.
• Stones will always be placed on the intersections of the lines, not the squares.
• You can put your stones anywhere across these intersections.

Basic Rules and how to play:

The two parties take turns to place the stones on the intersecting lines, one by one on the grid of the GO board. The grid is based upon 19×19 lines, and one cannot take back a stone once it is placed. The vertical and horizontal placing of stones adjacently forms a colour chain, and this chain cannot be divided, hence creating a larger stone. These chains can be enlarged by placing more stones. Any vacant point occurring sideways to a stone is called liberty. Stones that are present in chains will share their rights. To remain on the board, one liberty must be possessed by the chain. If not so, it is to be captured and put away from the board. Any stone that is surrounded by the opposing party is said to be captured and removed from the board.

Scoring:

There are two types of scoring methods used and usually both give the same results. They are:

• Area scoring
• Territory scoring

In Area scoring, a player’s score is measured by the number of stones on the board of the colour they’re playing with along with the number of empty intersections across the player’s pieces.

In Territory scoring, both parties retain the opposing parties captured stones called ‘prisoners’ Furthermore, any dead stones present towards the end of a match are also captured. Thus the final score is calculated by the number of prisoners in one’s possession plus the number of empty intersections across the player’s stones.

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A board game that is not only fun but also improves your agility, thinking ability, cognitive functions and smartness – Yes! We are talking about chess. Chess is a complicated game with compelling, complex strategic ways and tactics that need to be used to win.

No matter how old you are, it’s never late to play a game of chess or to learn it if you don’t know how to. The most famous board game in the world has some simple rules on which the game is based, which will be thoroughly explained in this article. Read below and learn all about this fun game easily!

The Chess pieces and their arrangement

Starting from the basics, each player gets 16 pieces to play with. The chess pieces are six types. The articles include:

• One King piece
• One Queen piece
• 2 Bishops pieces
• Two Rook pieces
• 2 Knight pieces
• 8 Pawns

Each person gets these as either black or white pieces. The chess board contains 64 squares, half of which are white and the other half are black. The pieces are arranged from the player’s point of view, i.e. each one’s left to right. The order of arrangement is as follows:

Rook, Knight, Bishop, King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook in the first row and all the eight pawns are arranged in the second row.

How to move chess pieces

After the arrangement comes to the movement. Pawns can move only forward, either 1 or 2 squares. On reaching the other end of the chessboard, the pawn gets promotion as a higher piece. Rooks can move either forward, backward or sideways in a straight line. Knights can ‘jump’ off unlike others and cannot be blocked. The bishop is accustomed to diagonal movement in each or any desired direction. The queen is to move in straight and diagonal lines either sideways, backward or forward. The king can go in any place but only one square only each time. It cannot be moved to any position that the opponent is attacking.

Checkmating and stalemating

The only way you can win a match in chess is to put the opponent’s king under “checkmate”. Checkmate is when the king is in check by the opponent’s piece which can neither be blocked nor captured, and the king is in check cannot move anywhere.

“Stalemate” is a tie to put it simply. When all the spaces are in under attack around the king, but the king is not under checkmate, blocking the path of the king, it is referred to as “stalemate”. It is a condition achieved when there is no room for the player to move or any legal tactics for an opponent to use.

In conclusion, there are uncountable ways to win in a game of chess, and the best thing about it is the numerous tactics and strategies that can be used to play your pieces. Piece value, Board control, and Pawn promotion are some of the basic strategies that are used by countless others. So, go ahead, grab a board and play and maybe make your very own approach too while you’re having fun with it!

A survey was done in the UK for the people’s favourite board game, and it wasn’t surprising that monopoly topped the list.The research showed that 84% of adults in the UK prefer to sit down and play a game of monopoly with their friends and family compared to other activities.
Monopoly was found to be the most popular after Christmas dinner game. Monopoly has many good points to it like using your brain to work out the best properties to buy. It also helps with managing money as the aim is to obtain properties but not go bankrupt.

Why are board games so appreciated in the UK?

Board games are on the rise again in many places, yet they never indeed died out in the UK. Many people prefer board games from the high-tech computer games. The UK holds a sizeable annual hobby game convention and expo. The UK breed is remaining old-fashioned and prefers sitting down together talking, laughing over board games. Rather than sitting in the lounge room all separate browsing on their phones.
While computer games are right there is still the fun, the frustration and the intrigued feeling of playing monopoly whether all laughing together cursing.It’s important to keep the board game tradition alive and encourage new generations to sit down with family and play.

What games top the popularity list?

Here is a list of the most popular board games in the UK.

Cluedo

The original game good old Cluedo is an old-fashioned game but still tops the list.The game has had many facelifts with different themes coming out each year.
First, we had AgathaChristies slant, now we have the famous game of throne version. The game is the same, but it allows you to customise the board with your favorite tv show or movie.
He game is a classic murder mystery game that is loads of fun designed for 2-6 players. So many themes are available from Harry Potter to Sherlock and Doctor Who. You will be sureto find a theme you like.

Trivial pursuit

Trivial pursuit is another classic that is so popular in the UK. It is however aimed at older ages which makes it not the best choice for family dinners and after parties. There is now a family edition of general knowledge questions that are split into two sections one designed for children. The other designed for older adults.
There is however a question that is debatable are the little plastic triangles pies, cakes or cheeses.  This game is perfect for cold rainy days or a game to prove who is more intelligent amount friends. The game is suitable for up to four players.

Are board games good for your brain?

We tell our kids to get off computer games and play some board games but are they any better?Some of our board games are gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere. Drag them out and get the family together. Boardgames have many benefits that keep your mind active and healthy.
Board games are entertaining, encourage patience and team spirit.
Boardgames may bring people together and encourage time off screen devices, but they also offer so many more benefits. Board games are suitable for children middle aged and even the elderly.

A few Benefits Board Games offer

• Lowers blood pressure
• Improves cognition
• Brings friends and family together
• Gets you away from the computer screen or device
• Lowers stress levels compared to high tech computer gamesWe will keep writing articles every week about board games and with a focus on the UK market. You will find all future articles at https://www.best-boardgames.uk. Thanks for reading!

Have we become more modern with our board games?

We are in a world of board game renaissance. Yes, we know about mousetrap and trouble which are not as sophisticated as some of the modern board games that are out now. Modern board games are set to test your patience then be rewarded for it. Check out some of the excellent board games and add them to your collection for a more complex, deeper thinking board game experience.

It’s not just about tossing dice around anymore or the typical board game that we move counters around a board surface. It is not just about working with a set of rules. There is so much involved with strategy and pure chance.Without the need for any skill level unless we’re talking educational type board games.

What is the aim of a board game

You aim to complete your goal. It may be defeating your opponents in the way of an accrual point system or winning position who gets to the finish first or who doesn’t go bankrupt in games like monopoly.

There are so many board games in the modern world now that all have different ways to reach the winning goal.  We all know monopoly, scrabble and twister oldies but goodies but move them over, pack them away.We are in the world of modern board games now that keep you on the edge of suspense, frustration and pure determination.

Modern games

Amerigo

Amerigo is first on the list that is game on the list to play again and again. You will always come back for more. A cube tower is the centre of the game. The tower gets filled with coloured blocks and as the players drop more blocks in the stuck neighbourhoods become free. This game requires luck and the skill to remember what coloured blocks are already in the tower.Each colour has a different action that you need to remember. As you go around the board, you get more involved in the game. There is a requirement for 2-4 players for this very entertaining tower board game.

A Game of Thrones

A game made popular with the tv version. If you are familiar with the game of thrones series, then you will understand the thrill and excitement this game brings. Chuck on some episodes to play in the background while challenging your friends to your own game of thrones game. This is your chance to rightfully claim the throne. Whoever conquers the most land in the ten rounds of gameplay gets to own the place on top of that throne. It designed for 3-6 players and is indeed a bunch of fun for all game of throne fans. Are you the next throne owner?

Kemet

Kemet has all the design features of a modern board game with its sharp designed pieces. This game is a war game made by the creators of the Cyclades another favourite board game of the contemporary world.
This game takes its time and isn’t for the quick gamers.

Create a battle on either side of the board and let the fun begin. This game is for between 2-5 players and is a much fun playing with just two or when you add more.

This game takes time to get into the real side of the goal, but once there it’s an experience that outdoes monopoly and twister.

Nothing better to do on a cold rainy day than play board games. It occupies cooped up children who are so bored and want countless things to do.

Some board games like monopoly and twister never go out of fashion. You have mousetrap who kids these days don’t know what it is.

There are classic then there are ancient classics some of which are still popular today. Some of the worlds oldest games are listed below. In-depth strategy and essential rules for these games that both children and adults played back in the ancient days when there wasn’t any tv, video games or iPhone.

Does everyone play board games?

There are so many boards games for children and adults. For some people, it’s a way to have fun, and for others, it is the only way to prove their strategies. For some people playing board games has a religious significance. Those who have limited access to high-tech computers and devices can still get entertainment out of board games. Board games are also suited for the elderly they aren’t too complicated and help to fill in their time. The ancients played board games. They are the reason why we have them today so no reason why we can’t continue that.

Types of ancient board games

Ancient board games are still played today remember naughts and crosses? This game is still popular today thanks to the old people who invented it as such. There are still a few things that have changed over time like the Romans used naughts and cross pieces that were moved around the board. Today we often use paper and draw the naughts and crosses.
It’s a straightforward game by being the first to have all three of your icons in a straight line. Comfortable for travelling as you only need a pen and some paper. No complicated rules or skill levels required.

Go

Go is around 3000 years old and was first played in China.   It’s actually so popular there are pieces in the China newspaper regarding the game. Go is the grandpa of board games. The goal of the game is to surround the opponent’s pieces.The rules are simple, but it follows with a strategy that is very intricate, more complicated than chess.

It is probably not for those with no patience levels. If you don’t feel like using your brain much, then perhaps look for another game not so multifaceted. Go has a more sturdy board than chess and many more alternatives to moves you are allowed to make.

Mancala

The name Mancula comes from Arabic that means to transfer.  The game is said to be about 7000 years old.  You are challenged to move pieces from each bin to bin.  There are several rule variations for the game. Mancula is very popular in Africa with a surrounding 800 different names for this strategy game.There are various levelled boards and different themes to choose from. If you prefer artistic designs, there are themes likes sea shells or wild animals. The most abundant game of Mancula contains 400 play pieces. Although simple, this game is very addictive once you start you can’t stop.

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