An independent reference about classic board games. It does not sell games or sets, does not run tournaments and is not connected with the former site on this domain.
Games
This catalogue brings together games with no luck involved: everything that happens on the board is the players' own doing. In character they are very different. Draughts is fast and sharp, Go is unhurried and spacious, reversi can turn a position around in a single move, nine men's morris teaches you to watch the lines, mancala turns counting into a game, and gomoku and ugolki can be explained in a couple of minutes. Each card gives the essence of the game, the board and the aim, in outline.
The shorter the rules, the more room there is for thought. That is the secret of the old games.
How this section works: the rules are given in outline, without history, dates or famous games. Discuss any variations used in your club or family before you start.
Moving from square to square: draughts, reversi and ugolki.
Russian draughts is a variant of draughts (checkers). It is played on an 8×8 board, on the dark squares only, with 12 pieces each. A man moves diagonally forward but captures both forwards and backwards, and capturing is compulsory. A man that reaches the far row becomes a king and moves any distance along a diagonal.
A relative of Russian draughts played on a 10×10 board, with 20 pieces per player. A bigger board means a longer game and more room to manoeuvre. Before you sit down at such a board, check with your opponent which rules they are used to.
An 8×8 board and 64 discs, each a different colour on either side. Every move must trap a line of the opponent's discs in a straight line, and the trapped discs are flipped over. Whoever has more discs at the end of the game wins.
Ugolki, a Russian corner-to-corner game: you must move your pieces from your own corner of the board to the opposite one before your opponent does. Families interpret the order of moves and jumps differently, so it is worth agreeing on the rules first. A good game for a first acquaintance with the board.
Stones on intersections, pieces on points and pebbles in pits.
The standard board has 19×19 lines, and 9×9 and 13×13 boards are often used for learning. Stones are placed on the intersections, and Black moves first. Stones with no liberties left are removed from the board. The aim is to surround more territory, and White receives compensation for moving second.
The aim is simple: be the first to get five of your stones in a row. It is often played on a Go board, but squared paper works just as well. The rules take a minute to explain, and the depth reveals itself gradually, game by game.
A board of 24 points on three nested squares, with 9 pieces per player. Three pieces in a row along a line form a mill, which lets you remove one of your opponent's pieces.
Not a single game but a whole family of sowing games. Pebbles or seeds are dropped into pits one at a time, and every sowing changes the position on the board. The specific rules differ noticeably from one variant to another.
Your first game of draughts step by step, from setting up to reviewing the game. Plus the catalogue of our articles.
The centre, tempo, exchanges, sacrifices, weak points and the endgame — general strategic ideas for any board game.
How to choose a game for your group: age, game length, depth, how easy it is to learn and whether you need a set.
Glossary: king, capture, liberties, komi, territory, eye, mill, sowing, draw, endgame, tempo and exchange.
We describe the rules in general terms. Clubs, families and different rulebooks have their own variations, so before a serious game check the rules you agreed on at the board.