Portal:Games

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A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who is a player. A toy and a game are not the same. Toys generally allow for unrestricted play whereas games present rules for the player to follow.

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role. (Full article...)

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A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, turn-based game, turn based distance game, or an interactive strategy game.) is a game played through postal mail, email, or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. Diplomacy has been played by mail since 1963, introducing a multi-player aspect to PBM games. Flying Buffalo Inc. pioneered the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed in the 1970s, with an explosion of hundreds of startup PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming popularity, many of them small hobby companies—more than 90 percent of which eventually folded. A number of independent PBM magazines also started in the 1980s, including The Nuts & Bolts of PBM, Gaming Universal, Paper Mayhem and Flagship. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal Suspense and Decision.

Play-by-mail games (which became known as "turn-based games" in the digital age) have a number of advantages and disadvantages compared to other kinds of gaming. PBM games have wide ranges for turn lengths. Some games allow turnaround times of a day or less—even hourly. Other games structure multiple days or weeks for players to consider moves or turns and players never run out of opponents to face. If desired, some PBM games can be played for years. Additionally, the complexity of PBM games can be far beyond that allowed by a board game in an afternoon, and pit players against live opponents in these conditions—a challenge some players enjoy. PBM games allow the number of opponents or teams in the dozens—with some previous examples over a thousand players. PBM games also allow gamers to interact with others globally. Games with low turn costs compare well with expensive board or video games. Drawbacks include the price for some PBM games with high setup and/or turn costs, and the lack of the ability for face-to-face roleplaying. Additionally, for some players, certain games can be overly complex, and delays in turn processing can be a negative. (Full article...)

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...that the virtual economy of massively multiplayer online games sometimes attracts virtual crime, which is punishable by real laws in some countries?
...that since 1998 All Nippon Airways has operated Pokémon Jets (pictured)?
...that the World Chess Hall of Fame originally used cardboard plaques to honor past grandmasters, and was located in the basement of a New Windsor, New York, building?
...that the Japanese role-playing game Night Wizard! was adapted into an animated television series consisting of thirteen episodes?
...that a 2009 Pennsylvania court case ruled that poker is a game of skill, thus not subject to the state laws related to gambling?

General images

The following are images from various game-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Royal game of Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600–2400 BCE (from Board game)
Image 2The Card Players by Lucas van Leyden (1520) depicting a multiplayer card game (from Game)
Image 3Historically, card games such as whist and contract bridge were opportunities for quiet socializing, as shown in this 1930s magic lantern slide photo taken in Seattle, Washington. (from Card game)
Image 4Young girls playing a board game in the Iisalmi library in Finland, 2016 (from Board game)
Image 5Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment. (from Game)
Image 6An adventurer finds a teleportation portal while exploring a dungeon in the role-playing video game Falcon's Eye. (from Role-playing game)
Image 7The modern German board game Catan is printed in 30 languages and sold 15 million by 2009. (from Board game)
Image 8Two Qataris playing the traditional board game of damah (from Board game)
Image 9Typical MUD interface for God Wars II (from Role-playing game)
Image 10A fantasy LARP group (from Role-playing game)
Image 11Students using dice to improve numeracy skills. They roll three dice, then use basic math operations to combine those into a new number which they cover on the board. The goal is to cover four squares in the row. (from Game)
Image 12Han dynasty glazed pottery tomb figurines playing liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board (from Board game)
Image 13Parcheesi is an American adaptation of a Pachisi, originating in India. (from Game)
Image 14Preferans, a trick-taking card game version popular in Croatia (from Card game)
Image 15 Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript (from Board game)
Image 16The Card Players, 17th-century painting by Theodoor Rombouts (from Card game)
Image 17Chinese mother-of-pearl gambling tokens used in scoring and bidding of card games. (from Card game)
Image 18Mamluk playing card (king of cups), c.15th century (from Card game)
Image 19Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance. (from Game of skill)
Image 20The board game Monopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages. (from Board game)
Image 21A group playing a tabletop RPG. The GM is at left using a cardboard screen to hide dice rolls from the players. (from Role-playing game)
Image 22Ancient Egyptian senet game board inscribed for Amenhotep III with separate sliding drawer, from 1390 to 1353 BC, made of glazed faience, dimensions: 5.5 × 7.7 × 21 cm, in the Brooklyn Museum (New York City). (from Game)
Image 23Playing Cards, by Theodoor Rombouts, 17th century (from Game)
Image 24A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills. (from Game of skill)
Image 25Senet, one of the oldest known board games (from Board game)
Image 26The Mansion of Happiness (1843) (from Board game)
Image 27Association football is a popular sport worldwide.
Image 28A selection of pieces from different games. From top: Chess pawns, marbles, Monopoly tokens, dominoes, Monopoly hotels, jacks and checkers pieces. (from Game)
Image 29Hounds and jackals (Egypt, 13th Dynasty) (from Board game)
Image 30The number of board games published by year (1944–2017), as listed on BoardGameGeek. Expansion sets for existing games are marked in orange. (from Board game)
Image 31Patolli game being watched by Macuilxochitl as depicted on page 048 of the Codex Magliabechiano (from Board game)