Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. Black's pieces are typically a dark color but not necessarily black (e.g. in
English draughts official play they are red). Cf. White. See also
White and Black in chess.
A method that removes another player's piece(s) from the board. For example: in
checkers, if a player
jumps an opponent's piece, that piece is captured. Captured pieces are typically removed from the game. In some games, captured pieces remain
in hand and can be reentered into active play (e.g.
shogi,
Bughouse chess). See also
Game mechanics § Capture/eliminate.
card
A piece of cardboard often bearing instructions, and usually chosen randomly from a deck by shuffling.
A physical item included in the game. E.g. the box itself, the board, the cards, the tokens, zipper-lock bags, inserts, rule books, etc. See also equipment.
A capture method whereby an enemy piece is captured by being blocked on adjacent sides by opponent pieces. (Typically
laterally on two sides as in
Tablut and
Hasami shogi, or laterally on four sides as in
Go. Capture by blocking on two sides diagonally is done in
Stone Warriors, and surrounding on three sides is required in
Bizingo.) Also called escort capture and interception capture.
An enemy piece is a piece in the same army or set of pieces controlled by the opponent; or, in a multiplayer game, a piece controlled by the partner of an opponent.
Engine-building
A board game genre and
gameplay mechanic that involves adding and modifying combinations of abilities or resources to assemble a
virtuous circle of increasingly powerful and productive outcomes.[2] A successfully built engine can create a
snowball or
domino effect.
equipment
Refers to physical
components required to play a game, e.g. pieces, gameboard, dice.
Or game board. The (usually
quadrilateral) marked surface on which one plays a board game. The
namesake of the board game, gameboards would seem to be a
necessary and sufficient condition of the
genre, though
card games that do not use a standard deck of cards (as well as games that use neither cards nor a gameboard) are often colloquially included. Most games use a standardized and unchanging board (
chess,
Go, and
backgammon each have such a board), but some games use a modular board whose component tiles or cards can assume varying layouts from one session to another, or even during gameplay.
An advantage given to a weaker side at the start of a game to level the winning chances against a stronger opponent. Go has formal handicap systems (see
Go handicaps); chess has traditional handicap methods not used in rated competitions (see
Chess handicap).
The forfeiture of a
piece as a penalty for infringing a
rule.[1]
I
in hand
A piece in hand is one currently not in play on the gameboard, but may be entered into play on a turn. Examples are captured pieces in
shogi or
Bughouse chess, able to be dropped into play as a move; or pieces that begin the game in a staging area off the main board, as in
Ludo or
Chessence.
Used in some two-player games to eliminate any advantage of moving first. After the first player's opening move, the second player may optionally swap sides.
piece
Or bit, checker, chip, counter, disc, draughtsman, game piece, man, meeple, mover, pawn, player piece, playing piece, singleton, stone, token, unit. A player's representative on the gameboard made of a
piece of material made to look like a known object (such as a
scale model of a person, animal, or inanimate object) or otherwise general symbol. Each player may control one or more pieces. Some games involve commanding multiple pieces, such as
chess pieces or
Monopoly houses and hotels, that have unique designations and capabilities within the parameters of the game; in other games, such as Go, all pieces controlled by a player have the same capabilities. In some modern board games, such as Clue, there are other pieces that are not a player's representative (i.e. weapons). In some games, such as
mancala games, pieces may not represent or belong to any particular player.
Mancala pieces are undifferentiated and typically seeds but sometimes beans, coins, cowry shells, ivory balls, or pebbles. Note that in chess usage the term piece in some contexts only refers to
some of the pieces, which are also known as chessmen. See also
Counter (board wargames).
Dice that are not cubes, usually some kind of
Platonic solid. Polyhedral dice are generally referred to through the construction "d + number of sides" (ex. d4, d8, d12, d20). See also dice.
R
rank
A straight line of
spaces running from one side to the other across a
gameboard at right angle to a
file. Also called row.[1]
The comprehensive set of rules which define and govern a game.
S
singleton
A game
piece that is isolated and often prone to attack.[1]
space
A
physical unit of progress on a
gameboard delimited by a distinct border, and not further divisible according to the game's rules. Alternatively, a unique position on the board on which a piece in play may be located. For example, in
Go, the pieces are placed on grid line intersections called points, and not in the areas bounded by the borders, as in chess. The bounded area geometries can be square (e.g.
chess), rectangular (e.g.
shogi), hexagonal (e.g.
Chinese Checkers), triangular (e.g.
Bizingo), quadrilateral (e.g.
three-player chess), cubic (e.g.
Raumschach), or other shapes (e.g.
Circular chess). Cf. gamespace. See also
Game mechanics § Movement.
A space set aside from the main gameboard to contain pieces
in hand. In
Ludo, the staging areas are called yards. In
shogi, pieces in hand are placed on komadai.
A player's opportunity to move a piece or make a decision that influences
gameplay. Turns to move usually alternate equally between competing players or teams. See also
Turn-based game.
W
White
Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. White's pieces are typically a light color but not necessarily white (e.g.
backgammon sets use various colors for White;
shogi sets have no color distinction between sides). White often moves first but not always (e.g. Black moves first in
English draughts,
shogi, and
Go). Cf. Black. See also
White and Black in chess.
Worker Placement
A genre of board games in which players take turns selecting an action while optimizing their resources and making meaningful decisions.[3]
Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. Black's pieces are typically a dark color but not necessarily black (e.g. in
English draughts official play they are red). Cf. White. See also
White and Black in chess.
A method that removes another player's piece(s) from the board. For example: in
checkers, if a player
jumps an opponent's piece, that piece is captured. Captured pieces are typically removed from the game. In some games, captured pieces remain
in hand and can be reentered into active play (e.g.
shogi,
Bughouse chess). See also
Game mechanics § Capture/eliminate.
card
A piece of cardboard often bearing instructions, and usually chosen randomly from a deck by shuffling.
A physical item included in the game. E.g. the box itself, the board, the cards, the tokens, zipper-lock bags, inserts, rule books, etc. See also equipment.
A capture method whereby an enemy piece is captured by being blocked on adjacent sides by opponent pieces. (Typically
laterally on two sides as in
Tablut and
Hasami shogi, or laterally on four sides as in
Go. Capture by blocking on two sides diagonally is done in
Stone Warriors, and surrounding on three sides is required in
Bizingo.) Also called escort capture and interception capture.
An enemy piece is a piece in the same army or set of pieces controlled by the opponent; or, in a multiplayer game, a piece controlled by the partner of an opponent.
Engine-building
A board game genre and
gameplay mechanic that involves adding and modifying combinations of abilities or resources to assemble a
virtuous circle of increasingly powerful and productive outcomes.[2] A successfully built engine can create a
snowball or
domino effect.
equipment
Refers to physical
components required to play a game, e.g. pieces, gameboard, dice.
Or game board. The (usually
quadrilateral) marked surface on which one plays a board game. The
namesake of the board game, gameboards would seem to be a
necessary and sufficient condition of the
genre, though
card games that do not use a standard deck of cards (as well as games that use neither cards nor a gameboard) are often colloquially included. Most games use a standardized and unchanging board (
chess,
Go, and
backgammon each have such a board), but some games use a modular board whose component tiles or cards can assume varying layouts from one session to another, or even during gameplay.
An advantage given to a weaker side at the start of a game to level the winning chances against a stronger opponent. Go has formal handicap systems (see
Go handicaps); chess has traditional handicap methods not used in rated competitions (see
Chess handicap).
The forfeiture of a
piece as a penalty for infringing a
rule.[1]
I
in hand
A piece in hand is one currently not in play on the gameboard, but may be entered into play on a turn. Examples are captured pieces in
shogi or
Bughouse chess, able to be dropped into play as a move; or pieces that begin the game in a staging area off the main board, as in
Ludo or
Chessence.
Used in some two-player games to eliminate any advantage of moving first. After the first player's opening move, the second player may optionally swap sides.
piece
Or bit, checker, chip, counter, disc, draughtsman, game piece, man, meeple, mover, pawn, player piece, playing piece, singleton, stone, token, unit. A player's representative on the gameboard made of a
piece of material made to look like a known object (such as a
scale model of a person, animal, or inanimate object) or otherwise general symbol. Each player may control one or more pieces. Some games involve commanding multiple pieces, such as
chess pieces or
Monopoly houses and hotels, that have unique designations and capabilities within the parameters of the game; in other games, such as Go, all pieces controlled by a player have the same capabilities. In some modern board games, such as Clue, there are other pieces that are not a player's representative (i.e. weapons). In some games, such as
mancala games, pieces may not represent or belong to any particular player.
Mancala pieces are undifferentiated and typically seeds but sometimes beans, coins, cowry shells, ivory balls, or pebbles. Note that in chess usage the term piece in some contexts only refers to
some of the pieces, which are also known as chessmen. See also
Counter (board wargames).
Dice that are not cubes, usually some kind of
Platonic solid. Polyhedral dice are generally referred to through the construction "d + number of sides" (ex. d4, d8, d12, d20). See also dice.
R
rank
A straight line of
spaces running from one side to the other across a
gameboard at right angle to a
file. Also called row.[1]
The comprehensive set of rules which define and govern a game.
S
singleton
A game
piece that is isolated and often prone to attack.[1]
space
A
physical unit of progress on a
gameboard delimited by a distinct border, and not further divisible according to the game's rules. Alternatively, a unique position on the board on which a piece in play may be located. For example, in
Go, the pieces are placed on grid line intersections called points, and not in the areas bounded by the borders, as in chess. The bounded area geometries can be square (e.g.
chess), rectangular (e.g.
shogi), hexagonal (e.g.
Chinese Checkers), triangular (e.g.
Bizingo), quadrilateral (e.g.
three-player chess), cubic (e.g.
Raumschach), or other shapes (e.g.
Circular chess). Cf. gamespace. See also
Game mechanics § Movement.
A space set aside from the main gameboard to contain pieces
in hand. In
Ludo, the staging areas are called yards. In
shogi, pieces in hand are placed on komadai.
A player's opportunity to move a piece or make a decision that influences
gameplay. Turns to move usually alternate equally between competing players or teams. See also
Turn-based game.
W
White
Used often to refer to one of the players in two-player games. White's pieces are typically a light color but not necessarily white (e.g.
backgammon sets use various colors for White;
shogi sets have no color distinction between sides). White often moves first but not always (e.g. Black moves first in
English draughts,
shogi, and
Go). Cf. Black. See also
White and Black in chess.
Worker Placement
A genre of board games in which players take turns selecting an action while optimizing their resources and making meaningful decisions.[3]