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Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games.


Classification according to equipment used

Tabletop games can be classified according to the general form, or equipment utilized: Games like chess and draughts are examples of games belonging to the board game category. Other games, however, use various attributes and cannot be classified unambiguously (e.g. '' Monopoly'' utilises a board as well as dice and cards). For several of these categories there are sub-categories and even sub-sub-categories or genres. For instance, German-style board games,
board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, o ...
s, and roll-and-move games are all types of board games that differ markedly in style and general interest.


Tabletop game components

The various specialized parts, pieces, and tools used for playing tabletop games may include: * Coins * Stopwatch, clock,
hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
or egg timer *
Counter Counter may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Counter machine, a subclass of register machines * Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting * Loop counter, the variable that controls the iter ...
, pawn, or playing piece *
Dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
, which can include
polyhedral dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ga ...
* Dice
cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
* Gambling chips or ''play'' money *
Game board Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...
* Game box or container * Scoreboard or paper pad * Marker or peg for keeping score/tally * Miniature figures * Pencil * Playing cards, which can be
collectible card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...
s *
Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...
manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...
s * Ruler or measuring device * Tiles * Modelling clay A
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
d game could also include various aids to play, including scenario packs and computer game aids.
Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s can include campaign settings and various supplementary manuals and notes.


Classification according to elements of chance

As an alternative to classifying games by equipment, they can also be classified according to the elements of chance involved. In
game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...
, two fundamentally different elements of chance can play a role: * Chance due to outcome uncertainty, e.g. due to dice rolls or due to unknown cards being dealt during the game. Games in which outcome uncertainty plays a role are referred to as
stochastic games In game theory, a stochastic game (or Markov game), introduced by Lloyd Shapley in the early 1950s, is a repeated game with probabilistic transitions played by one or more players. The game is played in a sequence of stages. At the beginning of eac ...
as opposed to deterministic games. * Chance due to state uncertainty, e.g. due to the opponent's position or cards not being visible, or due to the simultaneous move character of the game. Games in which state uncertainty plays a role are referred to as partial or imperfect information games as opposed to full or
perfect information In economics, perfect information (sometimes referred to as "no hidden information") is a feature of perfect competition. With perfect information in a market, all consumers and producers have complete and instantaneous knowledge of all market pr ...
games. Examples of the chance classification for some well-known tabletop games are given in the table below.


Organizations

List of organizations that sponsor events featuring tabletop games: *
Board Game Geek BoardGameGeek (BGG) is an online forum for board gaming hobbyists and a game database that holds reviews, images and videos for over 125,600 different tabletop games, including European-style board games, wargames, and card games. In addition t ...
organizes BGG.CON *
PAX Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly kiss ...
hosts PAX Unplugged *
Geek & Sundry Geek & Sundry is a commercial YouTube and Twitch channel and multimedia production company. It was launched on April 2, 2012 by actress Felicia Day with Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant as part of YouTube's 100 million dollar original channel initiativ ...
promotes an annual International TableTop Day * The Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts (O.G.R.E.s) organizes tabletop events for
OMGcon OMGcon (''sometimes stylized as OMG!con'') is a three-day anime convention held during June at the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. The convention was previously held in Paducah, Kentucky. The name of the convention comes from ...
* White Wolf Publishing's Camarilla * Wizards of the Coast own RPGA * The
Historical Miniatures Gaming Society The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (or HMGS) promotes the hobby of historical miniature wargaming in the United States, as a registered non-profit charitable and educational foundation. Chapters The organization consists of a loose-knit grou ...
promotes historical miniatures wargaming and organizes wargaming events such as
Historicon Historicon is the largest gaming convention in North America devoted to solely historical miniature wargaming. It is sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, a nonprofit guiding organization. The ''Wall Street Journal'' has describe ...
* SaltCON LLC organizes SaltCON and the Ion Award competition for unpublished tabletop games Numerous independent, local groups run by gamers exist to play tabletop games. Additionally, many colleges have student run organizations pertaining solely to table top gaming. The Collegiate Association of Table Top Gamers is one such organization that has a few chapters at different schools.


Digital tabletop games

Digital tabletops games are digital variations of tabletop games, which include straight reproductions of existing physical tabletop games, video games that use tabletop game principles as part of their gameplay mechanics, and tabletop simulators that provide a virtual tabletop for conducting tabletop games online.


See also


References

{{Tabletop games by type *