Indoor board games

Outdoor fun- sports and recreation are not the only ways one can really enjoy oneself. When stuck at home on a rainy day or otherwise there are plenty of sun-filled activities one can turn to for leisure. Board games like chess, monopoly and checkers have existed since decades and provide a good source of in-door fun! Below is a list of some great board games:

·      Chess: This game is a well-known game played between two people. Played on a square chequered board with 64 squares, each player has 16 pieces to play with: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns. The game revolves around the killing of the king- a process known as check-mate- a condition when the king is attacked by a player to a condition where he has no escape, by the opposite team soldier. The game is also introduced as a game between the British soldiers and the Indian soldiers to form a classier style.

·      Checkers: Checkers is a two-player game where one player is assigned white checkers and the other black. With complete uniformity in the shapes and size of each piece, each player has a set of 12 pieces. The object of the game is to capture all of your opponent’s pieces before he captures yours. Moved only in a diagonal direction, the pieces are played one at a time. Once a piece reaches the opponent’s home row, it is kinged and it is then allowed to move freely in either directions. An opponent’s pieces are captured by being jumped over by the opposite player’s piece. The game is won when a player has captured all of his opponent’s pieces.

·      Snakes and ladders: Also known as Chutes and ladders, this game can be played between two players or even more! This fun game is a great game to play for children as it involves counting in it. Numbered grid squares form the design on the board game and on certain squares on the grid either a ladder will be placed connecting two squares-where their piece is taken to a higher-numbered square. Falling on a snake/chute means that the piece will fall down to a lower-numbered square on the grid. Both players start on the starting square and move forward by the roll of the dice-which indicates the number of squares to move forward. If a player rolls a 6 on the dice, he is permitted to play again, but if a player rolls three 6’s he will have to return to the starting point of the game. The winner is the player whose token first reaches the last square of the track.

·      Scrabble: A very popular game among not only children but also adults is the word game- scrabble. A board game which can be played between two people upto four people. A player gains points by forming words from individual alphabet tiles on a game board, which is marked by a 15 by 15 grid. The words are formed across and down in a crossword fashion, and must be words that can easily be found in a standard dictionary. The letter tiles are either placed in an opaque bag, a rack or flat on a surface. After playing a word on the board, the player must immediately refill his bag, ensuring that he has 7 alphabets ready with him. In order to decide who plays first, both the players have to draw a tile from the opaque bag, and whoever picks the letter closest to the beginning of the alphabet goes first.

·      Ludo: A very simple but enjoyable game which can be played between two people or upto four people is the simplification of the traditional Indian Cross and Circle game Pachisi- Ludo. The ludo board has a square marked with a cross, and each arm of the cross is divided into three columns with the columns divided into six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles, where each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column with an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player’s home column and is five squares long. In order to start the game someone must have first thrown a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the square. The following turns are played by moving forward the piece 1 to 6 as indicated by the dice. By throwing a 6 thereafter a player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. By throwing a 6, the player plays a double turn. Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The winner is the first player to get all four of their pieces on to their home square. However, if a player lands on a square containing an opponent’s piece, then the opponent’s piece is captured and returns to the starting point. Also, a piece cannot land on a square that already contains a piece of the same colour.

·      Trivial Pursuit: This is a game in which the progress of a player’s ability to move forward is tested on a person’s ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions.  Trivia questions are divided into six categories- each having their own colour to identify them: geography in blue, entertainment in pink, history in yellow, arts & literature in brown, science and fiction in green, and sports and leisure in orange.  If a player answers a question correctly their turn continues till they make a mistake. Certain spaces say roll again giving an extra roll of the die to the player which has landed there. Any number of playing pieces may occupy the same space at any given point of time. The players move their pieces around a track which is shaped like a wheel with six spokes. This track is also divided into different coloured spaces and the centre is hexagonal in shape. A player must answer a question according to the colour of the square- which corresponds to any of the six question categories. Each player makes his way towards the hexagonal hub, and once they do if they answer the question correctly then that particular player has won the game. Otherwise, he must leave the centre of the board and try again on their next turn.

·       Monopoly: Monopoly is a very popular family game, or a game played among friends. The board consists of forty spaces containing twenty-eight properties (twenty-two coloured Streets, four Railroads, and two Utilities), three Chance spaces, three Community Chest spaces, a Luxury Tax space, an Income Tax space, and the four corner squares: GO, Jail, Free Parking, and Go to Jail. At the beginning of the game each player is given $1500 in the following denominations: 2-$500, 2 $100, 2-$50s, 6-$20’s, 5-$10’s and 5 $1’s. The player who rolls the highest number on their initial roll starts the game. Starting from the Go space each player rolls the die and advances forward that number of spaces. If a player rolls the same number twice (double form) the player is entitled to another roll. But, if the player rolls double thrice he is sent to jail. One person from amongst the players is chosen as the banker and manages all the money transactions. As each player crosses go each time he is given $200. As you travel around the board, you'll want to try to purchase as many full sets of properties as possible. By sets, I mean properties in the same color block. You may also buy or trade properties with another player to achieve a complete set. Once you have obtained all the properties in a color group, you are then entitled to double the rent shown on your deeds and you may begin adding buildings to these properties. A player may at any point even land up in jail if landing on the jail space during a regular turn. You are let out of jail only when you either present a get out of jail free card, or roll double on your turn when in jail, pay $50 to get out of jail or let three turns pass without you rolling double. Managing property is the trickiest part of this game and the main object of the game. A benefit of having bought all the properties in a set is the ability to add hotels and houses there. Once any given player has gone bankrupt the game is over. The remaining players will all determine their total values, including cash, properties owned, mortgage properties, houses, hotels and the player who has the highest sum of money is declared the winner.

·      Chinese checkers: Chinese checkers is game which can be played by two people and even go up to six players. The board is divided into the shape of a six pointed star. Each point of the star is a triangle which has ten pegs each.  Each triangle is a different colour and there are six sets of ten pegs with corresponding colours.   Each point of the triangle consists of ten holes. Each player chooses a colour and is given 10 pegs of that colour, which are placed in their appropriate triangle. The whole object of the game is to be the first player to move all the pegs across the board in to the opposite triangle. That player becomes the winner of the game. Players play in turn, by rolling the dice moving each peg into on e of the adjacent holes, or jumping over any other peg into the hole beyond. The direction of the movement followed must either be left/right in either the forward or backward direction. Only one move may be made at any given point of time, unless the player is jumping over their own pegs or opponents.

·      Backgammon: Played between two people, this board game has a track of 12 long triangles, called points. These points are numbered 1 to 24. Each player begins with two checkers on his 24-point, three checkers on his 8-point and five checkers on his 13-point and 6-point. The opposing players move their pieces in two opposite directions- each from his own 24-point towards his 1-point.  To start the game, each player rolls one die and the player who rolls the higher number moves first. Both the die must land completely on the right hand side of the game-board. By alternating turns each player must move forward. The numbers shown on the two dice can be taken as two separate moves. For example, if a player rolls 5 and 3, he may move one checker five spaces to an open point and another checker three spaces to an open point, or he may move the one checker a total of eight spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate point The whole point of the game is to move all the checkers into your own home board and then bear them off. The first player who does this wins the game. Each player is given their own set of dice (2) to play with on their quadrant. A dice cup is used for shaking the dice.

·      Life a.k.a. The Game of Life: Life or better known as the game of life is a fun activity game where an individual travels through the different phases of life; from high school graduation to jobs, marriage, children, and retirement. Two to six players can play this game, whereas modern versions can accommodate upto ten players.  By spinning a fortune wheel with spaces numbered 1 through 10, located in the centre of the board; the game consists of a track on which the players travel across.  Each playing piece is an automobile in either of the six colours; red, blue, white, green, orange or green with six holes on the top to place people pegs throughout the game as the person may get married, has/adopts children. One may collect LIFE tiles as one progresses throughout the game, as they land on a life space. Players may also buy houses by landing on a red tile. The whole game progresses as the player moves towards retirement where he is given two options; one being to place their car at Millionaire Estates (largely unchanged from the previous version), or, the other to retire at Countryside Acres.