Discover Traditional Board GamesMany of the following board games have been around for centuries, and they are still some of the most popular board games to date. These classic board games have stood the test of time. Chess is a game of strategy, played on a board of 64 squares with 32 pieces. Players form a defense, and move and capture pieces in an attempt to trap the opponent's king through checkmate. Chess is one of the most popular two-player strategy games (although it is also referred to as a sport) in the world. Chess sets come in an amazing number of varieties. Some are made of glass or are hand carved from materials like wood or stone. Some sets function as decorative pieces. Some have themes, such as Civil War, Medieval, or Star Wars. Competitive players often prefer a soft vinyl board. Once you have mastered the basics of the game, you may want to buy a chess clock. A chess clock, or timer, limits the amount of time a player has to make a move, thereby increasing the tension and excitement of play. If a player doesn’t move before the timer expires, he loses the game. The two-player game of backgammon is played with two dice and a board with 30 pieces. Each player takes turns rolling the dice and tries to move his pieces around the board to the opposite side, without getting trapped in the center. In the strategy game Go, each player takes a turn placing a piece on the board. Two players attempt to capture each other’s pieces by surrounding them. You determine the final score by how many empty points each player’s pieces hold. Look for magnetic travel sets if you’re on the go. Go strategy books are also available. American checkers is a truly classic game that two play on an 8 x 8 square board. The object of the game is to capture all the opponent’s pieces by jumping diagonally over them. Checkers is also known as draughts. You play international draughts, a popular version of checkers, on a 10 x 10 board. Played on a star-shaped board, the object of Chinese checkers is to move your pieces to the opposite side of the board. You capture pieces by jumping, as in American checkers. Despite the name, Chinese checkers originated in the United States. Mah jong is a gambling board game played with tiles. Each player selects or discards tiles in order to form similar groups. Mah jong sets consist of at least 136 tiles, but more commonly of 144 tiles. Sets from the United States and Japan have more tiles. Mah jong is usually played with four players. The game is sometimes played with cards (also called mhing), which can be used when traveling. Mah jong is alternatively known as mahjong, mahjongg, or majiang. Parcheesi was adapted from an Indian game known as the Indian Cross and Circle game. The object of Parcheesi is to move one of each of the four colored pawns to the center of the board. | 
