As a child, did you enjoy sitting down to play a board game with your siblings? Before the explosion of technology and the internet age, almost every single household had an array of board games stashed away for a rainy day. But that seems less and less commonplace nowadays with only 44% of modern children claiming to play board games.
So, does that mean that board games have become boring and that there’s better things to play instead? Well, not necessarily so… a number of traditional games have simply been made digital, meaning that we’re still happily playing games such as snakes and ladders, only, we’re doing it online! Here are three examples of traditional games that you can now play on your smart phone…
Tic Tac Toe
Tic Tac Toe (otherwise known as ‘noughts and crosses’) is a retro game for two players that was commonly played using pen and paper. Each takes it in turn to mark the spaces with an X or an O on a 3 x 3 grid, and the player who succeeds in placing three of their marks in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row is the winner. It’s a great game for children as it teaches them about good sportsmanship: bright kids will quickly learn that the outer edges and the very centre are the best plays, and that when both players choose their smartest option a draw is often the result. You can play Tic Tac Toe here.
Bingo
Bingo is a game that can involve a great number of players at one time. Each player is given a card or a series of cards, and numbers are chosen at random and called out. As they’re called, players mark the number off their card(s), and when one card is completely marked off, they shout “bingo” and collect their prize. It’s traditionally a game that’s been played in bingo halls, schools and pubs, but now it’s available online too. Providers such as Wink Bingo offer players the opportunity to get the buzz from winning a game of bingo from the comfort of their own homes, chatting with people in chat rooms and competing on leader boards too. And, did you know that bingo offers some great health benefits to its players too? It’s a fantastic past time for elderly people, children and everyone in between for reasons you can read about here.
Chess
Chess is a board game played between two players. A chequered 8 x 8 game board is with 32 pieces. Each player has 16 pieces consisting of a king, a queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns. The aim is to ‘checkmate’ the opponent’s king by making it impossible to evade capture. It’s a game that requires a great deal of strategy and logical thinking, so is perfect for strengthening and developing these skills. It had its major online debut when Garry Kasparov (the then world champion) was challenged to play ‘Deep Blue’, an artificial intelligence. The computer won, and people have been competing in a ‘man versus machine’ battle ever since!