View source for Tabletop game

{{Short description|Social activity played on a flat surface}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

[[File:Chess table, wicker chair, chess, kettle, men Fortepan 74442.jpg|thumb|[[Chess]] and its relatives have been popular for centuries]]

'''Tabletop games''' or '''tabletops''' are games that are normally played on a [[Table (furniture)|table]] or other flat surface, such as [[board game]]s, [[card game]]s, [[dice game]]s, [[miniature wargame]]s, [[Tabletop role-playing game|tabletop role-playing games]], or [[tile-based game]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cattg.org/about/|title=Collegiate Association of Table Top Gamers|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802131035/http://www.cattg.org/about/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/faq/|title=TGN FAQ|date=May 10, 2008|work=Tabletop Gaming News|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-date=11 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611064803/http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/faq/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Classification according to equipment used==
Tabletop games can be classified according to the general form, or equipment utilized:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ameliacon.com/special-events/tabletop-gaming/what-is-tabletop/|title=What is Tabletop?|work=Amelia Con|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-date=27 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627195013/http://www.ameliacon.com/special-events/tabletop-gaming/what-is-tabletop/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

{|class=wikitable
! width=130px | Game category
! Examples
|-
| [[Board game|Board]] || [[Adventure board game]]s, [[Gamebook|adventure gamebooks]], [[backgammon]], [[chess]], [[German-style board game]]s, [[Go (board game)|go]], [[reversi]], [[Mancala]], [[Shogi]], [[Gomoku]], [[Four-in-a-row]] (or Yonmoku), [[Tic-tac-toe]] (or Sanmoku, Three-in-a-row)
|-
| [[Card game|Card]] || [[Patience (game)|solitaire]], [[collectible card game]]s, [[hanafuda]], [[tarot card games]], [[poker]]
|-
| [[Dexterity game|Dexterity]] || [[Jenga]], [[Crokinole]], [[Klask]], [[Hungry Hungry Hippos]], [[Loopin' Louie]], [[Terror in Meeple City]], [[Don't Break the Ice]], [[Crossbows and Catapults]], [[Knucklebones]], [[Twister (game)|Twister]], PitchCar
|-
| [[Dice game|Dice]] || [[bunco]], [[craps]], [[poker dice]], [[sic bo]], [[yahtzee]]
|-
| [[Paper and pencil game|Paper and pencil]] || [[Battleship (game)|Battleship]], [[Connect 5]], [[dots and boxes]], [[Hangman (game)|hangman]], [[Sprouts (game)|sprouts]], [[sudoku]]
|-
| [[Tabletop role-playing game|Tabletop role-playing]] || [[Dungeons & Dragons]], [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game]]
|-
| [[Strategy game|Strategy]] || [[wargame]]s, [[government simulation game]]s, [[miniatures games]]
|-
| [[Tile-based game|Tile based]] || [[15 puzzle]], [[Anagrams (game)|anagrams]], [[dominoes]], [[mahjong]], [[mahjong solitaire]]
|-
| [[Tabletop sports]] || See article.
|}

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 (game)|Monopoly]]'' and many modern [[Eurogame|eurogames]] utilize 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]]s, and [[:Category:Roll-and-move board games|roll-and-move games]] are all types of board games that differ markedly in style and general interest.

===Tabletop game components===
{{main|Outline of games#Tabletop}}
The various specialized parts, pieces, and tools used for playing tabletop games may include:

* [[Stopwatch]], [[clock]], [[hourglass]] or [[egg timer]]
* {{boardgloss|Meeples}}, [[Miniature figure (gaming)|Miniature figure]]s, [[game piece (board game)|pawn, or playing piece]]
* Gambling [[Casino token|chips]] or [[play money|''play'' money]]
* [[Game board]]
* Game box or container
* [[Scoreboard]] or [[paper]] pad
* [[Boardgame counter|Cardboard Counter]], [[Tally counter|Dial Counter]], Marker or [[wikt:peg|peg]] for keeping score/tally
* [[Pencil]]
* [[wiktionary:rule|Rule]] [[user guide|manual]]s
* [[Ruler]] or measuring device
* [[Modelling clay]]
* [[Gamemaster's screen]]
* Bowls, trays, or component organizers
* [[Sticker]]s often used in [[Legacy game]]s
* [[Card sleeve]]s used in games that have a "Card Crafting System"<ref>{{cite web |title=Card Crafting System |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/43094/series-card-crafting-system-aeg}}</ref>
* Randomizers such as:
** [[Coin]]s
** [[Dice]], which can include [[polyhedral dice]]
** [[Dice tower]] or Dice [[cup]]
** [[Playing card]]s, which can be [[collectible card]]s
** [[Shuffling machine]]
** [[Tile]]s
** [[Spinning top|Top]]s, such as [[Teetotum]]s or [[Dreidel]]s
** [[Drawstring]] bag
** Spinners
** Bones, [[Cowrie]] Shells, or [[Stick dice]], used in ancient games

A [[referee]]d game could also include various aids to play, including [[scenario]] packs and computer game aids. [[Role-playing game]]s can include [[campaign setting]]s and various supplementary manuals and notes.

==Classification according to elements of chance==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2021}}
As an alternative to classifying games by equipment, they can also be classified according to the elements of chance involved.
In [[game theory]], 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]] as opposed to [[deterministic game]]s.
* 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]] games.

Examples of the chance classification for some well-known tabletop games are given in the table below.

{|class=wikitable
!
! [[Perfect information|Full/perfect information]]
! [[Imperfect information|Partial/imperfect information]]
|-
! [[Deterministic game|Deterministic]]
|
* [[Chess]]
* [[Shogi]]
* [[Xiangqi]]
* [[Draughts]]
* [[Go (board game)|Go]]
* [[Gomoku]]
* [[Hex (board game)|Hex]]
* [[Mancala]]
* [[Reversi]]
* [[Dots and boxes]]
* [[Phutball]]
* [[Abalone (board game)|Abalone]]
* [[Lines of Action]]
* [[Domineering]]
* [[Nine men's morris]]
|
* [[Battleship]]
* [[Block Dominoes]]
* [[Cartographers (board game)]]
* [[Contract bridge]]
* [[Liar's Dice]]
* "Scratchees" from [[Decipher, Inc.]]
* Computer [[Klondike (solitaire)|Klondike]] which allow reset of the initial game state{{efn|distinction for reset is important, otherwise the transitional state outcomes becomes probabilistic like poker and blackjack, and therefore stochastic}} 
* [[Stratego]]
|-
! [[Stochastic game|Stochastic]]
|
* [[Backgammon]]
* [[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]
* [[Craps]]
* [[Roulette]]
* [[Yahtzee]]
* [[Pig (dice)|Pig]]
* [[Scribbage]]
* [[Parcheesi]]
|
* [[Poker]]
* [[Blackjack]]
* [[Gin rummy]]
* [[Scrabble]]
* [[Canasta]]
* [[Risk (game)|Risk]]
* [[Mahjong]]
* [[Imperial Twing]]
|}

==Organizations==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
List of organizations that sponsor events featuring tabletop games:
* [[Board Game Geek]] organizes [[Board Game Geek#BGG.CON|BGG.CON]]
* [[PAX (event)|PAX]] hosts PAX Unplugged
* [[Geek & Sundry]] promotes an annual [[Tabletop (web series)#International TableTop Day|International TableTop Day]]
* The Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts (O.G.R.E.s) organizes tabletop events for [[OMGcon]]
* [[White Wolf Publishing]]'s Camarilla
* [[Wizards of the Coast]] own [[RPGA]]
* The [[Historical Miniatures Gaming Society]] promotes historical miniatures wargaming and organizes wargaming events such as [[Historicon]]
* 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 chapters at different schools.

== Digital tabletop games ==
{{main|Digital tabletop game}}
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==
{{Portal|Games}}
* [[History of games]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Types of games}}{{Tabletop games by type}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tabletop games|*]]