A game is typically a structured form of simulated play, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and occasionally used as a teaching tool. Games are very different from work, which frequently is carried out for remuneration (as in the case of video games), and from the literature, which frequently is an expression of personal or aesthetic themes. In games, players take on the role of characters and interact with others within the game environment. Although most games are single player in nature, some multiplayer games offer server-based options for playing with more than one player at a time. Game developers, who develop these games, generally construct them in a specific fictional world, or a setting dependent upon the game’s theme and design.

Mainly, GAMES create a virtual world, although some do use real objects and elements. A number of games are strategy games, where players take on the role of central figures within a larger story, trying to achieve a certain objective. These can be war strategy games (Hearts, a) and management games (Sim City, Super Mario). Strategy games are typically competitive, though sometimes non-competitive games like puzzle games can fall into this category.

Some of the themes which characterise strategy games include realism, historical fact and fantasy. For example, many strategy games use actual military hardware. Chess is a good example of this. Although chess uses strategy elements, it also employs tactics and skill. Similarly, games like Monopoly utilize real estate and financial tools to attain properties and obtain financing.

As well as using strategies to acquire land and other resources, players in a chess game also employ more abstract tactics. For example, players may make the squares on their chessboards larger or smaller, depending on their perception of the proportion of forces available to them. Players also try to capture more of the board by developing diagonals and triangles. They may also try to capture the “board squares” that are shaped like a checkerboard. This abstract aspect of the game, however, lends it an air of seriousness, even though the players are playing with pieces just like in a real-life chess match.

Games that use trading card or die as a gameplay element also lend themselves to trading card games. In these games, each player is given a deck of playing cards, which they must then quickly remove and replace with new cards before the next phase of play begins. The cards have different suit combinations. Some have more value than others, so depending on which group of cards the player is holding, their turn will turn out differently. For instance, a player may obtain more powerful cards by trading certain cards they hold for cards they have already discarded.

GAMES DEVELOPMENT AND POPULARITY Gains in popularity amongst children have led to an increase in the amount of designer chess sets on the market. In addition to the increasing number of novelty versions of chess pieces, the genre has also spawned board games based on popular cartoon shows and movies. Barbie chess sets, for example, feature figurines from all of the different seasons of the popular animated series, right down to a few special episodes from the DVD season. The genre, as a whole, is often referred to as a “girl’s game,” since many of its fanciers are women.