Portal:Games

The Games Portal

A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Games have a wide range of occasions, reflecting both the generality of its concept and the variety of its play. Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who participates as a player. A toy and a game are not the same. Toys generally allow for unrestricted play, whereas games present rules for the player to follow.

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role. (Full article...)

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The GISHWHES logo as of 2013

The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWHES, pronounced gish-wes) (shortened to just "GISH") was an annual week-long competitive media scavenger hunt originally held each October or November, but more recently each August. Teams of five to 15 (previously nine to 15 before 2022) competitors earned points for submitting photos and videos of themselves completing prompts from a list they received at the beginning of the week. Actor Misha Collins officially founded GISHWHES in 2011 after a publicity stunt to help the television series Supernatural (in which Collins appeared) win a People's Choice Award. The competition held a world record for being the largest media scavenger hunt ever to take place, and several additional world records. The hunt also raised funds in support of several charities each year, and was affiliated with the Random Acts 501c3. (Full article...)

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...that the 2005 World Series of Poker Ladies Champion (pictured) had been nominated for an Academy Award in 1994?
...that Bruce Webster was so burned out from writing the computer game SunDog: Frozen Legacy for the Apple II, that he gave up programming for four years?
...that the chess Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann is one of the world's leading experts on the French Defence?
...that Dungeons & Dragons, an album by Midnight Syndicate, is the only official soundtrack to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game?
...that the video game Scarygirl puts players in control of a young girl with an eye patch, a sewn-shut mouth, and a hook-capped tentacle for one arm?

General images

The following are images from various game-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Two Qataris playing the traditional board game of damah (from Board game)
Image 2An adventurer finds a teleportation portal while exploring a dungeon in the role-playing video game Falcon's Eye. (from Role-playing game)
Image 3 Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript. (from Board game)
Image 4Ancient Egyptian senet game board inscribed for Amenhotep III with separate sliding drawer, from 1390 to 1353 BC, made of glazed faience, dimensions: 5.5 × 7.7 × 21 cm, in the Brooklyn Museum (New York City). (from Game)
Image 5Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance. (from Game of skill)
Image 6The Card Players, 17th-century painting by Theodoor Rombouts (from Card game)
Image 7The number of board games published by year (1944–2017), as listed on BoardGameGeek. Expansion sets for existing games are marked in orange. (from Board game)
Image 8Young girls playing a board game in the Iisalmi library in Finland, 2016 (from Board game)
Image 9A selection of pieces from different games. From top: Chess pawns, marbles, Monopoly tokens, dominoes, Monopoly hotels, jacks and checkers pieces. (from Game)
Image 10Playing Cards, by Theodoor Rombouts, 17th century (from Game)
Image 11The Card Players by Lucas van Leyden (1520) depicting a multiplayer card game (from Game)
Image 12The board game Monopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages. (from Board game)
Image 13This timeline was made with information from the Wikipedia articles on Board Game, Hasbro, Board Game Cafe, Tabletop Simulator, and Monopoly. All information on this timeline was from those Wikipedia pages as they were on November 24th, 2024 (from Board game)
Image 14A fantasy LARP group (from Role-playing game)
Image 15Chinese mother-of-pearl gambling tokens used in scoring and bidding of card games (from Card game)
Image 16Mehen game with game stones, from Abydos, Egypt, 3000 BC, Neues Museum (from Board game)
Image 17The modern German board game Catan is printed in 30 languages and sold 15 million by 2009. (from Board game)
Image 18A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills. (from Game of skill)
Image 19Historically, card games such as whist and contract bridge were opportunities for quiet socializing, as shown in this 1930s magic lantern slide photo taken in Seattle, Washington. (from Card game)
Image 20Students in Laos using dice to improve numeracy skills. They roll three dice, then use basic math operations to combine those into a new number which they cover on the board. The goal is to cover four squares in the row. (from Game)
Image 21Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment. (from Game)
Image 22Mamluk playing card (king of cups), c. 15th century (from Card game)
Image 23Preferans, a trick-taking card game version popular in Croatia (from Card game)
Image 24Parcheesi is an American adaptation of a Pachisi, originating in India. (from Game)
Image 25A group playing a tabletop RPG. The GM is at left using a cardboard screen to hide dice rolls from the players. (from Role-playing game)
Image 26Typical MUD interface for God Wars II (from Role-playing game)
Image 27Painting in tomb of Egyptian queen Nefertari (1295–1255 BCE) playing senet. (from Board game)
Image 28Association football is a popular sport worldwide.