Abstract Games with Strategic Setup Phase

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/39245/item/856898#item856898

There are probably zillions of games like this - let me specify what I am after in this list:

Abstract games (with "perfect information") starting with a more or less empty board and a strategic setup phase. So players place their pieces on the board first (mostly one by one alternately) and move these pieces afterwards, so the placing is not the whole game but a preparation , but with already strategical decisions.

Games that fail to match these criteria are for instance Go (pieces are not moved after being placed) or Stratego-like games with hidden setups.

Please add - I just place some games here to start the list.

Games are in chronological order to see a kind of "history".

Abstract Strategy games I can play RIGHT NOW.

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/60228/abstract-strategy-games-i-can-play-right-now

This thread, http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/573783/survey-what-single-abstract-strategy-game-youd-pl , got me thinking about the state of the online gaming world, particularly as it applies to abstract strategy games. I haven't surveyed the known world of abstracts in a while, and thought I would do so.

If I want to play online, but against a human opponent, in a live game, and I don't want to wait very long, what games can I play?

In other words, there has to be a server that offers live play, but that isn't enough. I actually want to have human opponents readily available at all, or at least a lot of, hours of the day.

For purposes of this geeklist, I'm looking for only the luckless sort of games, like Chess, or Chinese Checkers, or board games with two players, no randomness, and no hidden infomation. (Sorry, Stratego and Backgammon. Maybe next time. Chess960....we'll let you in if you can find a server.)

I'll put in the ones I know, but please fill me in on the ones I don't know about.

And you will see that the site I know best is playok.com. If the truth be told, I like iggamecenter.com and boardspace.net even better but, sadly, opponents at those sites are sometimes lacking. However, they are awesome sites, and deserve more players.

Arrr! Pirates we be!

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/62730/arrr-pirates-we-be

Pirates. A Genre that everyone can associate with. I've rarely met a person who doesn't like the idea of pirates and the few that I have met were part of the great Pirate VS. Ninja debate that will probably never end. Still I love 'em!

This list is for Pirate themed games. I have 3, and I know there are loads more out there that are just waiting for me to discover them and I thought the fellow BGG Community could help me out by having us all build a massive list of them. I'll start with what I own and see how many more crop up with everyone else.

Dice games with no luck involved.

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/6697/dice-games-with-no-luck-involved

Dice are the symbol of luck in games. The question is, which games use dice, but have no luck in there. Or maybe luck so nominal (aka in initial set up, or to change base board conditions) that it is considered luckless? Dice for this need not be normal dice.

Gameboards using "fences" to block "pawn" moves

Know of a gameboard that uses some sort of playable fence (or barrier) to control the movement of other pieces (pawns)?

The idea is games with both playable fences and some sort of other moveable part. The fences should either be played by the players, or randomly put on the board at the start of the game. Like:

Have a seperate Geeklist for Dot and Boxes type games. (There are quite a few!)
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/16806

Here is also a link to various Connection Games where one essentially blocks an opponent by making the connection. In this sense the playing pieces themselves for a "fence."
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/901

Games that have been solved

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/5126/games-that-have-been-solved

Abstract strategy games with perfect information are all theoretically solvable. With perfect play the outcome is predetermined by the game itself, not the players. I am curious which noteworthy games have been solved. Here are the ones I know about:

Games that never end

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14390/games-that-never-end
In a two-player pure strategy game, either one player or the other must be guaranteed to win if they play perfectly. Except there's a third possibility: the game may continue forever if both players play sensibly (i.e. to avoid losing).

Games in which pieces are never added to or taken from the board, just continually rearranged with the object of forming a particular pattern, seem to be most susceptible to this. Here are some examples.

Games with Cloth or Vinyl Roll-Up Playing Boards/Mats

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/54977/item/1305221#item1305221

I just love games with roll-up boards: cloth is great, but Vinyl mats are even better, because not only are they easy to transport, they're easy to clean.

Here's a list of games I'm familiar with that have roll-up boards. Please add others that you know of, so I can feed my addiction!

Magnetic Games: The definitive list.

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/68729/magnetic-games-the-definitive-list

I have always been mesmerized by magnets. As a game mechanic, they have many uses. Designers have been quite innovative over the years. Please add games and the publication date.

No Draws, No Ties

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/13858/no-draws-no-ties

Abstract games in which neither draws nor ties can occur.

EXCLUDED: 1. Games which are essentially infinite, but which have either complicated or difficult to administer rules which attempt to shoehorn them into the finite arena. Checkers with its 50 move rule and Go with its exhaustive Ko rule sets are examples. 2. Score count games which avoid ties by giving the first move player a half point starting out. Go, again being an example.

Any infinite game can be made finite by imposing the "never repeat a position rule," but in most cases that would require a computer to administer. I'm looking for games which are conceptually simple, have short simple rule sets, and are essentially finite like Fire and Ice, and Dots and Boxes.

Pooled resource board games

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/20778/pooled-resource-board-games

Games where the resources available to the players are all communal, in other words, not owned by either player. In these games, if you magically change whose turn it is, the set of moves available will remain exactly the same.

Imagine chess where you move any piece on the board, and the goal was to checkmate either king. (I'll rush off to the patent office now...)

These games tend to be mind benders, since you can't reason in the conventional way about what you and your opponent can do with owned
resources.

There is a whole class of mechanical games that could go here, and lots of them are a blast to play. (Jenga anyone?), but I'm only interested in board games for this list. Also, do not be confused if some resources are shared - if your description of the game includes phrases like my cards or your pieces, the game doesn't qualify.

These dice aren't made for rolling.

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/54676/these-dice-arent-made-for-rolling

Traditionally, dice have been used to generate random numbers, or otherwise (in the case of custom dice) provide a way of randomly generating possibilities. However, some games use dice in a different way: they are used to indicate the value of a playing piece or of a board location. The player is expected to pick up the die and, instead of rolling it, to manipulate it so that the new current value is face up on the die. The die is then returned to its former location (or placed in a different location).

In this geeklist, I include some games I can think of which use dice in this fashion. If you know of others, please add them.

Tic Tac Toe Family Reunion, The

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/7522/the-tic-tac-toe-family-reunion

From around the world they came to pay their respects to Old Man Toe. In his youth he had traveled far sowing many a seed; now he was patriarch of a mighty family. True, some of his off-spring were not particularly distinguished; indeed, many were down right trashy. Nevertheless, all had been invited, and all had come to celebrate their common heritage: they were games of getting N-in-a-row, and proud of it.

Update (3/11): I started this list six years ago, and to my amazement it continues to grow! 223 games on the list so far, and I regularly discover more. I wonder: is the abundance of n-in-a-row games a sign of human ingenuity, or a lack of creativity?

Two Player Abstracts Suitable for Tournament Play

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/1038/two-player-abstracts-suitable-for-tournament-play

Each November at U-Con Gaming Convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, I run a tournament in which contestants play a wide variety of two-player abstract board games. I'm always open to suggestions for games to include in the tournament. I'd like to stay away from the most popular classics (e.g., Checkers, Chess, Go, Oware, Othello, etc.) and focus on lesser-played abstracts (e.g., Chase, Emergo, Lines of Action, Strata 5, etc.) with the idea that winning should depend more upon creative tactics than prior study.

Please feel free to comment or make suggestions for games I should consider for the tournament. Suggested games must be playable with two players, abstract (either no theme, or a superficial theme that doesn't affect game play), have perfect information, turn-based (not real-time, but simultaneous turn-based games might be OK), depend entirely on strategic skill (no random or dexterity elements), and must be able to be learned and played to completion within an hour.

Since its 7th year, my annual tournament has been part of the IAGO World Tour.