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Physical sports help children grow physically, while board games bring in mental agility. Most of these games are for children between ages 6 and 15. However, board games like scrabble, and chess are good for adults as well. In fact, playing such games with adults improves the skills of the children in these games. Board games bring in a level of versatility to the thinking process of the children.

Earlier board games were essentially physical board games. With so much of technological advancement, these board games can now be played online as well as there are software programs offered by different gaming companies. Some board games that are played online require the users to pay some charges, as there are some cash prizes for the winners. For this, the user has to agree to install part of the software package in his or her system, which accesses the major part of the gaming software from a server that gives simultaneous access to other players on this virtual board.

Understanding Board game rules is very important, as then the right way to play becomes easier and the skills improve. When playing online for some stake, it becomes all the more necessary to know where and when which rules apply. Otherwise, the player would be losing monies, and incurring penalties as well.

Boggle is perhaps one of the easiest of all games that children can play at home with other members of their family, or their friends. Strictly speaking it does not qualify as a board game. There are sixteen cubes with a letter on each surface. These are pulled out one by one and placed on a board. There is timer also. All the players sit around these sixteen words and come up with maximum words within specified time. These board game rules were defined to help children learn spellings, and think flexibly. Players also have to come up with words that are different from those that others have written. No plurals are allowed. In a variant of this game, words are given in a triangular form. Players have to make words using the letter on the top of the triangle. This is generally for children who are older. There are restrictions on the number of letters as well. Therefore, on, it, is, etc., would not be permitted in this advanced boggle.

Chinese checkers orient children towards achieving a goal, forcing them to plan on using their resources as well as those of other players for this purpose. The object is to start from one house so to speak on a hexagon, and reach the house exactly on the opposite side moving the marbles on the checkers in single step or jumping one or more times on marbles that alternate with vacant places in such a path. Since the first person who takes all his marbles to the other end, wins the game, players also need to prevent others reaching before them. Players use different colored marbles to differentiate their lot. There are ample variants of this game as well. This, however, is the traditional way it was played.

In monopoly, children realize what would be profitable, and how to earn monies by investing on homes and hotels. There are various streets/stations on all four sides of the board. The players have to pass through these to be able to purchase any of these streets. For moving towards the streets, 2 dice are used. The player has to move the number of steps that are shown collectively on these dices. The person who rolls the highest number with the two dice starts moving first, and then the next person who gets to move is the person seated to his left. The starting point is go, and each time the player passes the go, bank gives them $200. In fact, the banker gives all the players some monies ($1500) initially, so that they can start investing. Like in real life, some of the streets like Mayfair are costlier. A few streets are not for sale. These are for penal provisions such as going to jail, or for taking some chances. After purchasing streets, the players can start building homes and hotels. Every time another player halts on the street that doesn?t belong to him or her, he or she becomes liable to pay some rent to the owner. It there are a few homes on the street, the rent is higher. If however the owner builds hotels, the rent is the highest. This goes on till all the assets of other players are exhausted and only a single player remains as the winner.

Scrabble is also a game for improving vocabulary. There are four players. Everybody gets to pick seven letters in the beginning, which are not visible to them while picking, i.e., either they are turned upside down completely, or stored in a pouch where they cant be seen. In online board games this bit is not very difficult. Once the letters are selected, the first player who has again been selected in a specific manner is given fixed number of minutes to come up with a word. This word fetches him or her double word score. Each letter has a number written on it. Therefore, Z gives a score of 10 if used as per the board rules. Likewise, Q too gives a score of 10. Apart from these, the board has squares on which if letters like these were placed, the player would score double or triple the score mentioned on the letter. Likewise, there are squares if the player can utilize them, then he can get double or triple word score. Once the first word is on the board, the next player has to make a word interlocking with one of the letters that is already there on the board.

Chess is a game to learn strategies to win on opponents, similar to ancient battles. There is a king, and his prime minister/queen. After that there is a bishop, knight, and a rook. Likewise, there is a second bishop, second knight, and a second rook at the other side of the king. In front of them are the pawns or ordinary soldiers. The pawns can only move one step forward normally. However, when the pawn moves first time, it can take two steps forward. A pawn cannot kill the opponent unless the opponent?s force is standing at an angle. The bishop moves at an angle, therefore, one of the bishops moves on white squares on the board, while the other moves on black squares. The knights move in a unique way. It is the two and a half step or two straight steps and one horizontal. Note that horizontal step is not same as the angle that pawn needs to kill. The rook can move horizontally and vertically but only in straight line as against the movement of bishops. The prime minister or the queen can move like rooks as well as bishops. Effectively, it can move like pawn, rook, king or bishop. As to the king, he can move only one step in any direction, except when he is castling. In castling the rook comes inside and the king moves towards the corner. Knowing these board rules for chess, the object is to win by forcing a checkmate, i.e., leaving king with no moves.

Pictionary is played between two teams. There is a timer, and there is a board. There are different cards with five different words on each card. Apart from these paper and pencil is required for every player. The object is to get the team to guess what the word is based on the drawing on Pictionary board by a fellow team member. The team member is not allowed to talk or in any other way let his team members know what the word is.

There are other board games like sequence, magic, clue, cranium, Taboo, apples to apples, candy light, battleship, sorry, Yahtzee, etc., which are equally good if not better and help to keep children engrossed positively, away from other undesirable activities.

1. An inherent part of any child?s life is playing. Through the years several kids? games and board games have developed. Even though video games, computer games, play station games and other electronic gadgets have been invented lately, board games still have remained popular amongst several children.

2. Like any game rules form a predominant part of the way the game is played. Without rules there will be disorganization, cheating and the fun will surely decrease. Rules may sometimes feel too stringent or slightly annoying, but at the end of the day one must realize that without rules no game can be played effectively.

3. Scrabble is a game that has been valued both because it is entertaining and also for its educational value. Scrabble rules include the types of words that are accepted to earn points, how the sequence of play is determined and maintained, and also how scores are recorded. A lot of emphasis is placed on the type of words and their length.

4. Another popular game is Battleship. Battleship rules are mainly centred on the sequence in which each player takes his turn and the way a ship is struck. The objective is that a player destroys the ships of the other player before his are destroyed, so turns are crucial in Battleship.

5. Monopoly is a board game which has been popular for several years. Monopoly has quite a number of rules since the game is made up of several elements. The main Monopoly rules include the way turns are taken, the scores of dice when thrown and their effect, the positioning within the game and the transfer and distribution of money. Monopoly rules also pertain to the meaning of boxes on the board, how houses, hotels and other utilities are bought and sold and at the end of the day how a player wins.

6. Chess is also a very popular game, especially with players of a bigger age due to the need to think in advance and plan positions for a better chance of winning. Chess rules are mainly centred on the way a player can move. Moves are fundamental in chess games, and therefore several rules exist pertaining to each component, not only in terms of direction but also in terms of distances moved.

7. Pictionary is a game which is also popular for its educational value. Pictionary rules mainly include how players take turns, how a guess can be made, the sketching rules and the importance placed on the timing. In fat the latter element is crucial in this game in order to provide a more level playing ground for all the players.

8. Apples to Apples is quite a simple and subjective games, but it also has rules. Apples to Apples rules include the way cards are distributed and the manner in which a judge should make the best decision as to which player provided the best card to a corresponding card in terms of humour or creativity mainly.

9. Checkers is a game that has also been popular for a number of years. The main Checkers rules regulate the way movements can be made mainly. This game has a number of variations and hence some rules may vary accordingly.

10. Board game rules vary depending on the game. However one can see that the main rules of almost any game lie on the way turns are taken, sequence rules, the number of players that can play, the way scores are given and ultimately how one wins. At the end of the day if it were not for rules no game can be played and no fun can be derived.