The Games
Six of the world's great abstract strategy games — where each came from, how it plays, and the ideas that lead to good moves.
Rooted in 6th-century India, as chaturanga
The most studied game in the world. Two armies of six piece types meet across a chequered board, each move a small argument about space, time, and force. Simple to learn, and deep enough to fill a lifetime.
Ancient China, played for over 2,500 years
From the simplest rule — place a stone, surround to capture — grows perhaps the deepest game ever devised. Go is a slow unfolding of balance and influence across the whole board.
Descended from ancient games; the modern form settled in Europe
Deceptively simple diagonal moves hide sharp tactics. Forced captures and the promotion of a piece to a king make checkers a game of traps set several moves ahead.
One of the oldest game families, born in Africa
A family of 'sowing' games played by scooping and dropping seeds around a board of pits. Counting ahead and timing your captures turn a handful of seeds into deep strategy.
Japan's great chess variant
Chess with a twist that changes everything: captured pieces switch sides and can be dropped back onto the board. No piece ever truly leaves, so attacks build relentlessly.
China, a cousin of chess with ancient roots
Pieces sit on the points, not the squares, and a river and palace shape the whole battle. Cannons that leap to capture give Xiangqi a rhythm all its own.