Game of skill

Backgammonis a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance.

Agame of skillis agamewhere the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physicalskill,rather than chance.

Alternatively, agame of chanceis one where its outcome is strongly influenced by somerandomizingdevice, such asdice,spinning tops,playing cards,roulettewheels, or numbered balls drawn from a container.

While a game of chance may have some skill element to it, chance generally plays a greater role in determining its outcome. A game of skill may also have elements of chance, but skill plays a greater role in determining its outcome.

Some commonly played games of skill and chance include:poker,collectible card games,contract bridge,backgammonandmahjong.

Most games of skill also involve a degree ofchance,due to natural aspects of the environment, a randomizing device (such asdice,playing cardsor acoin flip), orguessingdue toincomplete information.For many games where skill is a component alongside chance, such as card games likepokerbut also some physical games, the skills needed to play the game well include the calculation ofmathematical probabilitiesand the application ofgame theory.Game theory often leads to tactics such asbluffingand other forms ofdeception.

Legal meaning

The distinction between "chance" and "skill" has legal significance in countries where chance games are treated differently from skill games. The legal distinction is oftenvagueand varies widely from one jurisdiction to the next.

InGermany,whether a game is considered of skill has legal implications with respect to whether wagers on the game's outcome are consideredgamblingor not. For example,pokeris legally considered a game of chance in Germany(thus only allowed in casinos), whereas a tournament ofskatis considered a game of skill and competitions with money prizes are allowed.Alternatively, poker has been ruled by a United States federal judge as a game of skillrather than chance.

Examples

Aball-in-a-maze puzzlerequires fine motor skills.

Boules(Boccia/Bowls/Pétanque) Carrom Chess Coconut shy Cornhole Crokinole Darts Egg-and-spoon race Horseshoes Hopscotch House of cards Kubb Marbles Mikado Mölkky

Musical chairs Nagelbalken Novuss Penny football Perplexus Shove ha'penny Shuffleboard Sport stacking Stone skimming Stoßpudel Table shuffleboard Tag Wire loop game

Games of skill requiring special equipment (selection)

• Air hockey
• Billiards
• Pinball machine
• Skee ball
• Snooker
• Table football
• Table ice hockey
• Whac-A-Mole

With the increasing spread ofcomputer games,a lot ofsoftwareof this genre was also created. Originally, these were mainly so-calledjump'n'rungames. However, the range has long since expanded and now also includes games with a greater strategic component, for example the variousTetrisvariants. In contrast to the non-virtual skill game, which usually involves the entire body, eye-hand coordination is required here. Encouraging player responsiveness and imagination is controversial. Nevertheless, various online skill games and jump'n'run adventures also find a place in child psychotherapeutic work.

See also

• Casino game
• Game of chance
• Game of dares
• Mind sport
• Matching game
• Memory sport
• Strategy game
• List of types of games

External links

Media related toPhysical-skill gamesat Wikimedia Commons