In the near future, I expect to be playing a lot of Board Games. The reason I say Board Games I suspect, is because unlike solitaire, they involve more than 2 people engaging in a struggle to remove all of the pieces from a board and to do that, they are engaging in some kind of strategic thinking as well. Chess is a great example of a board game that requires some degree of strategic thinking, where you’re essentially gambling with your opponent to try and knock off their piece’s before they knock yours off. I think we can all relate to the frustration of trying to get all of your King’s Pawns onto the board, only to have them blocked by some Rook or Queen. I think that’s why many people, especially those who are more competitive, enjoy playing Chess.
However, Chess is not the only such game that requires some degree of strategy involved. There are a number of games that can be considered “strategy games” for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is that while there is no absolute way to predict who will draw what piece (since it’s all just a number in the first place), there is still a good measure of how useful the pieces on the board will be to each player. For instance, a game such as Monopoly is considered a strategy game, since it gives you the tools to develop your property and build an empire, while also giving you information on the properties of other players, their money, and their boards, which can be used to influence other players to buy your properties or into buying your goods.
Some board games, such as Cayuga, allow players to develop strategies along with acquiring more lands as they gain control over the island. Cayuga is considered a strategic game because it is possible to construct expensive structures on the island and provide places for trading with other players. Those who want to develop their own strategies and lay the foundation for a profitable, long-term strategy may like this one. Another game, Viticulture, revolves around growing fruit trees and selling them for a profit. Again, those who are interested in developing their own empires may find this one interesting.