Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science,

Faculty of Education, University of Benin

HKS 125 – INTRODUCTION TO BOARD GAMES
Course Description: This course is designed to appraise the students with
fundamental information, skills and techniques in some games like chess,
darts, monopoly, scrabble, ayo, ludo, draught, and okue. The course is meant
to provide the students with rudimentary knowledge about the skills and
information of these games such as would enable them to teach the course,
and also provide them with avenues for recreational pursuits. For this course,
four board games would be addressed; Chess, Monopoly, Scrabble and Ludo.
Unit 1 - Course contents – Chess Mr. Osejie Lumen
i.Introduction – Historical development of chess
ii.The chess board
iii.The chess pieces - King, Queen, Castle, Knight, Bishop, Pawn
iv.How the chess pieces move
v.Game play
vi.Check and checkmate
vii.Promotion
viii.En passant
ix.Castling
x.Draws
xi.Some tournament rules
xii.Basic strategy
xiii.Revision Questions

Unit 2 - Course contents – Monopoly Miss Acha Scholar

i.A brief history of monopoly
ii.Equipment
iii.The board
iv.Main objective
v.Preparation
vi.Banker
vii.The bank
viii.The game play
 ix.Go
x.Buying property
xi.Chance and community chest
xii.Income tax
xiii.Jail
xiv.Free parking
xv.Houses
xvi.Hotels
xvii.Building shortages
xviii.Selling property
xix.Mortgages
xx.Bankruptcy
xxi.Revision Questions

Unit 3 - Course Content – Scrabble Mr. Osejie Lumen

i. Introduction
ii. History of Scrabble
iii. Setup
iv. Starting the Game
v. Scrabble Official Rules
vi. Game Play
vii. Scoring
viii. Challenges
ix. Revision Questions

Unit 4 - Course contents –Ludo Miss Acha Scholar

i. Introduction
ii. History of Ludo
iii. Ludo Rules
iv. Gameplay
v. Movement
vi. Rules of the 6’s
vii. Landing on a shared square
viii. Winning the Game
ix. Play
x. Winning
xi. Revision Questions
 CHESS
Course Objectives: At the end of this unit, students should be able to discuss
the following sub-topics in the game of chess;
a) Historical development of chess
b) The chess board
c) The chess pieces - King, Queen, Castle, Knight, Bishop, Pawn
d) How the chess pieces move
e) Game play
f) Check and checkmate
g) Promotion
h) En passant
i) Castling
j) Draws
k) Some tournament rules
l) Basic strategy

Introduction
Chess is a strategy board game played by two players on a chessboard,
which is a checkered gameboard with 64 squares of alternate light and dark
squares arranged in an 8×8 grid.
There are 16 pieces in the game of chess: one king, one queen, two
rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Altogether, there are 6
different types of characters. Each of the six piece types moves differently,
with the most powerful being the queen and the least powerful, the pawn.
The ultimate goal of the game of chess is to checkmate the opponent's king by
placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To do this, a player's pieces
are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting each
other. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary surrender
of the opponent, which typically occurs when too much pieces have been
captured, or checkmate appears unavoidable. A game can also end in a draw
in several ways.
A brief History of Chess
Chess is believed to have originated in India sometime before the 7th
century, and is believed to be derived from the Indian game chaturanga. The
current powers of the pieces were introduced in Spain in the late 15th
century. The rules were finally standardized in the 19th century.
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) which is the
international governing body for chess has been regulating the World
Championship since1948, The body also organizes the Women's World
Championship, the World Junior Championship, the World Senior
Championship, the Blitz and Rapid World Championships, and the Chess
Olympiad. FIDE also awards titles to skilled players, the highest of which is
grandmaster
Game Play
Chess is played on a square board of eight rows called ranks and
denoted with numbers 1 to 8 and eight columns called files and denoted with
letters a to h. The colours of the 64 squares alternate and are referred to as
light and dark squares no matter what alternating colours they bear. At the
beginning of the game the chessboard is laid out so that each player has the
white (or light) colour square in the far right-hand side. Each player begins
the game with 16 pieces of the specified colour, which consist of one king, one
queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The second row
(or rank) is filled with pawns. On the first row, the rooks go in the corners,
then the knights next to them, followed by the bishops, and finally the queen,
who always goes on her own matching color (white queen on white, black
queen on black), and the king on the remaining square.
The player with the white pieces always moves first. Therefore,
players generally decide who will get to be white by chance or luck such as
flipping a coin or having one player guess the colour of the hidden pawn in the
other player's hand. After the first move, players alternately move one piece
per turn (except for castling, when two pieces are moved). On each turn a
player gets to move one of his pieces. Then it's his opponent's turn. Pieces are
moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's
piece, which is captured and removed from play. With the sole exception of en
passant, all pieces capture by moving to the square that the opponent's piece
occupies. If the player to move has no legal move, the game is over; it is either
a checkmate (a loss for the player with no legal moves) if the king is under
attack, or a stalemate (a draw) if the king is not.
How the Chess Pieces Move
Each of the 6 different kinds of pieces has its own unique movement
pattern. Most pieces cannot move through other pieces except the knight
which can jump over any other piece. No piece can also move onto a square
occupied by one of their own pieces. However, they can be moved to take the
place of an opponent's piece: that's how you capture the opponent’s piece.
The King
 The king is the most important piece, since losing the king means the
end of the game. But he is also one of the weakest. So very often he needs the
other pieces to protect him. The king can move one square in any direction -
up, down, to the sides, and diagonally, as shown in the diagram.
The king may never move himself onto a square where he could be
captured (no losing on purpose). If your opponent ever moves their king onto
a square where you can take it, don't grab the king. Instead, you should
explain why they can't move there. Then your opponent can put the king back
where it was, and choose a different move. The king also has a special move
called castling that involves also moving a rook
Check and Checkmate
When another piece threatens to capture the king, it is called 'check.'
When there is no way for the king to escape check, it is called 'checkmate.' As
stated before, that is how you win. There are only three ways a king can get
out of check:
1. move out of the way,
2. block the check with another piece, or
3. capture the piece threatening the king.
If a king cannot escape checkmate, then the game is over. Customarily the king
is not captured or removed from the board, the game is simply declared over.
The Queen

The queen is the most powerful piece. Like the king, she can move in any one
straight direction - forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally, as shown in
the diagram. But unlike the king, she can move at any length provided the
pathway is empty of other of her own pieces. Like with all pieces, if the queen
captures an opponent's piece, that's the square she stops on.
The Rook

The rook moves much like the queen: that is, it can move as far as possible
along straight vacant squares, but only forward, backward, and to the sides
(not diagonally) as shown in the diagram.
It also moves when castling. A player starts with one rook on a light square
and one rook on a dark square, and by keeping to their colour, they work
together because each covers the squares the other one cannot cover.
The Bishop

The bishop can move as far as it possible, but only diagonally on vacant
squares as shown in the diagram. A player start with one bishop on a light
square and one bishop on a dark square, and by only moving on diagonals,
each one is stuck on the colour it starts on. Bishops work together because
each covers the squares the other one cannot cover.

The Knight
Knights move in a very different way from the other pieces - going two
squares in one direction, and then one more move at a 90 degree angle, just
like the shape of an "L" as shown in the diagram. Knights are also the only
pieces that can move over other pieces. People often say knights "hop"
because of that special ability.

The Pawn

Half of a player’s starting team is pawns, so it's very important to understand

how to use them even though they are not very strong. Pawns are unusual
because they move in one way, but capture in a different way. When they
move, they just go forward by one step at a time. But when they capture, they
do so diagonally. Pawns can only move forward one square at a time, except
for their very first move where they can move forward two squares or one.
Pawns can only capture one square diagonally in front of them. They can
never move or capture backwards.
Because they move and capture differently, the pawn is the only piece that can
get blocked by enemy pieces: if there is another piece directly in front of a
pawn, it cannot move past or capture that piece.

Promotion
Pawns may be weak, they do, however, have some special abilities. One
of such ability is promotion. If a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board,
it can be converted to any other chess piece (this is called promotion), except
a pawn or king. The choice is not limited to previously captured pieces.
Hence it is theoretically possible for a player to have up to nine queens or up
to ten rooks, bishops, or knights if all of their pawns are promoted. A pawn is
usually promoted to a queen, because she is the most powerful piece.

En Passant

The other rule about pawns is called "en passant", which is French,
meaning "in passing." If a pawn moves out two squares on its first move, and
by doing so lands to the side of an opponent's pawn (effectively running past
the other pawn's ability to capture it), that other pawn has the option of
capturing the first pawn as if it only moved one space. This special move
must be done on the very next move after the first pawn has moved past,
otherwise the option to capture it is no longer available.

Castling
One other special rule is called castling. This is the only time a player
can move two pieces in one move. This combination move allows the player to
do two important things all in one turn: get the king to safety (hopefully), and
get the rook out of the corner and into the game. On a player's turn he may
move his king two squares over to one side and then move the rook to the
other side of his king. In order to castle, however, the following conditions
must be met:
• it must be that king’s very first move
• it must be that rook’s very first move
• there cannot be any pieces between the king and rook to move
• the king may not be in check or pass through check
Notice that when you castle one direction the king is closer to the side of the
board. That is called kingside. Castling to the other side, through where the
queen sat, is called castling queenside. Regardless of which side, the king
always moves exactly two squares when castling.

Draws
There are several ways games can end in a draw:
• Draw by agreement: Draws are most commonly reached by mutual
agreement between the players. The correct procedure is to verbally offer
 the draw, make a move, then start the opponent's clock. Traditionally,
players have been allowed to agree to a draw at any point in the game,
occasionally even without playing a move; in recent years efforts have been
made to discourage short draws, for example by forbidding draw offers
before move thirty.
• Stalemate: The player whose turn it is to move has no legal move and is
not in check.
• Threefold repetition of position: This most commonly occurs when
neither side is able to avoid repeating moves without incurring a
disadvantage. In this situation, either player can claim a draw; this requires
the players to keep a valid written record of the game so that the claim can
be verified by the arbiter if challenged. The three occurrences of the
position need not occur on consecutive moves for a claim to be valid. FIDE
rules make no mention of perpetual check; this is merely a specific type of
draw by threefold repetition.
• Fifty-move rule: If during the previous 50 moves no pawn has been
moved and no capture has been made, either player can claim a draw.
There are in fact several known endgames where it is theoretically possible
to force a mate but require more than 50 moves before a pawn move or
capture is made; examples include some endgames with two knights
against a pawn and some pawnless endgames such as queen against two
bishops. These endings are rare, and few players study them in detail, so
the fifty-move rule is considered adequate for over-the-board play. Some
correspondence chess organizations allow exceptions to the fifty-move
rule.
• Fivefold repetition of position: Similar to the threefold-repetition rule,
but in this case no player needs to claim the draw for the game to be
drawn. This rule took effect on 1 July 2014 and establishes that there is a
theoretical upper bound on the length of lawful chess games.
• Seventy-five-move rule: Similar to the fifty-move rule; however, if the
final move in the sequence resulted in checkmate, this takes precedence. As
for the fivefold-repetition rule, this applies independently of claims by the
players. This rule also took effect on 1 July 2014 and also establishes,
independently, an upper bound on game length.
• Insufficient material: If neither player has a theoretical possibility to
checkmate the opponent; for example, if a player has only the king and a
knight left, and the opponent has only the king left, checkmate is
impossible and the game is drawn by this rule. On the other hand, if both
players have a king and a knight left, there is a highly unlikely yet
theoretical possibility of checkmate, so this rule does not apply.
• Draw on time: In games with a time control, the game is drawn if a player
is out of time and the opponent has no theoretical possibility to checkmate
the player.

Some Tournament Rules

Many tournaments follow a set of common, similar rules. These rules do
not necessarily apply to play at home or online
Touch-move: If a player touches one of their own pieces they must move that
piece as long as it is a legal move. A player who wishes to touch a piece only to
adjust it on the board must first announce what they are doing, usually by
saying "adjust."
Introduction to Clocks and Timers
Most tournaments use timers to regulate the time spent on each game,
not on each move. That's because when they first started having chess
tournaments in the 1800s, some guys would just sit there and not move if they
were in a losing position. This perfect strategy kept them from ever losing...
and the tournament from ever finishing! Then they invented the chess clock,
and it became normal at most tournaments.
Each player gets the same amount of time to use for their entire game
and can decide how to spend that time. Once a player makes a move they then
touch a button or hit a lever to stop their clock from running and start the
opponent's clock. If a player runs out of time and the opponent calls the time,
then the player who ran out of time loses the game (unless the opponent does
not have enough pieces to checkmate, in which case it is a draw).
Basic Strategy
There are four simple things that every chess player should know:
1 Protect your king: Get your king to the corner of the board where he is
usually safer. Don't put off castling. You should usually castle as quickly as
possible. Remember, it doesn't matter how close you are to checkmating your
opponent if your own king is checkmated first.
2 Don’t give pieces away: Don’t carelessly lose your pieces. Each piece is
valuable and you can’t win a game without pieces to checkmate. There is an
easy system that most players use to keep track of the relative value of each
chess piece:
• A pawn is worth 1
• A knight is worth 3
• A bishop is worth 3
• A rook is worth 5
• A queen is worth 9
• The king is infinitely valuable
At the end of the game these points don’t mean anything – it is simply a
system you can use to make decisions while playing, helping you know when
to capture, exchange, or make other moves.
3 Control the center: You should try and control the center of the board with
your pieces and pawns. If you control the center, you will have more room to
move your pieces and will make it harder for your opponent to find good
squares for his pieces.
4 Use all of your pieces: Your pieces don’t do any good when they are sitting
back on the first row. Try and develop all of your pieces so that you have more
to use when you attack the king. Using one or two pieces to attack will not
work against any decent opponent.
Revision Questions
Write short notes on the following;
• Systematically trace the origin of the game of Chess
• What are the basic rules for playing the game of chess
• Describe the equipment needed in the game of chess and how they are
used in game play
• What basic strategy can one adopt in the game of chess?
 MONOPOLY
Course Objectives: At the end of this unit, student should be able to address
the following sub-topics on the game of Monopoloy;
a) A brief history of monopoly
b) Equipment
c) The board
d) Main objective
e) Preparation
f) Banker
g) The bank
h) The game play
i) Go
j) Buying property
k) Chance and community chest
l) Income tax
m) Jail
n) Free parking
o) Houses
p) Hotels
q) Building shortages
r) Selling property
s) Mortgages
t) Bankruptcy

A BRIEF HISTORY
The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903, when Elizabeth
Magie created a game through to explain the single tax theory of Henry
George. It was originally intended as an educational tool to illustrate the
negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. Magie took out a
patent in 1904 and published her gameThe Landlord's Game, in 1906. From
1906 through to the 1930s, series of variant board games based on her
concept were developed that involved the buying and selling of land and the
development of that land. Cardboard houses were added and rents were
increased as they were added. Magie again patented the game in 1923.
By 1933, a variation on "The Landlord's Game" called Monopoly was the
basis of the board game sold by Parker Brothers, beginning on February 6,
1935. Several people, mostly in the midwestern United States and near the
East Coast, contributed to the game's design and evolution, and this is when
the game's design took on the 4×10 space-to-a-side layout and familiar cards
were produced. The original version of the game in this format was based on
the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

EQUIPMENT
The equipment consists of a board, 2 dice, tokens, 32 houses and 12
Hotels. There are 16 Chance and 16 Community Chest cards, 28 Title Deed
card (one for each property), and play money.

The Board
The Monopoly game board consists of forty spaces containing:
• twenty-eight properties: (twenty-two streets (grouped into eight color
groups), four railroads, and two utilities),
• three Chance spaces,
• three Community Chest spaces,
• a Luxury Tax space,
• an Income Tax space, and
• the four corner squares: GO, (In) Jail/Just Visiting, Free Parking, and Go
to Jail.
Main Objective
The main objective of the game is to become the wealthiest player
through buying, renting and selling of property.

Preparation
Place the board on a table and put the Chance and Community Chest
cards face down on their allotted spaces on the board. Each player chooses
one token to represent them while travelling around the board. Each player is
given $1500 divided as follows:
2 $500's, 2 $100's, 2 $50's, 6 $20's, 5 $10's, 5 $5's, and 5 $1's.
All remaining money and other equipment go to the Bank.

Banker
Select as Banker a player who will also make a good Auctioneer. A
Banker who plays in the game must keep their personal funds separate from
those of the Bank. When more than five persons play, the Banker may elect to
act only as Banker and Auctioneer.

The Bank
Besides the Bank's money, the Bank holds the Title Deeds, and the
houses and hotels prior to purchase by the players. The Bank pays salaries
and bonuses. It sells and auctions properties and hands out the proper Title
Deed cards when purchased by a player, it also sells houses and hotels to the
players and loans money when required on mortgages.
The Bank collects all taxes, fines, loans and interest, and the price of all
properties which it sells and auctions. The Bank "never goes broke." If the
Bank runs out of money, the Banker may issue as much as needed by writing
on any ordinary paper.

The Play
Starting with the Banker, each player in turn throws the dice. The player
with the highest total starts the play. Place your token on the corner marked
"GO", then throw the dice and move your token (in the direction of the arrow)
the number of spaces indicated by the dice.
After you have completed your play, the turn passes to the left. The tokens
remain on the spaces occupied and proceed from that point on the player's
next turn. Two or more tokens may rest on the same space at the same time.
Depending on the space your token reaches, you may be entitled to buy real
estate or other properties, or be obliged to pay rent, pay taxes, draw a Chance
or Community Chest card, Go To Jail, or etc... If you throw doubles, you move
your token as usual, the sum of the two dice, and are subject to any privileges
or penalties pertaining to the space on which you land. Retaining the dice,
throw again and move your token as before. If you throw doubles three times
in succession, move your token immediately to the space marked "In Jail".

GO
Each time a player's token lands on or passes over GO, whether by
throwing the dice or drawing a card, the Banker pays that player a $200
salary. The $200 is paid only once each time around the board. However, if a
player passing GO on the throw of the dice lands 2 spaces beyond it on
Community Chest, or 7 spaces beyond it on Chance, and draws the "Advance to
GO" card, they collect $200 for passing GO the first time, and another $200 for
Advancing to it the second time by the instructions on the card.

Buying Property
Whenever a player land on an unowned property he may buy that
property from the Bank at its printed price. You receive the Title Deed card
showing ownership. Place the title deed card face up in front of you. If you do
not wish to buy the property, the Bank sells it through an auction to the
highest bidder. The high bidder pays the Bank the amount of the bid in cash
and receives the Title Deed card for that property.
Any player, including the one who declined the option to buy it at the
printed price, may bid. Bidding may start at any price

Paying Rent
When you land on a property that is owned by another player, the
owner collects rent from you in accordance with the list printed on its Title
Deed card. If the property is mortgaged, no rent can be collected. When a
property is mortgaged, its Title Deed card is placed face down in front of
the owner.It is an advantage to hold all the Title Deed cards in a colour-group
(i.e., Boardwalk and Park Place, or Connecticut, Vermont and Oriental
Avenues) because the owner may then charge double rent for unimproved
properties in that colour-group. This rule applies to unmortgaged properties
even if another property in that colour-group is mortgaged. It is even more
advantageous to have houses or hotels on properties because rents are much
higher than for unimproved properties. The owner may not collect the rent if
they fail to ask for it before the second player following throws the dice.
Chance and Community Chest
When you land on either a Chance or Community Chest space, take the
top card from the deck indicated, follow the instructions and return the card
face down to the bottom of the deck. The "Get Out of Jail Free" card is held
until used and then returned to the bottom of the deck. If the player who
draws it does not wish to use it, then they may sell it, at any time, to another
player at a price agreeable to both.

Income Tax
If you land here you have two options: You may estimate your tax at
$200 and pay the Bank, or you may pay 10% of your total worth to the Bank.
Your total worth is all your cash on hand, printed prices of mortgaged and
unmortgaged properties and cost price of all buildings you own. You must
decide which option you will take before you add up your total worth.

JAIL
You land in Jail when:
(1) Your token lands on the space marked"Go to Jail",
(2) You draw a card marked "Go to Jail" or
(3) You throw doubles three times in succession.
When you are sent to Jail you cannot collect your $200 salary in that
move since, regardless of where your token is on the board, you must move
directly into Jail. Your turn ends when you are sent to Jail.
If you are not "sent to jail" but in the ordinary course of play lands on
that space, you are "Just Visiting", you incur no penalty, and you move ahead
in the usual manner on your next turn.
 You still are able to collect rent on your properties because you are
"Just Visiting".

A player gets out of Jail by:

(1) Throwing doubles on any of your next three turns, if you succeed in doing
this you immediately move forward the number of spaces shown by your
doubles throw. Even though you had thrown doubles, you do not take another
turn.
(2) Using the "Get Out of Jail Free Card"
(3) Purchasing the "Get Out of Jail Free Card" from another player and
playing it.
(4) Paying a fine of $50 before you roll the dice on either of your next two
turns. If you do not throw doubles by your third turn, you must pay the $50
fine. You then get out of Jail and immediately move forward the number of
spaces shown by your throw.
NOTE: Even though you are in Jail, you may buy and sell property, buy and sell
houses and hotels and collect rents.

FREE PARKING
A player landing on this place does not receive any money, property or
reward of any kind. This is just a "free" resting-place.

HOUSES
When a player owns all the properties in a colour-group they may buy
houses from the Bank and erect them on those properties.If you buy one
house, you may put it on any one of those properties. The next house you buy
must be erected on one of the unimproved properties of this or any other
complete colour-group you may own. The price you must pay the Bank for
each house is shown on your Title Deed card for the property on which you
erect the house. The owner still collects double rent from an opponent who
lands on the unimproved properties of their complete colour-group.
Following the above rules, you may buy and erect at any time as many houses
as your judgement and financial standing will allow. But you must build
evenly, i.e., you cannot erect more than one house on any one property of any
colour-group until you have built one house on every property of that group.
You may then begin on the second row of houses, and so on, up to a limit of
four houses to a property. For example, you cannot build three Houses on one
property if you have only one house on another property of that group.
As you build evenly, you must also break down evenly if you sell houses back
to the Bank.

HOTELS
When a player has four houses on each property of a complete colour-
group, they may buy a hotel from the Bank and erect it on any property of the
colour-group. They return the four houses from that property to the Bank and
pay the price for the hotel as shown on the Title Deed card. Only one hotel
may be erected on any one property.

BUILDING SHORTAGES
When the Bank has no houses to sell, players wishing to build must wait
for some player to return or sell their houses to the Bank before building. If
there are a limited number of houses and hotels available and two or more
players wish to buy more than the Bank has, the houses or hotels must be sold
at auction to the highest bidder.

SELLING PROPERTY
Unimproved properties, railroads and utilities (but not buildings) may
be sold to any player as a private transaction for any amount the owner can
get. However, no property can be sold to another player if buildings are
standing on any properties of that colour-group. Any buildings so located
must be sold back to the Bank before the owner can sell any property of that
colour-group.Houses and Hotels may be sold back to the Bank at any time for
one-half the price paidfor them. All houses on one colour-group may be sold at
once, or they may be sold one house at a time (one hotel equals five houses),
evenly, in reverse of the manner in which they were erected.

MORTGAGES
Unimproved properties can be mortgaged through the Bank at any time.
Before an improved property can be mortgaged, all the buildings on all the
properties of its colour-group must be sold back to the Bank at half price. The
mortgage value is printed on each Title Deed card.No rent can be collected on
mortgaged properties or utilities, but rent can be collected on unmortgaged
properties in the same group.In order to lift the mortgage, the owner must pay
the Bank the amount of mortgage plus 10% interest. When all the properties
of a colour-group are no longer mortgaged, the owner may begin to buy back
houses at full price.
The player who mortgages property retains possession of it and no
other player may secure it by lifting the mortgage from the Bank. However,
the owner may sell this mortgaged property to another player at any agreed
price. If you are the new owner, you may lift the mortgage at once if you wish
by paying off the mortgage plus 10% interest to the Bank. If the mortgage is
not lifted at once, you must pay the Bank 10% interest when you buy the
property and if you lift the mortgage later you must pay the Bank an
additional 10% interest as well as the amount of the mortgage.

BANKRUPTCY
You are declared bankrupt if you owe more than you can pay either to
another player or to the Bank. If your debt is to another player, you must turn
over to that player all that you have of value and retire from the game.In
making this settlement, if you own houses or hotels, you must return these to
the Bank in exchange for money to the extent of one-half the amount paid for
them.This cash is given to the creditor. If you have mortgaged property you
also turn this property over to your creditor but the new owner must at once
pay the Bank the amount of interest on the loan, which is 10% of the value of
the property.
The new owner who does this may then, at their option, pay the
principal or hold the property until some later turn, then lift the mortgage. If
they hold property in this way until a later turn, they must pay the interest
again upon lifting the mortgage.Should you owe the Bank, instead of another
player, more than you can pay (because of taxes or penalties) even by selling
off buildings and mortgaging property, you must turn over all assets to the
Bank. In this case, the Bank immediately sells by auction all property so taken,
except buildings. A bankrupt player must immediately retire from the game.
The last player left in the game wins.
MISCELLANEOUS
Money can be loaned to a player only by the Bank and then only by
mortgaging property. No player may borrow from or lend money to another
player.

RULES FOR A SHORT GAME (60 to 90 minutes)

There are three changed rules for this Short Game.
1. During PREPARATION for play, the Banker shuffles the pack of Title Deed
cards, then the player to the left cuts them, then the Banker deals out two, one
at a time, to each player. The players must immediately pay the Bank the
printed price of each. Play then begins as in the regular game.
2. In this short game, it is necessary to have only three houses (instead of four)
on each lot of a complete colour-group before the player may buy a hotel.
Rent for a hotel remains the same as in the regular game.
The turn-in value of a hotel is still one-half the purchase price, which in this
game is one house fewer than in the regular game.
3. END OF GAME. The first player to go bankrupt retires from play, as in the
regular game. However, when the second bankruptcy occurs, the game ends.
Play immediately ceases, with the bankrupt player's turning over to their
creditor all that they have of value, including buildings and any other
properties.
This happens whether the creditor is a rival player or the Bank.
Each remaining player then values his/her property.
(1) Cash on hand
(2) Lots, Utilities and Railroads owned, at the price printed on the board.
(3) Any mortgaged property owned, at one-half the price printed on the board
(4) Houses, valued at purchase price.
(5) Hotels, valued at purchase price including the value of thethree houses
turned in. At the end, the richest player wins

TIME LIMIT GAME

Before starting, agree upon a definite hour of termination, when the
richest player will be declared “The winner”. Before starting, the Banker
shuffles and cuts the Title Deed cards and deals two to each player. Players
immediately pay the Bank the price of the properties dealt to them.

Revision Questions

Write short notes on the following;

• A brief history of monopoly

• Equipment
• The board
• Main objective
• Preparation
• Banker
• The bank
• The game play
• Go
• Buying property
• Chance and community chest
• Income tax
• Jail
• Free parking
• Houses
• Hotels
• Building shortages
• Selling property
• Mortgages and Bankruptcy
 SCRABBLE

Course Objectives: At the end of this unit, students should be able to analyse
various concepts on the game of scrabble;

i. History of Scrabble
ii. Setup
iii. Starting the Game
iv. Scrabble Official Rules
v. Game Play
vi. Scoring
vii. Challenges

Introduction

Scrabble, board-and-tile game in which two to four players compete in

forming words with lettered tiles on a 225-square board; words spelled out by
letters on the tiles interlock like words in a crossword puzzle. The tiles must
form words that, in crossword fashion, read left to right in rows or downward
in columns, and be included in a standard dictionary or lexicon. The game is
played by two to four players on a square board with a 15×15 grid of cells
(individually known as "squares"), each of which accommodates a single letter
tile. In official club and tournament games, play is between two players or,
occasionally, between two teams each of which collaborates on a single rack.
The board is marked with "premium" squares, which multiply the number of
points awarded: eight dark red "triple-word" squares, 17 pale red "double-
word" squares, of which one, the center square (H8), is marked with a star or
other symbol; 12 dark blue "triple-letter" squares, and 24 pale blue "double-
letter" squares. In 2008, Hasbro changed the colors of the premium squares to
orange for TW, red for DW, blue for DL, and green for TL, but the original
premium square color scheme is still preferred for Scrabble boards used in
tournaments.
Players draw seven tiles from a pool at the start and replenish their
supply after each turn. Tiles in the pool and those of other players are kept
secret so that a player can see only those tiles on the board and his own. A
player may forfeit his turn and exchange any or all of his tiles for those in the
pool. There are 100 letter tiles, each imprinted with a point value for different
letters, approximately corresponding to the frequency of occurrence of the
letter in English words. Words are scored by adding up the point values of
their letters, multiplied by any of 61 premium squares that may be covered,
such as double letter, triple letter, double word, and triple word. Scoring as
the game advances is possible both horizontally and vertically, with higher
scores registered by forming two or more interlocking words at the same
time. At the end of the game, when one player has no tiles or the board is
deadlocked, the player who has scored the greatest number of points is the
winner. Values of unused letters left to players are totaled and deducted from
their scores

History of Scrabble

Originally, the game, which was based on the crossword puzzle and
anagrams, was developed by Alfred Mosher Butts, an American architect, in
1931 and was then called Lexiko. In 1938, Butts created a variation of the
Lexiko; both games had the same set of letter tiles, whose distributions and
point values were worked out by performing a frequency analysis of letters
from various sources, including The New York Times. The new game, which he
called "Criss-Crosswords," added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-
style gameplay. He manufactured a few sets himself, but was not successful in
selling the game to any major game manufacturers of the day.

In 1948, James Brunot, a resident of Newtown, Connecticut, and one of

the few owners of the original Criss-Crosswords game, bought the rights to
manufacture the game in exchange for granting Butts a royalty on every unit
sold. Though he left most of the game (including the distribution of letters)
unchanged, Brunot slightly rearranged the "premium" squares of the board
and simplified the rules; he also changed the name of the game to "Scrabble", a
real word which means "to scratch frantically". In 1949, Brunot and his
family made sets in a converted former schoolhouse in Dodgingtown, a
section of Newtown. They made 2,400 sets that year, but lost money.

According to legend, Scrabble's big break came in 1952 when Jack

Straus, president of Macy's, played the game on vacation. Upon returning from
vacation, he was surprised to find that his store did not carry the game. He
placed a large order and within a year, everyone had to have one. In 1952,
unable to meet demand himself, Brunot sold manufacturing rights to Long
Island-based Selchow and Righter, one of the manufacturers who, like Parker
Brothers and Milton Bradley Company, had previously rejected the game. In
its second year as a Selchow and Righter-built product, nearly four million
sets were sold.

Selchow and Righter bought the trademark to the game in 1972. In

1984, Scrabble was turned into a daytime game show on NBC. In 1986,
Selchow and Righter was sold to Coleco, which soon after went
bankrupt. Hasbro purchased the company's assets,
including Scrabble and Parcheesi. Scrabble was inducted into the National Toy
Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2011, a new TV variation of Scrabble, called Scrabble
Showdown, aired on The Hub cable channel, which is a joint venture of
Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro.

Set-Up

You should have a game board, 100 letter tiles, a letter bag, and four
racks. Before the game begins, all players should agree upon the dictionary
that they will use, in case of a challenge. All words labeled as a part of speech
(including those listed of foreign origin, and as archaic, obsolete, colloquial,
slang, etc.) are permitted with the exception of the following: words always
capitalized, abbreviations, prefixes and suffixes standing alone, words
requiring a hyphen or an apostrophe. Place all letters in the pouch, or
facedown beside the board, and mix them up. Draw for first play. The player
with the letter closest to "A" plays first. A blank tile beats any letter. Return
the letters to the pool and remix. All players draw seven new letters and place
them on their racks.

Starting the Game

Without looking at any of the tiles in the bag, players will take one tile.
The player that has the letter that is closest to “A” will begin the game. A blank
tile will win the start of the game. The tiles are them replaced to the bag and
used in the remainder of the game. Every player will start their turn by
drawing seven tiles from the Scrabble bag. There are three options during any
turn. The player can place a word, they can exchange tiles for new tiles or they
can choose to pass. In most cases, players will try to place a word as the other
two options will result in no score. When a player chooses to exchange tiles,
they can choose to exchange one or all of the tiles they currently hold. After
tiles are exchanged, the turn is over and players will have to wait until their
next turn to place a word on the board. Players can choose to pass at any time.
They will forfeit that turn and hope to be able to play the next time. If any
player passes two times in a row, the game will end and the one with the
highest score will win.

i. The First Word Score - When the game begins, the first player will
place their word on the star spin in the centre of the board. The star is a
double square and will offer a double word score. All players following will
build their words off of this word, extending the game to other squares on the
board. Play continues in a clockwise direction around the Scrabble board.
ii. Replacing Scrabble Tiles - Once tiles are played on the board, players
will draw new tiles to replace those. Players will always have seven tiles
during the game. Drawing tiles is always done without looking into the bag so
that the letters are always unknown.
iii. The Fifty Point Bonus - Exciting rewards can come when players use
all seven tiles to create a word on the board. When this happens, players will
receive a 50 point bonus, in addition to the value of the word. If the game is
near the end and players are not holding seven tiles, they do not get the bonus
for using all of their tiles. This is only collected for seven letter words placed.
iv. The End of a Scrabble Game - Once all tiles are gone from the bag and
a single player has placed all of their tiles, the game will end and the player
with the highest score wins.
v. Tallying Scrabble Scores - When the game ends, each player will count
all points that are remaining on their tiles that have not been played. This
amount will be deducted from the final score. An added bonus is awarded to
the player that ended the game and has no remaining tiles. The tile values of
all remaining players will be added to the score of the player who is out of
tiles to produce the final score for the game. The Scrabble player with the
highest score after all final scores are tallied wins.
vi. Accepted Scrabble Words - Any word that is found in a standard
English dictionary can be used in the game of Scrabble. There are also Official
Scrabble Dictionaries that can be purchased for more word options. There are
some words that are not allowed to be played and these include;
• suffixes, prefixes and abbreviations
• any word that requires the use of a hyphen or apostrophe cannot be
played in the game
• any word that required the use of a capital letter is not allowed
• when playing an English version of the game, foreign words are not
allowed to be placed on the board. However, if the foreign word does appear
in a standard English dictionary, it is allowed. The reason for this is due to the
fact that the word is spoken enough and is considered part of the English
language.

Scrabble Official Rules

When playing Scrabble, anywhere from two to four players will enjoy
the game. The object when playing is to score more points than other players.
As words are placed on the game board, points are collected and each letter
that is used in the game will have a different point value. The main strategy is
to play words that have the highest possible score based on the
combination ofletters.
• The Scrabble Board - A standard Scrabble board will consist of cells
that are located in a large square grid. The board offers 15 cells high and 15
cells wide. The tiles used on the game will fit in each cell on the board.
• Scrabble Tiles - There are 100 tiles that are used in the game and 98 of
them will contain letters and point values. There are 2 blank tiles that can be
used as wild tiles to take the place of any letter. When a blank is played, it will
remain in the game as the letter it substituted for. Different letters in the game
will have various point values and this will depend on how rare the letter is
and how difficult it may be to lay that letter. Blank tiles will have no point
values.
• Tile Values - Below are the point values for each letter that is used in a
Scrabble game.
• 0 Points - Blank tile.
• 1 Point - A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T and U.
• 2 Points - D and G.
• 3 Points - B, C, M and P.
• 4 Points - F, H, V, W and Y.
• 5 Points - K.
• 8 Points - J and X.
• 10 Points - Q and Z.
• Extra Point Values - When looking at the board, players will see that
some squares offer multipliers. Should a tile be placed on these squares, the
value of the tile will be multiplied by 2x or 3x. Some squares will also multiply
the total value of the word and not just the single point value of one tile.
a. Double Letter Scores - The light blue cells in the board are isolated and
when these are used, they will double the value of the tile placed on that
square.
b. Triple Letter Score - The dark blue cell in the board will be worth
triple the amount, so any tile placed here will earn more points.
c. Double Word Score - When a cell is light red in colour, it is a double
word cell and these run diagonally on the board, towards the four corners.
When a word is placed on these squares, the entire value of the word will be
doubled.
d. Triple Word Score - The dark red square is where the high points can
be earned as this will triple the word score. Placing any word on these squares
will boost points drastically. These are found on all four sides of the board and
are equidistant from the corners.
• One Single Use - When using the extra point squares on the board, they
can only be used one time. If a player places a word here, it cannot be used as
a multiplier by placing another word on the same square.

Game Play

1. The first player combines two or more of his or her letters to form a
word and places it on the board to read either across or down with one letter
on the center square. Diagonal words are not allowed.
2. Complete your turn by counting and announcing your score for that
turn. Then draw as many new letters as you played; always keep seven letters
on your rack, as long as there are enough tiles left in the bag.
3. Play passes to the left i.e in clockwise direction amongst players. The
second player, and then each in turn, adds one or more letters to those already
played to form new words. All letters played on a turn must be placed in one
row across or down the board, to form at least one complete word. If, at the
same time, they touch other letters in adjacent rows, those must also form
complete words, crossword fashion, with all such letters. The player gets full
credit for all words formed or modified on his or her turn.
4. New words may be formed by:
• Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.
• Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new
word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to
it.
• Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that
adjacent letters also form complete words.
5. No tile may be shifted or replaced after it has been played and scored.
6. Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a
blank, you must state which letter it represents. It remains that letter for the
rest of the game.
7. You may use a turn to exchange all, some, or none of the letters. To do
this, place your discarded letter(s) facedown. Draw the same number of
letters from the pool, and then mix your discarded letter(s) into the pool. This
ends your turn.
8. Any play may be challenged before the next player starts a turn. If the
play challenged is unacceptable, the challenged player takes back his or her
tiles and loses that turn. If the play challenged is acceptable, the challenger
loses his or her next turn. Consult the dictionary for challenges only. All words
made in one play are challenged simultaneously. If any word is unacceptable,
then the entire play is unacceptable. Only one turn is lost on any challenge.
9. The game ends when all letters have been drawn and one player uses
his or her last letter; or when all possible plays have been made.

Scoring

1. Use a score pad or piece of paper to keep a tally of each player's score,
entering it after each turn. The score value of each letter is indicated by a
number at the bottom of the tile. The score value of a blank is zero.
2. The score for each turn is the sum of the letter values in each word(s)
formed or modified on that turn, plus the additional points obtained from
placing letters on Premium Squares.
3. Premium Letter Squares: A light blue square doubles the score of a
letter placed on it; a dark blue square triples the letter score.
4. Premium Word Squares: The score for an entire word is doubled when
one of its letters is placed on a pink square: it is tripled when one of its letters
is placed on a red square. Include premiums for double or triple letter values,
if any, before doubling or tripling the word score. If a word is formed that
covers two premium word squares, the score is doubled and then re-doubled
(4 times the letter count), or tripled and then re-tripled (9 times the letter
count). NOTE: the center square is a pink square, which doubles the score for
the first word.
5. Letter and word premiums count only on the turn in which they are
played. On later turns, letters already played on premium squares count at
face value.
6. When a blank tile is played on a pink or red square, the value of the
word is doubled or tripled, even though the blank itself has no score value.
7. When two or more words are formed in the same play, each is scored.
The common letter is counted (with full premium value, if any) for each word.
8. BINGO! If you play seven tiles on a turn, it's a Bingo. You score a
premium of 50 points after totaling your score for the turn.
9. Unplayed Letters: When the game ends, each player's score is reduced
by the sum of his or her unplayed letters. In addition, if a player has used all of
his or her letters, the sum of the other players' unplayed letters is added to
that player's score.
10. The player with the highest final score wins the game. In case of a tie,
the player with the highest score before adding or deducting unplayed letters
wins.

Challenges

The penalty for a successfully challenged play is nearly universal: the

offending player removes the tiles played and forfeits his or her turn. The
penalty for an unsuccessful challenge (where all words formed by the play are
deemed valid) varies considerably, including:

• "Double Challenge" - in which an unsuccessfully challenging player

must forfeit the next turn. Because loss of a turn generally constitutes the
greatest risk for an unsuccessful challenge, it provides the greatest incentive
for a player to "bluff", or play a "phony" – a plausible word that they know or
suspect to be unacceptable, hoping his or her opponent will not call him on it.
Or a player can put down a legal word that appears to be a phony hoping the
other player will incorrectly challenge it and lose their turn.
• "Single Challenge"/"Free Challenge" - in which no penalty
whatsoever is applied to a player who unsuccessfully challenges.
• Modified "Single Challenge" - in which an unsuccessful challenge does
not result in the loss of the challenging player's turn, but is penalized by the
loss of a specified number of points. The most common penalty is five points.
Some countries and tournaments (including Sweden) use a 10-point penalty
instead. In most game situations, this penalty is much lower than that of the
"double challenge" rule. Consequently, such tournaments encourage greater
willingness to challenge and discourage playing dubious words.

Revision Questions

Discuss on the following;

i. History of Scrabble
ii. Setup
iii. Starting the Game
iv. Scrabble Official Rules
v. Game Play
vi. Scoring
vii. Challenges
 LUDO
Course Objectives: At the end of this unit, students should have a clear
understanding of various concepts in the game of Ludo;
i. Introduction
ii. History of Ludo
iii. Ludo Rules
iv. Game play
v. Movement
vi. Rules of the 6’s
vii. Landing on a shared square
viii. Winning the Game
ix. Play
x. Winning

Introduction
Ludo (from Latin ludo, meaning 'I play') is a strategy board game for
two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to
finish according to the rolls of a single die. Like other cross and circle games,
Ludo is derived from the Indian game Pachisi, but simpler. The game and its
variations are popular in many countries and under various names.

Random chance: Medium (dice rolling)

Skills required: Strategy, tactics, counting, probability

History

Pachisi was discovered in India in the 6th century. The earliest evidence
of this game evolution in India is the depiction of boards on the caves of
Ellora. Latest version as we describe as Ludo, was played by the Mughal
emperors of India; a notable example is Akbar. Pachisi was modified to use a
cubic die with dice cup and patented as "Ludo" in England in 1896. The Royal
Navy took Ludo and converted it into the board game Uckers.

Ludo Rules

Equipment

A Ludo board is square with a pattern on it in the shape of a cross, each

arm being divided into three adjacent columns of eight squares. The middle
squares form the home column for each colour and cannot be landed upon by
other colours. The middle of the cross forms a large square which is the
'home' area and which is divided into 4 home triangles, one of each colour. At
each corner, separate to the main circuit are coloured circles (or squares)
where the pieces are placed to begin. Counters start their circuit one square in
from the end of the arm and adjacent to the starting circle. Avoid modern
boards which incorrectly place the first square at the end of the arm. The
starting square, the starting circle, the home triangle and all the home column
squares are coloured to match the corresponding pieces. Each player chooses
one of the 4 colours (green, yellow, red or blue) and places the 4 pieces of that
colour in the corresponding starting circle. A single die is thrown to determine
movement.
 Ludo consists of a square board with four different colored bases in
each corner. The first colored space outside of each base is the start position.
A path leads clockwise around the board returning to a path the same color as
the base, the home column, leading to the center home triangle.There are four
different colored sets of playing pieces that start off in their matching bases.
Each set consists of 4 playing pieces. The included die is used to govern the
movement of the pieces.

Gameplay

2 to 4 players begin by placing their respective pieces in their bases.

Each takes turns throwing the die, and the player with the highest roll plays
first. The players to the left follow in turn going clockwise. On each player’s
turn, the player rolls the die to determine a move. The goal of the game is to
move all four of the player’s pieces clockwise once around the board, up the
home column, and into the home triangle.

Movement
To begin, a player must roll a six to move a piece out of the base and onto the
starting square. That piece is then in play. The player cannot make any other
moves until at least one piece is in play.If a player has a piece or pieces in play,
they can move any one of their pieces 1 to 6 squares along the path according
to the number they roll.

Rules of the 6’s.

• If a six is rolled, the player can choose to either move a piece out of his
base onto the starting square or move a piece that is in play.
• Anytime a six is rolled, the player gets an extra roll after his move. - If a
six is rolled three times in a row, the player loses his turn. Landing on a
shared square
• If a player’s piece lands on an opponent’s piece, the opponent’s piece is
sent back to their base where he must roll a six again in order move it
out onto the starting square.

Landing on a shared square

If a player’s piece lands on an opponent’s piece, the opponent’s piece is
sent back to their base where he must

If a player lands on a square occupied by one of his own pieces, that

space becomes blocked. A blocked space cannot be passed or landed on by an
opponent’s piece.
Winning the Game

When a player’s piece has reached the home column of its own color,
the piece continues its moves toward the center to its home triangle. When a
player’s die roll lands its piece on the home base, that piece has completed its
journey. A piece can only be moved to the home base with an exact roll.The
first player to have all four of his pieces finish their journeys wins. The
remaining players continue the game to determine the runner-ups.
Play
Players take turns in a clockwise order; highest throw of the die starts.
Each throw, the player decides which piece to move. A piece simply moves in a
clockwise direction around the track given by the number thrown. If no piece
can legally move according to the number thrown, play passes to the next
player. A throw of 6 gives another turn. A player must throw a 6 to move a
piece from the starting circle onto the first square on the track. The piece
moves 6 squares around the circuit beginning with the appropriately coloured
start square (and the player then has another turn). If a piece lands on a piece
of a different colour, the piece jumped upon is returned to its starting circle. If
a piece lands upon a piece of the same colour, this forms a block. This block
cannot be passed or landed on by any opposing piece.

Winning

When a piece has circumnavigated the board, it proceeds up the home

column. A piece can only be moved onto the home triangle by an exact throw.
The first person to move all 4 pieces into the home triangle wins.
Revision Questions
Describe the following;
i. History of Ludo
ii. Ludo Rules
iii. Game play
iv. Movement
v. Rules of the 6’s
vi. Landing on a shared square
vii. Winning the Game
viii. Play
ix. Winning