Indoor games and sports
Encyclopedia
For thousands of years people have invented Indoor games and sports to amuse themselves when confined within a house or other building. Often these are played in social or family situations, or when darkness or bad weather prevent people from moving outside.
Such amusements have been developed throughout the world. Others require a great deal of skill on the part of the players.
Perhaps the most famous indoor game is basket ball, which was created as an active sport to be played in the winter time.
s, which are divided equally into four suits
: spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. Each suit has the numbers 1 (ace
) to 10 followed by the picture cards – jack, queen and king.
Amongst the most popular card games are ‘trump-and-trick’ games, which include whist and bridge. In games of this kind the ace usually ranks highest, followed by the picture cards and number cards in descending order. One suit is made trumps, which means that cards of that suit beat any card of another suit. One player leads (plays the first card) and the others must follow suit (play a card of the same suit) if they can. Each round or trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, but if a player cannot follow suit, they may play a trump and the highest trump wins. The winner is the player or team that wins the most tricks.
Playing cards came to Europe from the Muslim
world, probably in the 14th century. At that time the suit signs were swords, batons, coins and cups, which are still used in some countries. India
, China
and Korea
also have traditional packs of playing cards. The Indian cards are usually round, and have 8, 10 or 12 suits of 12 cards each. Chinese playing cards are very small and narrower than European cards.
Games such as Monopoly
and backgammon
are a mixture of chance and skill. Even though luck (usually the throw of dice) plays a part, choices made by the players in the course of the game also help to decide the winner. Backgammon is one of the oldest board games that people still play. Its name comes from the Saxon (it means ‘back game’ because sometimes pieces have to go back to the beginning), but the Romans played this game too.
Luck plays little or no part in games of skill – the outcome is decided by the players’ ability to make the most advantageous moves available. Such games are often ‘war’ games, which involve capturing an opponent’s pieces. The most popular of all such games today is chess. Chess
is a game of great skill that calls for the ability to plan moves and recognize threats several steps ahead. Each player has an ‘army’ of 16 pieces with which to fight a battle. There are six different kinds of piece – king, queen, bishop, knight, rook and pawn – and each has its own special way of moving about the board. If a player moves onto a square occupied by an opposing piece, that piece is captured and removed from the board. The object of the game is to trap (checkmate) the enemy king by putting it in a position where it cannot escape capture.
In billiards
, there are just three balls: a white cue-ball for each player and one red ball. Points are scored by potting the balls, by sending the cue-ball into a pocket ‘in off’ one of the other balls, or by getting the cue-ball to hit both the other balls (a cannon). The winner is the player who reaches an agreed score first, or who has the highest score after a certain time.
In snooker
there are 22 balls: 1 cue-ball, 15 reds and 6 colours. A player must first pot one of the red balls (scoring 1 point) and then one of the colours, which are worth between 2 points (yellow) and 7 (black). The colour ball is put back on the table, and the player tries to put another red. The turn or break continues until the player fails to score or plays a foul shot. When all the red are have gone, the colours are potted in sequence from yellow to black, which marks the end of the game or frame. The winner of the frame is the player with the most points. Most professional matches are decided over a fixed number of frames.
Such amusements have been developed throughout the world. Others require a great deal of skill on the part of the players.
Perhaps the most famous indoor game is basket ball, which was created as an active sport to be played in the winter time.
Card Games
Most card games are played with a pack of 52 playing cardPlaying card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s, which are divided equally into four suits
Suit (cards)
In playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several symbols showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or in addition be indicated by the color printed on the card...
: spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. Each suit has the numbers 1 (ace
Ace
An ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades...
) to 10 followed by the picture cards – jack, queen and king.
Amongst the most popular card games are ‘trump-and-trick’ games, which include whist and bridge. In games of this kind the ace usually ranks highest, followed by the picture cards and number cards in descending order. One suit is made trumps, which means that cards of that suit beat any card of another suit. One player leads (plays the first card) and the others must follow suit (play a card of the same suit) if they can. Each round or trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, but if a player cannot follow suit, they may play a trump and the highest trump wins. The winner is the player or team that wins the most tricks.
Playing cards came to Europe from the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
world, probably in the 14th century. At that time the suit signs were swords, batons, coins and cups, which are still used in some countries. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
also have traditional packs of playing cards. The Indian cards are usually round, and have 8, 10 or 12 suits of 12 cards each. Chinese playing cards are very small and narrower than European cards.
Board Games
Many different kinds of board games are played throughout the world, and many of them have been popular for hundreds of years. A few board games are decided by chance or luck alone, but most require some amount of skill on the part of the players. Games of pure chance are usually ‘race’ games, such as the children’s game snakes and ladders. The winner – the player who reaches a certain square first – is decided by throwing numbered dice, over which the players have no control.Games such as Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
and backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
are a mixture of chance and skill. Even though luck (usually the throw of dice) plays a part, choices made by the players in the course of the game also help to decide the winner. Backgammon is one of the oldest board games that people still play. Its name comes from the Saxon (it means ‘back game’ because sometimes pieces have to go back to the beginning), but the Romans played this game too.
Luck plays little or no part in games of skill – the outcome is decided by the players’ ability to make the most advantageous moves available. Such games are often ‘war’ games, which involve capturing an opponent’s pieces. The most popular of all such games today is chess. Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
is a game of great skill that calls for the ability to plan moves and recognize threats several steps ahead. Each player has an ‘army’ of 16 pieces with which to fight a battle. There are six different kinds of piece – king, queen, bishop, knight, rook and pawn – and each has its own special way of moving about the board. If a player moves onto a square occupied by an opposing piece, that piece is captured and removed from the board. The object of the game is to trap (checkmate) the enemy king by putting it in a position where it cannot escape capture.
Table-top Games
Various indoor games, including billiards, snooker and pool, are played on a large, flat, cloth-covered table with six pockets. In these games, each of the two players tries to pot the balls (knock them into the pockets) by striking them with a cue-ball, which is hit with the tip of a stick called a cue.In billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
, there are just three balls: a white cue-ball for each player and one red ball. Points are scored by potting the balls, by sending the cue-ball into a pocket ‘in off’ one of the other balls, or by getting the cue-ball to hit both the other balls (a cannon). The winner is the player who reaches an agreed score first, or who has the highest score after a certain time.
In snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
there are 22 balls: 1 cue-ball, 15 reds and 6 colours. A player must first pot one of the red balls (scoring 1 point) and then one of the colours, which are worth between 2 points (yellow) and 7 (black). The colour ball is put back on the table, and the player tries to put another red. The turn or break continues until the player fails to score or plays a foul shot. When all the red are have gone, the colours are potted in sequence from yellow to black, which marks the end of the game or frame. The winner of the frame is the player with the most points. Most professional matches are decided over a fixed number of frames.