What are Mind Games?

Mind Games are tabletop or board games, said to be intellectually demanding, strategic in nature and where victory or gain by chance is kept to the absolute minimum, if not eliminated. Furthermore, the games should be relatively simple in concept but facilitate almost infinite variation and the capability of almost endless study, improvement and enjoyment. Invariably therefore, opposing sides, being given no particular advantage, should achieve mastery of the game solely by the skill of the participants.

Our Current Mind Games

We currently include the following games

Go or Igo (pronounced ‘Ee-go’) in Japan, Weiqi (‘Way-chee’) in China and Baduk (‘Bad-ook’) or Paduk in Korea is a game where the priority is to capture territory (unlike Chess, where the object is to capture men, or ultimately one man in particular, the King). Go is said to be like four chess games going on together on the same board. Apart from our traditional Western Chess, Go is probably the best promoted and widespread mind game in the UK.

Shogi (‘Sho-gee’) or Japanese Chess has its appeal in the fact that captured pieces are never out of the game but can be re-entered anywhere on the board and that there are virtually no drawn games. Shogi can be as deep or as shallow as you want it to be hence the claim that it can be great fun to play badly.

Xiang Qi (‘Shee-ang chee’) or Chinese Chess is known as the kung fu of board games because it is fast-moving with broad-ranging tactical fights. It is said that every Chinese man knows how to play the game.

Mancala is said to be Africa’s national game, it has 200+ variations in rules, yet using the same very basic equipment. We provide rules for the two most popular variants, Ayo (‘Eye-oh’) and Owari (‘Oh-waar-ee’).

Mah Jong is known misleadingly as the Chinese Domino Game, it is a gambling game more like the card game Rummy. It has become as much renowned for the quality and design of its pieces as the game itself with various elements made out of bamboo and bone, engraved and colourful.