Domineering
Players: Two - Also known as: Crosscram, Stop-Gate
The players take turns linking pairs of dots on a grid. The first player unable to move
loses.
Description
The game is played on a matrix of dots.
The players take turns in linking a pair of adjacent dots. The first player, Blue,
always makes a vertical link, and the other player, Red, always makes a horizontal
link. No dot can be linked more than once.
The first player unable to move loses.
Example
In the following game Red is unable to move, and so loses:
Dots and Boxes
Players: Two
Players take turns in drawing lines between dots on a grid. The player who
completes the most boxes wins.
Description
The game is played starting with a rectangular array of dots.
The two players take turns to join two adjacent dots with a horizontal or vertical line.
If a player completes the fourth side of a box they initial that box and must draw
another line.
When all the boxes have been completed the winner is the player who has initialled
the most boxes.
The game is more complex than it initially appears, and even on a 4x4 grid there is
plenty of opportunity for skillful play.
Example
The following game on a 3x3 grid is won by Blue, who scores 3 against Red's one:
Number Countdown
Players: Two or more
Players compete to reach a target total by combining six numbers using arithmetic.
Description
One player secretly writes two large numbers (25, 50, 75, or 100) and four small
numbers (from 1 to 10) on a piece of paper. The other player secretly writes a threedigit target.
After revealing the numbers and target, both players then have to try and get as
near to the target as possible by combining some or all of the six numbers using
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Only integers may be used at any
stage in the calculation, and you can only use each number once.
The player who gets closest to the target scores 10 points for getting the target
exactly, 7 points for getting within 5 of the target, or 5 points for getting within 10 of
the target. If both players are equally close they both score. No points are scored for
an answer further than 10 from the target.
Example
For example, if one player chose the six numbers:
and the other player chose the target:
it could be solved perfectly as follows:
Number Bulls & Cows
Players: Two
Players take turns in trying to guess each other's number.
Description
One player, the Chooser, thinks of a four-digit number and the other player, the
Guesser, tries to guess it.
At each turn the Guesser tries a four digit number, and the Chooser says how close it
is to the answer by giving:


The number of Bulls - digits correct in the right position.
The number of Cows - digits correct but in the wrong position.
The Guesser tries to guess the answer in the fewest number of turns.
If either number has repeated digits the rule is that each digit can only count
towards the score once, and Bulls are counted before Cows.
Example
For example, if the Chooser has thought of the number 2745 the replies for some
guesses are as follows:


Guess: 1389 - Reply: 0 Bulls, 0 Cows.
Guess: 1234 - Reply: 0 Bulls, 2 Cows.



Guess: 1759 - Reply: 1 Bull, 1 Cow.
Guess: 1785 - Reply: 2 Bulls, 0 Cows.
Guess: 2745 - Reply: 4 Bulls!
Panagrams
Players: Two or more
Players alternate in adding a letter to a word, to make an anagram of a new word.
Description
The first player starts with a three-letter word. The next player tries to find a four-letter word by adding a
letter and making an anagram of all the letters.
The players continue in this way, making longer and longer anagrams. The first player unable to make a
word loses.
Example
For example, the first player could start with:
The other player could then add an L to make:
Play might continue as follows:
Finally the second player makes:
The first player cannot make another word, so the second player wins.
Variations
Of the 600 common three-letter words, only "fix" and "ivy" cannot be extended to
four letters, so it's a good idea to ban these as starting words.
Word Ladders
Players: Two - Also known as: Doublets
Each player chooses a word with the same number of letters. Both players then try
to make a word ladder between the two words. The player with the shortest ladder
wins.
Description
A word ladder is a sequence of words in which only one letter changes at each step.
One player chooses a starting word, and the other player then chooses an ending
word of the same length. Both players then try to find a word ladder between the
two chosen words. The player with shortest ladder wins. If neither player can find a
ladder the game is a draw.
Example
For example, if one player chose WINE and the other player chose BEER a possible
word ladder could be as follows:
DOTS
game play
Draw rows of dots, separated by a good half inch, in a grid of 10 by 10 columns. Each
player takes a turn connecting one dot to another adjacent dot horizontally or vertically,
one move at a time. After a while, the board begins to fill with a series of horizontal and
vertical lines, some connected, some not. When a player draws a line that forms a square,
that player fills the square with his first initial. The player, who drew the closing line on the
square, gets another turn.
objective
The game is played until all the dots become boxes, and the player with the most boxes
completed at the end becomes the winner.
Battleship
If you're desperately trying to entertain the kids on a road trip, give them both two grids each that
are sectioned out 11 by 11; the top row marked 1-10, the side reading A-J. (The left-hand corner
square will be blank.) Each player gets the following:

1 carrier (5 squares)

2 battleships (4 squares each)

3 destroyers (2 squares each)

2 cruisers (3 squares each)

1 submarine (3 squares)
Have the kids outline all their own ships on one grid and then let them go crazy guessing the
other's coordinates (marking down their guesses on the other grid). When one hits all the squares
of the ship, it's been sunk. Let 'em at it until someone hits all the ships in the sea; it's a lot better
than hitting each other.