Board Games Online: Chess, Checkers, Ludo and More
Updated
Board games online fall into three families: strategy games with no luck at all, such as chess, checkers and reversi; race games where dice move your pieces, such as ludo and backgammon; and tile and grid games such as dominoes and battleship. Most of the games listed below let you play against the computer or with a friend on the same device. Below is each family, the rule that defines each game, and a link to its full rules.
Which board game is which
| Game | Players | Luck | How you win | Full rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess | 2 | None | Checkmate the other king | How to play chess |
| Checkers | 2 | None | Take every enemy piece or leave it no move | How to play checkers |
| Reversi | 2 | None | Have more discs of your color when neither side can move | Reversi rules |
| Four in a row | 2 | None | Line up four of your discs | Connect 4 strategy |
| Tic-tac-toe | 2 | None | Line up three marks | Tic tac toe strategy |
| Ludo | 2 to 4 | One die | Bring all four tokens home | How to play ludo |
| Backgammon | 2 | Two dice | Bear off all 15 checkers | How to play backgammon |
| Dominoes | 2 to 4 | The draw | Play all your tiles first | How to play dominoes |
| Battleship | 2 | Hidden fleets | Sink every enemy ship | How to play Battleship |
| Carrom | 2, or 4 in teams | None, only aim | Pocket all nine of your pieces, with the queen pocketed and covered | How to play carrom |
Strategy board games: no dice, no luck
In these games both players see everything, and only the moves decide the result.
- Chess: each side starts with 16 pieces on an 8×8 board, and every kind of piece moves in its own way. You win by checkmate, attacking the king so that it cannot escape.
- Checkers: you play on the dark squares, move one square diagonally forward and capture by jumping. A piece that reaches the far side becomes a king and can also move backward.
- Reversi: every disc you place must trap a line of your opponent's discs, which then flip to your color.
- Tic-tac-toe: with perfect play from both sides, the game is always a draw, so the aim is never to lose and to punish mistakes.
Chess 3D brings the classic game to a 3D board for beginners and experienced players alike. Chess Master King has a tournament mode against 30 computer players, practice at five difficulty levels, timed games and a two-player mode. 3D Hartwig Chess uses a 3D set you move by dragging the pieces, and CHECKERS - Dames follows the classic idea: move toward the other side and jump pieces to remove them.
Chinese checkers and dots and boxes
Two classics here do not have their own guide yet, so here are their rules in short, following Wikipedia's article on Chinese checkers for the first.
Chinese checkers is played on a six-pointed star by two, three, four or six players, usually with 10 pieces each. On your turn you move one piece a single step, or jump it over one adjacent piece into the empty space beyond, and you may chain as many jumps as you can in one move. Nothing is captured. The first player to bring every piece into the opposite point of the star wins. In Chinese Checkers Master you set anywhere from zero to six human players and the computer fills the other seats; with zero humans it plays itself so you can watch how the game goes.
Dots and boxes starts with a grid of dots. Players take turns drawing one line between two adjacent dots. Draw the fourth side of a box and you score it and take another turn; when no lines are left, the most boxes wins. In Dots II you click the lines to complete boxes, one point per box.
Tic Tac Toe 1-4 Player can be played by one, two, three or four players, and Reversi Multiplayer has a multiplayer mode, a game against the computer and a mode for two on one device.
Race games: the dice decide how far
Race games mix luck and choice. The dice set the distance, and you pick which piece to move.
- Ludo: you need a six to bring a token out of its yard, and landing on an opponent's token sends it back to its yard.
- Backgammon: two players race 15 checkers around a board of 24 points, and a checker left alone can be hit and sent back.
- Aeroplane chess: a Chinese game close to ludo and pachisi, played with planes instead of pawns.
Aeroplane Chess 3D notes that the rules vary from place to place, so it comes with the two most common rule sets ready to play and two rule sets you can define yourself. Ludo Legend is played alone or with friends passing one device; you release a token on a 6, and opponents can kick your tokens back. Backgammon Multiplayer has the same three modes as Reversi Multiplayer.
Dice games that are not played on a board, such as Yatzy, are in dice games online, along with snakes and ladders.
Tiles, hidden fleets and pieces you flick
- Dominoes: players add tiles to either end of a line, and the touching ends must show the same number. Domino Legend offers the block and draw versions, with 7 tiles each at the start.
- Battleship: each player hides a fleet on a 10×10 grid and calls squares to fire at; the first to sink the whole enemy fleet wins.
- Carrom: you flick a striker to knock your own pieces into the four corner pockets. Angry Checkers uses checkers pieces for a carrom-like goal: knock the enemy pieces off the board, online against a random player, against the computer, or with a friend on one device.
Playing with a friend or the computer
| Game | Against the computer | With friends | Other modes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess Master King | Yes, five practice levels | Two-player mode | Tournament against 30 computer players |
| Chinese Checkers Master | Yes | Up to six human players | Computer-only demo |
| Reversi Multiplayer | Yes | Two on one device | Multiplayer |
| Backgammon Multiplayer | Yes | Two on one device | Multiplayer |
| Angry Checkers | Yes | Two on one device | Online against a random player |
| Tic Tac Toe 1-4 Player | 1-player mode | Up to four players | None listed |
More thinking games are in the strategy games collection and in 2-player games.
Common questions about board games online
Which board games can two people play on one computer?
Reversi Multiplayer, Backgammon Multiplayer and Angry Checkers have a mode for two players on one device, Ludo Legend is played by passing one device around, and Chess Master King has a two-player mode.
Which board game is easiest to learn?
Tic-tac-toe and dots and boxes have the shortest rules here. Ludo needs one die and one kind of move, and checkers has only men and kings, where chess has six kinds of pieces.
Which board games have no luck at all?
Chess, checkers, reversi, four in a row, tic-tac-toe, Chinese checkers and dots and boxes. Both players see the whole board, and there are no dice or hidden cards.
Pick a family, read the one rule that defines the game, and the rest comes with the first few moves.
