Portal:Games

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A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who is a player. A toy and a game are not the same. Toys generally allow for unrestricted play whereas games present rules for the player to follow.

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role. (Full article...)

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The Wii (/ˈwiː/, WEE) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006 in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, following the GameCube and is a seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.

In developing the Wii, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata directed the company to avoid competing with Microsoft and Sony on computational graphics and power and instead to target a broader demographic of players through novel gameplay. Game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda led the console's development under the codename Revolution. The primary controller for the Wii is the Wii Remote, a wireless controller with both motion sensing and traditional controls which can be used as a pointing device towards the television screen or for gesture recognition. The Wii was Nintendo's first home console to directly support Internet connectivity, supporting both online games and for digital distribution of games and media applications through the Wii Shop Channel. The Wii also supports wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS handheld console for selected games. Initial Wii models included full backward compatibility support for GameCube games and most accessories. Later in its lifecycle, two lower-cost Wii models were produced: a revised model with the same design as the original Wii but removed the GameCube compatibility features and the Wii Mini, a compact, budget redesign of the Wii which further removed features including online connectivity and SD card storage. (Full article...)

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...that Tom Hanks was in a 1982 TV movie called Mazes and Monsters about a group of college students and their interest in the eponymous role-playing game?
...that the golden age of arcade video games began with the release of Space Invaders in 1978?
...that the most famous boardwalk in the United States is probably the one in Atlantic City, New Jersey, thanks to its association with the Monopoly board game?
...that Pepsi offered a Harrier fighter jet in their Pepsi Billion Dollar Sweepstakes game and the Pepsi Stuff game?
...that 1956 was the first time when a computer was able to play a chess-like game, Los Alamos chess (pictured)?

General images

The following are images from various game-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Students using dice to improve numeracy skills. They roll three dice, then use basic math operations to combine those into a new number which they cover on the board. The goal is to cover four squares in the row. (from Game)
Image 2Parcheesi is an American adaptation of a Pachisi, originating in India. (from Game)
Image 3Preferans, a trick-taking card game version popular in Croatia (from Card game)
Image 4A fantasy LARP group (from Role-playing game)
Image 5Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment. (from Game)
Image 6The number of board games published by year (1944–2017), as listed on BoardGameGeek. Expansion sets for existing games are marked in orange. (from Board game)
Image 7Mamluk playing card (king of cups), c.15th century (from Card game)
Image 8Patolli game being watched by Macuilxochitl as depicted on page 048 of the Codex Magliabechiano (from Board game)
Image 9The modern German board game Catan is printed in 30 languages and sold 15 million by 2009. (from Board game)
Image 10A selection of pieces from different games. From top: Chess pawns, marbles, Monopoly tokens, dominoes, Monopoly hotels, jacks and checkers pieces. (from Game)
Image 11An adventurer finds a teleportation portal while exploring a dungeon in the role-playing video game Falcon's Eye. (from Role-playing game)
Image 12Han dynasty glazed pottery tomb figurines playing liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board (from Board game)
Image 13Association football is a popular sport worldwide.
Image 14A group playing a tabletop RPG. The GM is at left using a cardboard screen to hide dice rolls from the players. (from Role-playing game)
Image 15The Mansion of Happiness (1843) (from Board game)
Image 16Two Qataris playing the traditional board game of damah (from Board game)
Image 17Ancient Egyptian senet game board inscribed for Amenhotep III with separate sliding drawer, from 1390 to 1353 BC, made of glazed faience, dimensions: 5.5 × 7.7 × 21 cm, in the Brooklyn Museum (New York City). (from Game)
Image 18Senet, one of the oldest known board games (from Board game)
Image 19Typical MUD interface for God Wars II (from Role-playing game)
Image 20Young girls playing a board game in the Iisalmi library in Finland, 2016 (from Board game)
Image 21The Card Players by Lucas van Leyden (1520) depicting a multiplayer card game (from Game)
Image 22The Card Players, 17th-century painting by Theodoor Rombouts (from Card game)
Image 23The board game Monopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages. (from Board game)
Image 24Chinese mother-of-pearl gambling tokens used in scoring and bidding of card games. (from Card game)
Image 25Royal game of Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600–2400 BCE (from Board game)
Image 26Playing Cards, by Theodoor Rombouts, 17th century (from Game)
Image 27Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance. (from Game of skill)
Image 28Hounds and jackals (Egypt, 13th Dynasty) (from Board game)
Image 29 Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript (from Board game)
Image 30A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills. (from Game of skill)
Image 31Historically, card games such as whist and contract bridge were opportunities for quiet socializing, as shown in this 1930s magic lantern slide photo taken in Seattle, Washington. (from Card game)