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Recently I had an interesting thought during a discussion I was having with my friend Peter. We were discussing board games (surprise surprise) and I noticed that he was using the term ‘board game’ and ‘tabletop game’ interchangeably as we spoke.
This had me thinking, are these two terms interchangeable?
Are board games and tabletop games the same thing?
And if not, what is the difference?
After all, I am writing a blog now. I want to make sure I am technically correct!
My research began.
What is the Difference Between a Tabletop Game and a Board Game?
A tabletop game is a game that is played on the top of a table. A board game is a game that is played with pieces or objects that are moved around a premarked surface (the board).
The answer is so glaringly obvious. But at the same time, the differences between the two terms are so minor that in most cases they really are the same thing.
In fact, thinking about it. The majority of board games are played on a tabletop – so they ARE tabletop games and vice versa.
BUT if you use the strict definitions above there are exclusions which one could argue. I will go through these below.
Board Games which are not Table Top Games
The obvious example of a board game that is NOT a tabletop game, would be twister. The game comes with a ‘pre-marked surface’ – the mat. And has objects that are moved across it (the people).
Sure, you could technically play twister on a huge sturdy table and argue it is a board game. But this would be an exception, not the rule.
I know what you are thinking… Talk about being technical.
And you would be right. In fact it was one of the only examples I could think of. Maybe life-size chess? (the ones you find in parks) – there’s an even more out there example!
Tabletop Games which are not Board Games
Examples here are a bit easier to think of. I have broken them into categories below:
- Card Games
- Dice Games
- Pen & Paper Games
Card Games
Solitaire, Poker, go fish, UNO. You name it. Card games are (or rather can be) tabletop games BUT are in most cases not board games.
Ever heard someone in the casino say ‘lets hit the tables’, that’s right, games like poker and blackjack are all tabletop games – they are played on a very swanky tabletop.
Collectible card games like Magic the Gathering, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are all tabletop games, but they are not board games.
Dice Games
Now I have to be clear here. By dice games I mean games that solely rely on the rolling of dice. Not games that use dice as a mechanic like Snakes N Ladders or Catan.
If all the game relies on you doing is rolling dice as its only mechanic. Then it is a table top game. They are not board games.
An example of this would be the game of Craps or ‘Five Rolls’.
Pen & Paper Games
These are games that require two things. A pen or pencil and a piece of paper.
Examples are naughts and crosses, hangman, and my favorite – Dungeons and Dragons!
Final Thoughts
Theoretically there is a difference between board games and tabletop games if you use their technical meanings.
However, the differences are so small and there are so many gray areas that using the term interchangeably is completely fine.
I think the terms while they can apply to certain things are completely contextual. For instance, I would hope no-one ever referred to my WH40K miniatures as a board game. Likewise, I think you would get funny looks referring to any casino game (roulette?) as a board game.
