Board Games for Everyone

Message Boards for Online Gaming Information

Avid board game players can go online and tap into a number of helpful resources to improve their playing skills, learn about classic board games news and chat with others about their boardgame hobby. Message boards can become a marketplace for finding new games or pieces as well. Whether your love is chess, checkers and backgammon or Upwords, Cranium and Scattergories, you will learn a lot and enjoy your time spent on these addictive sites.
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Message boards have sprung up all over the Internet to connect people from different towns, cities, states, provinces and countries. This spread of ideas has lead to the creation of new board games and new editions of classic board games, since designers often ask forum participants for their insights. Message board communities are usually the first to know about new games, board game conventions, game testing and the latest strategies for winning. Not only are they in-the-know, but they're also surrounded by a community of people who are intrigued by their interests and opinions.
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Do you need to know the newest travel games for your next road trip? Are you wondering where you could find the best deal on marble chess sets? Do you want to share new strategies you picked up from hard-to-beat puzzle board games? Could you use some new opponents to play board games against? Message boards are an ideal way to connect with other gamers, learn about game news and share your views on a number of topics, not just limited to the game itself.
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Anyone who has surfed message boards before knows they can be highly addicting. Perhaps it's the way strangers praise or debate your well-articulated opinions. Maybe discussing your opinions, thoughts, goals and insights seems a worthwhile way to pass the time. You may have built new friendships, found new opponents to play board games against or learned something new. This marketplace of ideas can be exciting, as you learn about the many different opinions that exist in the world. For gamers, the Internet forums are the best place to learn skills, have questions answered and develop their hobbies.

The chess board game has one of the more popular message boards because this particular community is so dedicated. They play in tournaments around the world, they play board games online against opponents in other countries and they study the chess art to learn new strategies, tactics and techniques needed to win. If you're interested in connecting with other chess players online, there are a number of websites you can check. Chess Talk (www.chesstalk.com) is based out of Canada and offers a forum and a discussion of products for sale. Chess Cafe (www.chesscafe.com) has chess book reviews, endgame studies and columns about chess. Talk Chess (www.talkchess.com) has forums discussing chess software, machines, players and more. The Eliters Club (www.eliters.com) is a group for elite Yahoo chess players. The Blitz Chess Club (www.blitzchess.org) lets you play games, prize-winning tournaments, take training classes or watch other grand-masters. MSN also has chess-related groups at www.search.msn.com.

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Chess message boards are some of the most popular forums around. Here you can talk with other players to learn skills and strategies or even play virtual games against opponents around the world. Some online board games let you win cash and prizes like traditional tournaments too. Yahoo Games has always been a huge portal for any sort of game, chess included. You can access the directory at www.dir.yahoo.com or the groups page at www.games.groups.yahoo.com. Here you'll find open discussions, product reviews, news, game tables and chess-related message board topics. Some popular chess groups to look out for are the Ace Chess Club, Chess Academy Club, Chess Variants Club, Chess Kamikazes Club, Chess Net Club, the Chess Openings Club, the 65th Square Club, Chess Avenger's Club and Bobby Fischer's Chess Club. Most sites invite members of all skill levels to play.
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The Monopoly board game has a plethora of message boards to choose from. Yahoo Games allows players to engage in open discussions and message board topics related to Monopoly, as well as play board games online at www.dir.groups.yahoo.com. Look for "Yahoo! Groups Monopoly," "Yahoo! Message Boards Monopoly," "Monopoly UK," "Monopoly Playhouse Club" or "Y! Monopoly Club." At www.search.msn.com, you can look under "BrokenDoll Monopoly" or "MSN Groups Monopoly." There are also forums under Google Groups (www.groups.google.com).

Checkers is another strategy board game that attracts large audiences to online boards. Since there are so many different possible algorithms and game plays, people are always looking to practice their skills with online board games or by reading up on strategies and theories in the forums. Yahoo Games has a number of checkers-related groups at www.dir.groups.com: Yahoo Message Boards - Checkers, Yahoo Groups - Chinese Checkers, Yahoo Groups - Draughts, the Y Checkers Club, the Turkish Draughts Drama Club and the Elite Checkers Club. MSN (www.search.msn.com) and Google Groups (www.groups.google.com) are other places to find checkers-related groups created by other avid gamers.

Before joining boardgame message boards, you'll want to consider several things. First, does the site look aesthetically pleasing to you? Can you easily find your way around? Secondly, what degree of personalization/customization does your membership afford you? For example, some websites let you create an avatar (or virtual player), create a profile, upload photos and maintain a blog, while others are more anonymous with pseudonyms and a points/title system. Thirdly, do you have to pay anything to join this group? Most sites are free, but occasionally you'll find one that requires a small annual fee. Can you play board games online? Some sites are simply forums for discussion, while others let you play opponents virtually as well. Lastly, are there a lot of people on the message board? You don't want to spend your time talking at an empty room, after all.
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Sometimes people even play games on message boards. This can be a great way of getting to know others and having a bit of fun. When posting a game suggestion, title your post using the word "game" -- like "Finish the Sentence Game" or "Rhyme Time Game." Then, in the post, write clear directions and post an example to get people started. You'll be surprised at how quickly people reply! In the "Finish the Sentence Game," you'll post 3-4 words starting a sentence and the next person will finish it. The "Word Chain Game" simply posts one word and everyone replies with the first subsequent word that comes to mind. You can also play "Message Board Go Fish," where a person will ask a yes-or-no question and if the next person says yes, then he or she asks a new question. If the answer is no, he or she says "go fish." There are also many ABC games for movies, animals, what's in your pantry, musicians and more. Getting-to-know-you games may include question quizzes.
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One of the most popular message boards for all board games is www.boardgamegeek.com. This site has over 250,000 active members and covers nearly every game, from dice games and the Monopoly board to Arigola and Battlestar Galactica. In the General Gaming forum, there are over 20,000 topics posted. Trades, Recommendations, War Gaming, Buying and Selling, Board Game Design, Werewolf Games, Press Releases, Conventions, Podcasts/Blogs and Hot Deals/Prices are other popular discussion sections. Many of the users here like strategy board games the most, but you'll find there are reviews, game lists, marketplace items and discussions on just about everything. This community even runs contests, posts gamer news, lets you test out new games and attend conventions. Message board users also earn virtual currency by posting new reviews, lists and comments so they can create avatars and better profiles. Many gamers join to connect with local groups to further their hobbies. In essence, message boards are essential for the most ardent game fans.

Related topics about message boards

Strategy Games
Strategy games come in many different varieties. Some are abstract, like Stratego or backgammon, which do not have random elements of luck and do not try to simulate reality. Simulation type games like Abalone or Strat-o-matic Baseball are attempting to simulate a real-world situation.

Boardgamegeek
Are you addicted to a strategy board game? Are you looking for new games? Do you wish to gain game hints or become the trusted opinion in your area of boardgame expertise? Online communities are a great way for individuals to connect with other board game enthusiasts. You can share reviews, ratings and advice. You can find players to battle, contests to enter or conventions to attend.