More Board Game Education

More Board Game Education

Inspiring Students Through Board Games

Jeffrey P. Hinebaugh

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
The CONNECT 4 name and images are property of Hasbro, Inc., used with permission.
Copyright © 2018 Hasbro, Inc.
The TICKET TO RIDE name and images are property of Days of Wonder, Inc., used with
permission.
Copyright © 2018 Days of Wonder, Inc.
The OTHELLO name and images are used with permission from Megahouse Corporation. The
OTHELLO name and images are copyright and trademark protected and owned by Othello Co. and
Megahouse Corporation.
The SETTLERS OF CATAN name and images are property of Catan Studio, Inc. and its licensor
Catan GmbH.
Copyright © 2018 Catan Studio, Inc. and Catan GmbH.
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2019 by Jeffrey P. Hinebaugh
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
ISBN 978-1-4758-4833-5 (pbk : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4758-4834-2 (electronic)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO
Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
 Contents

Preface
1 The Hidden Secret to Academic Success: Board Games!
“Your Ticket to Ride all the Way to Harvard”
Problem-Solving, Strategic Thinking, and Reasoning Skills
Math Skills
Language Arts Skills
Economics, Geography, and Sociology Skills
Social and Communication Skills
Conclusion
2 CONNECT 4: “Pretty Sneaky Sis!”
A Brief History and Description of CONNECT 4
Skills Developed
Variations
Observations on CONNECT 4
3 Ticket to Ride: All Aboard . . . For Learning!
A Brief History and Description of Ticket to Ride
Skills Developed
Variations
Observations on Ticket to Ride
4 OTHELLO: “T’is Neither Here Nor There”
A Brief History and Description of OTHELLO
 Skills Developed
Variations
Observations on OTHELLO
5 Settlers of Catan: Monopoly for Millennials
A Brief History and Description of Settlers of Catan
Skills Developed
Variations
Observations on Settlers of Catan
6 Backgammon: An Ancient Game with a Modern Twist
A Brief History and Description of Backgammon
Skills Developed
Variations
Observations on Backgammon

Conclusion: Time to Play!

References and Resources
About the Author
 Preface

For those who read my previous book, A Board Game Education, and for
those that are simply curious, you may be asking a fair question: What
makes the board games in this book so special as to warrant a new book?
The board games discussed in this book are unique in that they develop core
educational skills across all disciplines. They are not simply math or logic
games, but combine learnings in math, language arts, problem-solving,
reasoning, social sciences and communications. They are the super foods of
the board game world!
The research and studies published since my last book confirm the
importance of developing core educational skills in students at an early age.
The dilemma continues to be how to best accomplish this goal, especially
for at-risk students and students from challenged families. The board games
discussed in this book are not only widely accessible to most families and
teachers, but they are the perfect tools to help accomplish the goal of
developing these critical educational skills at an early age. What is also
really unique about the board games in this book is that they span the ages,
from Backgammon invented more than 5,000 years ago to Ticket to Ride
published in the last fifteen years. With these games, there is something for
everyone.
A final note about what this book is not. It is not a strategy book about
how to best play any of these games to win, although by focusing on the
educational components of each game players will become quite good at
each game. This book is also not an analysis of the best board games
created, the most popular board games or the most fun board games to play.
There are great internet sites like Board Game Geek for these types of
discussions and forums. The board games discussed in this book are
included because they are widely popular and therefore generally accessible
to most parents and school teachers at reasonable prices. Most importantly
they develop critical educational skills and are fun to play!
As with any endeavor there are a number of people to thank for their
support. Marie Kimura with MegaHouse Corporation provided invaluable
feedback, information, and advice with respect to Othello. Similarly, a big
thank you to Kathy Carpano and Hasbro for providing information and
images for CONNECT 4. Thank you to the critical studies and behavioral
science departments at the University of Cincinnati for their feedback,
suggestions, and insights. Finally, thank you again to Linda Drake for her
editing and proofreading of the manuscript.
 Chapter 1

The Hidden Secret to Academic Success

Board Games!

“YOUR TICKET TO RIDE ALL THE WAY TO HARVARD”

Okay, I will admit that this subtitle might be a bit overstated. Plus, in our
house Harvard is known as the Michigan of the East. In any event, research
and studies over the past thirty years continue to support the fact that the
educational skills developed and practiced through the play of board games
unequivocally leads to academic success. Moreover, these very same skills
have also been identified as crucial for career success. So how, you might
ask, does playing CONNECT 4 lead to the corner office? Read on!
The idea that developing math and reading skills at an early age will
prove beneficial is hardly a new or controversial topic. However, utilizing
tools that not only develop math and language arts skills, but also develop
skills in reasoning, strategic thinking, problem-solving, economics,
geography, sociology, history, and communications has been found to create
exponential learning achievement. Stated another way, by identifying
activities that require students to use and learn multiple skills the students’
development and retention of all the skills are enhanced. And guess what?
Some of the best tools to develop these very skills are the board games
discussed in this book.

PROBLEM-SOLVING, STRATEGIC THINKING, AND

REASONING SKILLS
Problem-solving is the foundation of all early education and learning.
Strategic thinking and reasoning are two of the main components in
problem-solving. Reasoning is the process of drawing conclusions from
information. Importantly, the reasoning process always requires going
beyond the known information. As students become more comfortable with
drawing conclusions or inferences without complete information by
drawing on past experiences, their problem-solving abilities increase.
Recent studies researching effective methods for teaching problem-
solving in early childhood education found that students who developed
problem-solving skills in elementary school were 40 percent more likely to
achieve academic success in high school than those students who did not
develop problem-solving skills. The ACT Research and Policy Center has
found that two of the most important skills for achieving high standardized
test scores are problem-solving and strategic thinking.
The importance of problem-solving skills for achieving academic success
in high school as well as college was also confirmed by a 2012 Michigan
State University study that found students who developed problem-solving
skills by high school had greater academic success in high school and were
better prepared for college. Indeed, Japan intentionally and publicly shifted
its public education policy in 2007 from “memorization-focused education”
to “problem-solving-focused education.” Moreover, by developing
problem-solving and strategic thinking skills students also develop
corresponding academic behaviors, such as persistence, cooperation,
teamwork and rule compliance, which have been identified as critical
behaviors for work place success. (Casner-Lotto & Barrington, 2006;
Hanson & Borman, 2006).
While the importance of developing problem-solving skills, strategic
thinking and reasoning is not really contested, the problematic issue is how
to best teach these skills. After all, lectures and books on reasoning, logic,
and problem-solving are best saved to cure insomnia. However, teaching
these skills through tools which also integrate other core educational skills
such as language arts, math, geography, history, and economics engages and
empowers students. And it just so happens that the board games discussed
in this book do just that!

MATH SKILLS
The importance of developing math skills in students at an early age is well
documented. Core math skills include number sense, or understanding the
relationship between numbers, as well as computational skills such as
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Since advanced math
concepts build on core math skills, mastery of the core math skills is critical
for future academic success. A review of two math tests given through the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows that
computation skills in all students have declined in each decade since the
1980s.
Okay, so why is this important? Because studies have consistently shown
that the most crucial factor in predicting later academic achievement is
whether students develop early math and literacy skills! Breaking it down
even further, as between math and literacy skills, Greg Duncan’s widely
cited 2007 School Readiness and Later Achievement study of 35,000
preschoolers found that math skills are even more important than literacy
skills or behavior skills for academic success. Furthermore, the same study
found that students who excel in math in high school do well in the labor
market. Put another way, math skills are really a big deal!
As with problem-solving, reasoning, and strategic thinking, core math
skills are best developed through tools that integrate and develop other
skills at the same time. Indeed, according to a 2002 Position Statement by
the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),
“problem-solving and reasoning are the heart of mathematics.” The
NAEYC goes on to identify board games as excellent tools for teachers to
promote an understanding of important mathematical concepts through
problem-solving, reasoning, and social interaction. Not coincidentally,
every board game discussed in this book develops core math skills while, at
the same time, integrating and introducing a multitude of other core
educational skills.

LANGUAGE ARTS SKILLS

The subject of language arts is best defined as the vehicle of
communication by which we live, work, share, and build ideas of the
present, reflect on the past and imagine the future. The components of
language arts include reading, comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, oral
communication and foreign language skills. Unfortunately, as noted by
Donald Hernandez’s recent study, Double Jeopardy: How Third Grade
Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation, one in six
children who do not have proficient language arts skills in third grade will
not graduate high school on time.
While the results of Hernandez’s study are certainly a cause for concern, it
turns out that the projected success for those students who do acquire core
language arts skills is as equally positive. In a comprehensive study
performed by James Athansou through the Australian Studies of School
Performance he found that early development of language arts skills was an
accurate predictor of academic and work place success. According to
Athansou, “literacy at age 10 was a predictor of education-vocational
achievement in one’s early 20s (some 11 to 14 years later).” Related to this
finding, but also including foreign language skills, a recent report from
Britain’s all-party parliamentary group on modern languages found that
students who had developed language skills were in high demand as “the
UK economy is losing 50 billion pounds a year in lost contracts because of
the lack of language skills in the workforce!”
The development of language arts skills, along with math skills, is one of
the core educational areas of instruction that can and should begin before
school age and which should continue outside of school. In that light, the
home environment has been identified as the primary factor influencing the
development of language arts skills. And while going over flash cards at
dinner might be fun for some (I’m not sure who), incorporating the play of
board games as a regular part of the home environment is an ideal way to
ensure that critical language arts skills are developed and flourish. Plus, you
can then send your student to the United Kingdom to claim some of that 50
billion pounds in lost contracts.

ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, AND SOCIOLOGY SKILLS

While problem-solving, math, and language arts skills get the spotlight
when it comes to identifying cored educational skills that lead to academic
success, social sciences such as economics, geography, and sociology are
sometimes overlooked. However, current research supports that teaching
economics, geography and sociology at an early age not only compliments
the development of other key educational skills but enhances the future
academic and career success of these “early adapters.” As education and
business become more global by the minute, students who have developed
an understanding of the relationship between geographies, cultures, and
economies excel.
Geography develops knowledge of the places and environments
throughout the world while also developing a range of investigative and
problem-solving skills that allow one to think critically and creatively about
the physical, cultural, economic, and political issues of each place. In this
way, geography has a close relationship with economics, which studies how
groups can allocate social and natural resources efficiently. (If anyone
thinks this is a description of Settlers of Catan you are getting the point.) In
turn, economics is closely related to sociology which develops knowledge
about social interactions, cultures, and organizations found uniquely across
the globe.
Unfortunately, current knowledge of basic geography, economics, and
sociology is not good. In a recent poll of geographic knowledge, American
adults (18 to 24) place second to last out of forty-two nations. Moreover, on
national exams in geography, history, and sociology 8th grade students
scored strikingly low, with only 6 percent of 8th grade students able to
identify and explain why there were differences in life expectancy in
different countries.
On the flip side, research supports that curriculum which develops early
social science skills and learning not only leads to increases in standardized
test scores and college entrance exams, but along with technology skills an
understanding of geography, economics, and sociology is paramount to
finding success in the global economy. As such, integrating instruction on
economics, sociology, and geography is now viewed as necessary for a high
achieving curriculum.
While identifying teaching tools and projects that develop these social
science skills, along with math, language arts, and problem-solving is
challenging, board games may be one of the easiest tools to integrate the
teaching and development of all these skills. Settlers of Catan, Ticket to
Ride and Backgammon all have heavy social science structures and
opportunities built into their game play and simple variations to Othello and
CONNECT 4 provide similar opportunities.
 SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
All the knowledge and skills in the world are of little value if students do
not also develop, at an early age, the ability to communicate and
appropriately interact with other students and adults. After all, nobody
aspires to be known as an eccentric, reclusive genius. For students to
acquire the critical educational skills discussed above, they must be able to
verbally communicate with others and to interact in group settings.
Unfortunately, one of the negative side effects of the wonderful
technological advancements of the past decades is that verbal
communication and social skills among students have dropped.
A 2011 seven state study of third grade students found that approximately
12 to 13 percent of the students communicated primarily through crying or
facial expressions with no clear use of gestures, pictures, signs, or words.
The ACT Research and Policy Center reviewed a number of recent studies
and research papers and concluded in a 2016 White Paper, Identifying Skills
to Succeed in School, at Work, and in the “Real World,” that academic
behaviors such as cooperating with others, working well on group projects,
and effective communication were effective predictors of academic success
and college GPAs. To that point, developing strong social and
communication skills at an early age build at each level of education and, in
the end, these skills continue to be important for success during college and
in the workforce.
The key to developing social and communication skills at an early age is
to put students in situations in which these skills are required, but in a way
that is comfortable and non-threatening. Cue the use of board games. By
their very nature board games involve group play that not only require
communication but do so in a setting that cover a broad spectrum of
circumstances and emotions (i.e., losing, winning, negotiation, unlucky dice
rolls, etc.). In fact, board games are widely used by educators with autistic
students to develop communication and social interaction skills. After all,
for students who have negotiated their way through Settlers of Catan or
experienced the quick reversal of fortunes in Othello working their way
through that first group project in college will be a piece of cake!
 CONCLUSION
There is no question that current research and studies support the principle
that students who acquire these broad, key educational skills will, in most
cases, achieve academic success. But does playing CONNECT 4, Ticket to
Ride, Othello, Settlers of Catan and Backgammon really develop these
skills? Yes, and you are about to learn how!
 Chapter 2

CONNECT 4
“Pretty Sneaky Sis!”
Tic-tac-toe is boring. However, increase the size of the grid, employ cool,
colored plastic discs for markers, and use a vertical game board to drop the
discs into and you have something: Indeed, you have CONNECT 4!
CONNECT 4 is one of those games that almost everyone has played, or at
least seen, at some point in their life. Moreover, the discs used in
CONNECT 4 generally find their way into other games: creeping into
Monopoly as game pieces, being used as substitute checkers, or mysteriously
showing up in Mouse Trap where no one knows what to do with most of the
pieces anyway. However, while familiar in design and simple to learn,
CONNECT 4 is one of the best platforms to develop a multitude of core
educational skills and has even been the game of choice for mathematicians
and computer scientists to explore the depths of computer programming and
artificial intelligence. Pretty impressive for a game that can be found in
almost every preschool classroom.

A BRIEF HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF CONNECT 4

The modern version of CONNECT 4 that is familiar to most people was
designed by Howard Wexler and Ned Strongin and introduced by Milton
Bradley in 1974. Interestingly, Mr. Wexler was a prolific inventor in the toys
and games arena with a number of toys and games to his credit over the
years, including the doll Your Baby and the infamous Rodney Dangerfield
Game.
Mr. Wexler, who held a PhD in psychology, explained that the key to
making CONNECT 4 an iconic game was when he decided to take a
horizontal game and put it on a vertical plane. As a prototype for CONNECT
4 Mr. Wexler used seven clear plastic cylinders and six painted ping pong
balls to simulate play. Eventually he also incorporated a release bar at the
bottom of the tubes so that players would not need to turn the board upside
down after each game. Even today there are very few strategy games that are
played on a vertical plane. (Extra points if you can name three—and Jenga
does not count!)
While Mr. Wexler and Mr. Strongin get the credit for the modern version
of CONNECT 4 that most people know, the basic game play that underlies
CONNECT 4 has been around for many years. CONNECT 4 originates from
the tic-tac-toe family of games. Building on simple tic-tac-toe, games
requiring a player to get four markers in a row, either horizontally, vertically
or diagonally have been played for centuries.
A similar game, Four Balls, which required players to place 4 wooden
balls in a row dates back to the early 1900s. A “3D” version of Four Balls
was manufactured by Funtastic in 1968 under the name Score 4. This game
featured a 4 by 4 board with pegs and colored wooden beads that were
played on the pegs.
Perhaps one of the most interesting historical versions of CONNECT 4 is
the story of a game called Captain’s Mistress. Legend holds that the famous
explorer Captain James Cook became enamored with a version of Four in a
Row using wooden checkers and a vertical board. He spent so much time in
his cabin playing the game with other officers while exploring the South
Pacific aboard the HMS Endeavor and HMS Resolution that crew members
referred to the game as “The Captain’s Mistress.”
Fortunately, it is not necessary to be a renowned explorer to learn the game
of CONNECT 4. The standard version of the game uses a vertical game
board with six rows of seven spaces to play. The rules of gravity apply to
this game as each player takes turns dropping round colored markers (each
player has 21), into empty spaces attempting to get four markers in a row,
either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
While the game sounds simple enough to play, and indeed it is quite easy
for a young child to understand the rules, there is a level of complexity and
strategy not found in many games. To this point, there are 4,531,985,219,092
possible positions and combination on the standard game board.
Because CONNECT 4 is a game of perfect information there is not an
element of chance. Through computer program modeling it has been shown
that a player who plays first, and then plays perfectly, can force a win on or
before the 41st move. However, outside of some very smart computers there
are very few players who can master CONNECT 4.
A number of books and articles have been written regarding CONNECT 4
strategies. Serious players assign letters and number to the horizontal and
vertical rows so that each space has an identified coordinate (i.e., D2, F5,
etc.). Terms like “major threats,” “minor threats,” “counterthreats,” and
“double checks” are used to illustrate and describe specific moves and
responses in various game play scenarios. While the depth of the strategies
explored and analyzed by expert players are beyond the scope of this book, it
is not surprising to learn that a CONNECT 4 World Championship
Tournament is held each year. And you thought this was just tic-tac-toe!

SKILLS DEVELOPED
CONNECT 4 is another splendid example of a “super foods” board game
that develops multiple and complex core educational skills. Through
CONNECT 4 players will learn and develop a variety of math and problem-
solving skills, while also increasing metacognition and fine motor skills. Not
bad for a game that can be picked up for less than two dollars at most garage
sales.
The use of simple math skills in CONNECT 4 is obvious in that a player
needs to recognize opportunities to place four discs in a row, while also
identifying when her opponent might do the same. However, since most
games will have multiple discs in various locations each game a player is
required to identify and count multiple discs prior to each move. Moreover,
since each game is unique and the location and patterns of play are different
a player cannot simply memorize the location of the discs. This is critically
important as it develops an understanding, especially in young children, that
math skills are not simply based on memory. Indeed, the very objective of
the game, getting four of the same colored discs in a row, teaches pattern
recognition, which is a fundamental and basic math skill.
While the development of simple math skills is apparent, players will be
interested to discovery that CONNECT 4 is one of the few games to also
develop higher math skills; specifically, charting and graph skills that are
fundamental to understanding geometry. The design of the game board, with
a vertical and horizontal axis sets up very nicely for teaching graphing skills.
As players play discs onto open spaces on the board they are identifying
specific coordinates. Since each space is unique players develop an
understanding of how each space is a unique coordinate on the graphs/board.
The visualization of the same colored discs in a row also provides a basic
familiarity with how coordinates relate to other coordinates. Without even
knowing it, fundamental graphing skills become engrained and familiar.
Simple and complex reasoning and problem-solving skills are also
developed through CONNECT 4. As with chess and checkers, players are
required to “think ahead” of not only their next move, but the move most
likely to be made by their opponent. As an example, while a player may see
the opportunity to play a piece that would set him up for the win on a
subsequent move, he must also determine if his proposed move would
provide his opponent with an opportunity to win or gain an advantage. As a
result, players cannot simply play every piece to set up a winning move but
must also observe the board to determine if a piece needs to be played to
defend or block his opponent’s strategy. Moreover, as the game progresses
this analytical review of the board will require evaluation of multiple
possible moves and counter moves.
 As players play multiple games, which CONNECT 4 allows since
gameplay is quite fast, they will also develop experiential learning by
recalling what moves worked and what moves did not. This process
develops a highly critical problem-solving skill known as metacognition.
Through CONNECT 4 a player can test various strategies and hypothesis
game by game. For example, a player may try a strategy by starting the game
by taking the very far corner spaces. What she will learn fairly quickly is
that the middle spaces on the board are more valuable to control. As such, in
future games she will alter her strategy to occupy the middle spaces on the
board at the beginning of the game.
The ability to think about future moves, and the consequences of each
move, is a basic and necessary skill in problem-solving. Importantly, this is
also a highly transferable skill meaning that a player who develops the
strategic and analytical thinking required to succeed in CONNECT 4 will be
able to transfer that skill to enhance his problem-solving ability all areas.
The ability to think strategically about a particular problem is a key
educational skill which high achieving students possess in all areas of study.
Related to the strategy skills developed by CONNECT 4, the game is also
a very good example of a basic game theory. Specifically, since CONNECT
4 is a zero-sum game one player’s advantage is necessarily a disadvantage to
the other player. There are no “win, win” options. In CONNECT 4 a player
who takes an available space permanently removes that space as an option
for the other player. Since there are only a defined number of spaces
available each move positively effects one player and simultaneously
adversely affects the other player. Zero-sum games like CONNECT 4
provide a very visual example of how competitors will behave when
confronted with a limited and defined amount of resources (i.e., open
spaces). From this simple base, analogies can easily be made as to how
competing forces operate in situations of limited and defined resources in the
areas of economics, biology, and so forth.
A final, often overlooked skill, developed by CONNECT 4 is in the area of
fine motor skills. To this point, the ability to grasp and release a player’s
discs in the desired location is not only a critical part of the game but it
develops fine motor skills in younger players as well as players recovering
from closed head injuries and/or other injuries. In fact, CONNECT 4 is often
used by occupational therapists as a part of a patient’s rehabilitation. For
younger players, CONNECT 4 develops a child’s visual perception and
develops pattern and color grouping; a critical pre-reading skill. Moreover,
for players with developmental disabilities or autism researchers and
educators have found that CONNECT 4 provides a perfect blend of social
interaction and quick play, but not in a manner that fosters overstimulation
or confusion.
Indeed, the impact and value of CONNECT 4 around developing
educational skills applies to pre-verbal children as well as PhD computer
scientists. Maybe Captain Cook was on to something!

VARIATIONS
Perhaps more than any other game CONNECT 4 lends itself to a multitude
of variations that can be designed to focus on the development of a wide
variety of core educational skills. One of the simplest variations is to put
numbers on the discs. As the discs are played players must either add,
subtract, or multiply the numbers surrounding the disc played. As an
example, if a player plays a disc with a 4 on it on top of a disc with a number
8 and next to a disc with the number 3 then the player must either add,
subtract, or multiply the numbers (4+8 and 4+3 or 4×8 and 4×3). If a player
does not correctly answer the math problems, then the disc is removed, and
the other player takes his turn. Since any array of numbers can be used on
the discs this variation can be played for players who are at different math
levels.
Similarly, CONNECT 4 is an excellent game for children who are learning
to sight read. By placing sight words on each disc and then requiring a
player to correctly identify the word when it is played CONNECT 4 can be
used to develop sight word recognition; which is way more fun than boring
flash cards! For a bigger challenge use a combination of simple nouns and
verbs and award game points for a player who plays a disc to create a
sentence. Not only does this variation develop language, reading, and
grammar skills but it adds an additional strategy component as players need
to review the game board and plan for opportunities to “connect four” as
well as evaluate the game board for opportunities to gain points by creating
sentences. In fact, due to its ability to teach basic language and grammar
skills in a fun way CONNECT 4 is used by many educators as an aide in
teaching English as a second language.
To really ramp up the strategy and reasoning components of CONNECT 4
another variation utilizes a “bomb” disc: a specially marked disc that will
eliminate the bottom row of discs in the game board when played. This
variation requires players to not only evaluate the present alignment of the
board, but to also consider and analyze the opportunities, and threats, that
exist if the bottom row of discs is eliminated. To add an element of chance to
this version, turn over and mix up all the discs so that neither player knows
which disc is the “bomb disc.” Each player is required to play the disc they
pick up. With this fun tweak the player does not know when he is going to
draw his “bomb disc” or when his opponent will do the same, requiring
some fast, on the fly, strategic adjustments.
Another variation that not only increases the strategy component of
CONNECT 4 but also adds a social skills factor is to play CONNECT 4 as a
team game with partners alternating moves. For kids who measure on the
autism scale playing CONNECT 4 with a team partner is widely used since
it allows kids to communicate and socialize in an “indirect manner” with the
focus of communication being the game. An additional tweak that can be
employed in any setting is to play with a partner but to not allow any verbal
or written communication between teammates. While this at first sounds
counter intuitive, playing a “silent partner” game of CONNECT 4 actually
emphasizes the strategy component of the game since each player not only
has to analyze the opponent’s team strategy, but also must analyze his own
partner’s strategy to work in concert.
A variation and addition to CONNECT 4 that builds significantly on the
metacognition skills and math skills developed is to have each player chart
each move he or she makes during the game. While common place in chess
and bridge, charting moves in CONNECT 4 provides players with a log that
allows them to review each move and analyze their strategy and their
opponent’s strategy. Moreover, because CONNECT 4 is set up in a
coordinate grid, charting each move reinforces the graphing and mapping
skills fundamental to CONNECT 4 plays. Encouraging players to review
and discuss each game after completion by reviewing their game logs will
allow both players to pinpoint, and learn for future games, key strategic
moves: the very definition of metacognition skills.
 To really challenge advanced players and students, a variation that builds
off the graphing and mapping addition discussed above requires players to
“predict” their winning board position prior to the game by mapping what
they believe will be their winning position at the end of the game. This
variation also adds a deductive reasoning element to the game as each player
will not only try to strategically move to fulfill his prediction but also
attempt to deduce the board position that his opponent has predicted. Award
bonus points for each position correctly predicted at game’s end as well as
points if an opponent can correctly identify the board position his opponent
was trying to achieve.

OBSERVATIONS ON CONNECT 4

• A long standing urban myth is that David Bowie invented CONNECT 4.

David Bowie invented Ziggy Stardust; he did not invent CONNECT 4.
• CONNECT 4 has been featured as a television game show using colored
basketballs.
• Every year a CONNECT 4 World Championship is held. Andrew Belsky
won the tournament from 2003 to 2009.
• CONNECT 4 is known as Puissance 4 in France, Forzan 4 in Italy, and
Gravitrips in Russia.
• The traditional and most common colors of the discs found in CONNECT
4 are red and yellow, but versions exist with orange and black discs, green
and yellow discs, and red and black discs.
• The person who goes first in CONNECT 4 can win every time.
• An edible version of CONNECT 4 made of celery stalks (board) and
banana and carrot discs won a Grand Jury prize at the 2005 Texas State
Fair. (The commercial edible version suffered from a very short shelf life.)
• CONNECT 4 was “mathematically solved” in 1988 by James Allen who
developed a program that, assuming first move, would always win. (Kind
of like playing against my wife.)
• The CONNECT 4 television commercials with the famous line, “Pretty
sneaky sis” aired in 1981. Pretty Sneaky Sis is also the name of a
marketing company out of Maryland.
• A giant lawn version of CONNECT 4 was manufactured by Garden
Games in the United Kingdom.
• CONNECT 4 co-inventor, Howard Wexler, was the first person in his
family to attend college and attended City College in New York City.

CONNECT 4 was, and is, a popular game in our family. However, the
release bar feature of the game which is used to empty all discs from the
game board at the end of the game became our son’s favorite “in-game”
strategy move. Not pleased with the way the game was progressing our son
became very adept at “accidently” hitting the release bar mid-game,
depositing all the checkers onto the kitchen table. (Side note; our ultra-
competitive daughter also picked up this skill from her older brother.)
As a result, we resorted to using masking tape to tape the release bar shut
at the beginning of each game. Truth be told, I am pretty sure that our family
was not the only one who experienced mid-game release bar accidents. In
fact, I will not be surprised at all if future versions of CONNECT 4 come
with a small role of masking tape in the box.
 Chapter 3

Ticket to Ride
All Aboard . . . For Learning!
Who doesn’t love trains? More to the point, who doesn’t love the idea of
constructing rail lines to destinations across countries in every part of the
world, while racing to complete your rail line and trains before your
opponents? In our family our kids were obsessed growing up with all things
“Thomas” and my wife and I spent countless hours on the floor or on our
homemade train table connecting wood tracks with “cheeky little engines”
and Thomas, Edward, Toby, and the whole crew. (Including a castoff Lego
“Penguin” character who filled in very nicely as Sir Topham Hatt.)
As such, when we first played Ticket to Ride it became an instant favorite
with our whole family. Ticket to Ride involves everything people love about
trains; but does so through a game that not only develops problem-solving,
reasoning, and critical thinking skills, but also educates in the areas of
geography and engineering: two skill sets not commonly engaged in board
games. All aboard!
 A BRIEF HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF TICKET TO
RIDE
Released in 2004 by Days of Wonder, Ticket to Ride was invented by Alan
R. Moon. Inspired by his childhood memories of playing Monopoly and
Risk, Mr. Moon can best be described as a board game junkie and he worked
for decades designing board games while he waited tables.
After numerous prototypes and failed attempts, Mr. Moon eventually came
up with Ticket to Ride and presented the game to three publishers. Of those
publishers, only Days of Wonder responded. (The other publishers probably
have some understanding of how the Portland Trail Blazers felt when they
chose not to draft Michael Jordan in 1984.) Ticket to Ride went on to win
the coveted Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) in 2004.
Interestingly, while the initial sales of Ticket to Ride were solid, sales
really took off when Days of Wonder made the game available on line for
free. While seemingly counter intuitive, introducing this “German style”
game to millions of people generated incredible interest in the board game
version. To date, over four million copies have been sold with sales in excess
of $200 million. Mr. Moon no longer waits tables.
While the original version was set in North America, multiple subsequent
versions of Ticket to Ride cover Europe, Asia, Africa and Scandinavia.
Moreover, the subsequent versions add additional features and game play
which will briefly be touched on.
Common to all versions, Ticket to Ride is played by players attempting to
claim and complete routes to specific destinations which they have drawn.
Points are awarded for completing routes based on their length and
additional points are awarded if the route connects destinations a player has
drawn. However, destinations are kept secret and other players can also
claim these routes, which results in negative points for a player who does not
complete routes to her drawn destinations. Bonus points are also awarded for
the longest continuous route completed.
Subsequent versions of Ticket to Ride added additional features and
opportunities to collect points, but the basic scoring and game play is
consistent across all variations. As an example, the Europe version
introduced routes requiring players to obtain Ferry and Tunnel cards. The
Marklin versions provide the opportunity to earn additional points for
merchandise tokens and can be played with a dice option. This, in part, is
what makes Ticket to Ride so engaging in that it is simple enough for a
younger player to understand but also allows for more sophisticated and
complex game play in some of the subsequent versions.

SKILLS DEVELOPED
Ticket to Ride develops and hones a plethora of core educational skills,
including math, problem-solving, creativity, and deductive reasoning.
However, the skill set that sets this game apart from almost all other games
is its focus on geography and history. Indeed, the very nature of the game
immerses players in the geography of countries and regions all over the
world.
Since the board is a map, Ticket to Ride requires players to develop spatial
and directional skills as well as map reading skills. Moreover, the cities used
in Ticket to Ride are real world locations which are not only simply places
on the map, but act as starting points and destinations and require players to
comprehend the distances and relative locations of those cities.
Understanding that Little Rock is south of Helena, and a long distance apart,
is knowledge that many students simply will not retain by reading it in a
book.
The geography skills taught through Ticket to Ride also present incredible
history and economic lessons. How so, you might ask? The cities
highlighted in Ticket to Ride include locations that are not generally familiar
to current generations as the game is set at the turn of the twentieth century.
Places like Saul St. Marie, Duluth, Little Rock, and Raleigh are certainly not
as familiar to most players as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. This
provides an excellent opportunity for players to explore why some of these
lesser known cities were considered important destinations for railroads.
Moreover, the game provides a visual depiction of how cities like Duluth
and Saul St. Marie, with both rail and deep-water ports and in close
proximity to iron ore and other raw materials, were critical to the industrial
development of the country.
Like many of the games discussed in this book, Ticket to Ride excels in
developing reasoning and critical thinking skills. Players need to evaluate
multiple options to determine which strategy will provide the most points.
Some games that may mean claiming as many routes as possible versus
working toward completing the longest route or destination routes. However,
these strategic decisions cannot be made in a vacuum as each player must
also analyze and deduce her opponent’s strategy to identify the critical and
contested routes to allow for higher scores. Ticket to Ride requires each
player to work through these strategy questions on each move, and to do so
with an understanding of the number of turns left in the game.
Along the same lines, deductive reasoning plays a significant role in
playing Ticket to Ride. By observing, and keeping track of, the color of the
train cards selected by a player’s opponents a player will be able identify
routes available to that player. Understanding the routes available to a
player’s opponents, in conjunction with the routes they select, also allows a
player to deduce the destination strategies of his opponents. Of course, blind
draws of train cards reduce the ability of a player to track color selections
but over the course of multiple games players will develop deductive
reasoning skills that will allow them to identify opponents’ strategies with
less than perfect information.
Ticket to Ride also fosters development of critical math skills, especially
for younger players. As all routes have different point values, players are
required to compare and contrast different route alternatives with their
corresponding point values. Not only are players constantly required to
calculate point values available for each move, they also must weigh their
moves against the point values that are also available to their opponents. All
these calculations must be made with the backdrop of the available pieces
for each player since a player cannot obviously complete two 6 segment
routes if he only has ten pieces left. The best part of all of this is that since
these multiple calculations are simply part of the game players do not even
realize the extensive math involved!
One of the unique features of Ticket to Ride is that there are multiple
options between destinations, especially those destinations in different parts
of the country. For example, a direct route from Pittsburgh to Denver
through Chicago and Omaha can be accomplished with eleven train pieces.
However, while this route will result in eighteen points a route from
Pittsburgh to Denver through Saint Louis and Kansas City, also using eleven
train pieces, will garner nineteen points. Players will necessarily engage in
multiple mental math calculations planning strategy in determining each
move. Such mental math calculations will generally involve the addition of
multiple numbers and the comparisons of the sums with other multiple
number calculations: the same type of exercise that draws groans in math
class.
A final component of the math skills developed by Ticket to Ride is the
game’s use of a number line for scoring. The use of a number line teaches
ordering as well as addition skills. With the possibility of uncompleted
destination cards in their possession players in Ticket to Ride will also
develop subtraction and netting out skills, and the use of the number line
provides an excellent visual tool to help younger players develop these
critical base math skills.
The numerous available routes on the Ticket to Ride game board, as well
as the multiple ways in which players may earn points, develop another
critical educational skill: creativity. While initial observation may lead a
player to believe that completing direct routes between destinations is the
way to score the most points, Ticket to Ride’s multiple scoring opportunities
soon teaches otherwise.
With respect to destination cards, while direct routes may initially appear
to provide the most scoring opportunities, they also lead to obvious
strategies that can be blocked by opponents. Rather, players learn to look at
routes to destinations creatively and, by factoring in points for the longest
route and multiple destinations, discover that longer and indirect routes may
turn out to be a more successful strategy. However, because there are
multiple scoring options and opponents change strategies from game to
game players learn to evaluate alternative moves and strategies as the games
progress. Since there is no perfect strategy for every Ticket to Ride game
players are free to explore and experiment with multiple strategies and
options thereby developing creativity and flexibility, skills that are inherently
necessary to problem-solving in any context.
One of the other characteristics of Ticket to Ride that makes it such an
appealing game is the ease by which younger players can compete on a level
playing field. While the game suggests ages of eight and above, the game is
easily learned by players as young as four and five. Color pattern recognition
and grouping skills are bonus core educational concepts that younger players
will also develop through Ticket to Ride. Indeed, the act of placing the train
pieces on the designated spaces on the board when completing routes even
develops manual dexterity for both younger players and players who may
have developmental challenges.

VARIATIONS
The unique set up of Ticket to Ride makes it one of the best games for
variations and tweaks to focus on particular skill sets. In particular, because
of the focus on maps Ticket to Ride provides unlimited opportunities to hone
geography skills.
As a starting point, the numerous official editions of Ticket to Ride
focusing on Germany, the Nordic countries, Europe, Asia, and Africa offer
opportunities for players to become familiar with the geography of a variety
of countries and regions across the globe. However, to take the geography
lessons a step further use a large continent, country or even state map to
create your own Ticket to Ride game board. Creating a customized game
board using a map with real destinations allow a focus on any specific
geographic area. Moreover, this is an excellent way to develop a geographic
understanding of regions of the world which are generally not well known
but in which current events are taking place. For example, what a great way
to understand the geographic relationship of Syria, Pakistan, Iran, and Israel!
An additional tweak on Ticket to Ride is to require players to identify the
state or countries across which routes traverse before they can claim the
route. Since the game board does not identify the states or countries players
will need to learn the states and countries, which will also develop an
understanding of where various states and countries are located. Believe it or
not, a few games of Ticket to Ride employing this additional rule will result
in players being able to identify all the continental states and most countries:
a much better alternative than trying to memorize a stale map.
Another variation that we used extensively with our kids and in the
classroom is to use state maps. Most schools in the United States dedicate a
year to learning state history and geography. What better way to learn state
geography and all those annoying county seats than by using the state map to
play Ticket to Ride!
As mentioned previously, one of the unique features of Ticket to Ride is
that it uses real city destinations. This feature also provides a fantastic
opportunity to incorporate history and historical facts into the game play. By
providing additional points for each historical fact that a player can identify
with respect to connected cities after completing a route, Ticket to Ride
becomes the perfect tool to reinforce and teach history. For example,
awarding a point to a player who identifies that Duluth was noted for its iron
ore supply develops a historical understanding of the destination cities that
goes well beyond simply connecting orange and red train pieces.
Along these same lines, because Ticket to Ride focuses on transportation
and the railroads at the dawn of the twentieth century it also provides an
excellent supplement learning tool for understanding westward expansion,
the industrial revolution, and the early use of railroads. Along these lines,
having players earn additional points for identifying the railroad companies
that historically provided service between destination cities will bring this
period in history home.
While Ticket to Ride is obviously well suited to variations that focus on
developing an understanding of geography and history, the game also lends
itself to variations that focus on math, strategy and team building skills.
Based on Ticket to Ride’s use of a number line for scoring, a simple and fun
variation is to require players to move back two spaces if their score lands
them on a number ending in zero or five. This small variation not only
requires players to perform mental math calculations for each potential
move, but also requires strategic thinking and reasoning to evaluate the most
beneficial move.
As an added modification, identify certain train spaces that will act as
multipliers for the route score. For example, a space on the three-train route
between Las Vegas and Los Angeles can be designated as a “3×” score,
thereby tripling the score for that route (think Scrabble). Not only does this
add in multiplication skills to the game play, but it also adds a wrinkle to the
strategy and planning for each player.
Finally, Ticket to Ride is a perfect game to be played in teams. However, to
maximize the fun and benefit of team play create special destination cards
that only have one of the destinations listed. Each teammate only gets a
card(s) with one of the destination cites, which they cannot share with their
teammate. Teams then work to complete their destination routes by
observing their teammates moves and deducing the destination cities in their
hand; while not making it so obvious that the other team will move to block
those routes. As a side, team play using these rules is equally as fun for
adults, although I can attest to the fact that you may not want your spouse as
your teammate!

OBSERVATIONS ON TICKET TO RIDE

• Ticket to Ride—Nordic Countries was initially only to be sold in those

countries.
• Zug um Zug: Deutschland is only sold in German and Austria.
• Rails & Sails edition of Ticket to Ride has a Great Lakes map that uses
ships, as well as a world map that uses ships and trains.
• A card game version of Ticket to Ride was released in 2008.
• The iPad version of Ticket to Ride was named the 2011 Digital Game of
the Year by the Danish Guldbrikken Awards.
• A secondary market exists for customized boards and destination tickets
for Ticket to Ride.
• The fictional inspiration for Ticket to Ride is the world traveler, Phileas
Fogg.
• A statistical analysis of the most “valuable” cities of the original Ticket to
Ride game identified Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Vancouver.
• Ticket to Ride has won over thirty-five international game awards.
• The Mystery Train add-on was introduced as a give-away in the December
2004 Game Trade Magazine. This also marked the introduction of
character cards.
• The song “Ticket to Ride” was the seventh consecutive number one hit by
the Beatles in the United Kingdom in April 1965.
• Some of the game components for Ticket to Ride are manufactured in
Lafayette, Indiana.
• Alvin the Alien and Dexter the Dinosaur are part of the expansion pack for
Ticket to Ride that combines trains, aliens, and dinosaurs.
• A map design contest for Ticket to Ride—Legendary Asia was won by
Francois Valentyne. He won $10,000.
• Electronic versions of Ticket to Ride unlock facts and pictures of cities
once they are connected.
• The Ticket to Ride World Championship was held in Paris, France. The
grand prize was a trip for two to Asia with a rail journey on the Orient
Express from Bangkok to Singapore. (Hopefully no murder occurred.)

The measure of a good game is how much it gets played and used. We are on
our third Ticket to Ride game. Our first game was used by our son as a part
of his fifth-grade project on the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
From this we learned that train pieces glued to a board with Gorilla Glue do
not come off; ever.
Our second game was our family’s game of choice during a beach trip to
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was during this trip that we learned,
unlike the waterproof UNO cards, the Ticket to Ride board and cards were
not waterproof.
Our current version is still in one piece; so far.
 Chapter 4

OTHELLO
“T’is Neither Here Nor There”
Reading Shakespeare can be challenging, but it does not hold a candle to
comprehending the myriad of moves, options, and game strategies at play in
Othello. In fact, other than chess, no board game has been the subject of
more mathematical and computer science studies than Othello. Machine
Learning of Othello Heuristics, Learning of Position Evaluation of the Game
of Othello, and Discovering Complex Othello Strategies through
Evolutionary Neural Networks are just a sampling of the many research and
scientific studies focusing on Othello.
Fortunately for us the actual game of Othello, with its black and white
discs and distinctive green board, is much easier to play than the research
studies might imply. However, despite its fairly simple rules, the constant
changing landscape of Othello and the countless options and strategies
available to each player on nearly every move hint at why Othello is a
powerhouse board game in developing educational skills across the entire
spectrum.
 A BRIEF HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF OTHELLO
Othello has a rich history that, depending on who you believe, dates to at
least 1888 when Lewis Waterman first patented a very similar game known
as Reversi. However, James Mollett disputed Waterman’s patent claiming
that Waterman’s game derived from a game Mollett had invented in 1870
known as the “Game of Annexation.” Still another theory is that Othello is
derived from an ancient Chinese game known as Fan Mian or from the
popular game Go.
Regardless of origin, it is well established that the game known and loved
as Othello, in its current form, was invented in 1972 by Goro Hasegawa in
Japan. Mr. Hasegawa initially came up with the idea for Othello from Go,
known as Igo in Japan. In its early form, Mr. Hasegawa played Othello using
Igo stones and cardboard instead of discs. As he got older and wanted to
teach Othello to his colleagues at work, Mr. Hasegawa used milk bottle caps
as discs. Interestingly, early versions of Reversi were also played with
stones, coins, and other types of “discs” or “markers.” Mr. Hasegawa’s
father, who was a scholar of English literature, came up with the name,
“Othello” from the well-known Shakespeare play.
Othello, as invented by Mr. Hasegawa was first manufactured in 1973 and
by March 2017 24.90 million Othello sets were shipped just in Japan. The
popularity of Othello has grown exponentially since its introduction. The
World Othello Federation, headquartered in Sweden, has members from over
seventy countries, including the United States (2005), Columbia (2012),
Great Britain (2005), and Egypt (2014). The World Othello Federation
sponsors the annual world championship each year in a different country
with cash prizes and awards to the top teams and individuals.
A green board with sixty-four squares and sixty-four black and white discs
make up the traditional look and feel of Othello. Indeed, the contrasting
colors of the discs and game board are part of the beauty of the game. As
noted by Mr. Hasegawa the fun of Othello is “the beautiful contrast of the
white and black on the green board, the click-clacking sound of people
placing the pieces, and the situation changing so suddenly like the magical
world of Aladdin’s lamp.”
 Othello can aptly be described by its short motto: “A minute to learn, a
lifetime to master.” To start the game each player places two pieces in pre-
defined spots in a square pattern at the center of the board. This simple
starting position is a critical distinction from Othello’s close cousin, Reversi,
which allows pieces to be placed anywhere on the board thereby drastically
reducing playing options going forward.
Black always plays first and must place a piece on a square so that it
surrounds or captures a white piece, in either a horizontal, vertical, or
diagonal direction. Once an opponent’s piece or pieces are surrounded, they
are flipped over to the other color. Play continues with the prerequisite that
each player’s move must result in at least one opponent piece being
“surrounded” and thereby resulting in the surrounded piece(s) being flipped.
To give some idea of the complexity and options that exist is this seemingly
simple game, there are 244 possible board positions after only four moves!
Played out to the end, there are sixty total moves in a game of Othello. For
strategy purposes, the game is divided into three phases of twenty moves
each: opening, middle, and end. What distinguishes Othello from many other
games is that the focus is on board position and open squares more so than
on the squares played. As an example, edge squares are important as they
allow a player to create a block or end enabling a player to turn multiple
pieces.
To this point, Othello places a premium on occupying certain squares, with
the corner squares being the most highly coveted. In fact, one way to
“handicap” Othello when playing less experienced player, or if you just
cannot beat your 10-year-old, is to allow the weaker player to start the game
by occupying all or some of the corner positions. On the opposite end of the
spectrum, the diagonal square next to the corner square is simply referred to
as “X” by experienced players. Playing a piece on “X” allows your opponent
to capture the corner square. In Othello “X” does not mark the spot!
Advanced Othello players, and there are many, generally follow two well
established strategies. The first, known as the mobility theory, focuses on
controlling the center of the board and the corners and forcing opponents
into bad moves. One of the keys to the mobility strategy is patience as a
player wants to keep his pieces won to a minimum, until around move 54
when final moves should produce massive captures and turns as the corner
and end pieces are played out.
 A second strategy, which was discovered through computer simulations, is
called positional strategy. This strategy focuses on the empty squares, not the
squares that have been played. While also valuing mobility, a player using
positional strategy will break the game board into four quadrants and focus
on winning each quadrant. Interestingly, in simulated games a computer
player programmed to use positional strategy will generally defeat the
computer player that employs mobility strategy.
The beauty of Othello is that each turn results in a radically changing game
board and, as such, requires a player to quickly adjust and rethink their
strategy. The winner is determined by the player who has the most pieces on
the board turned to her color after the final play.

SKILLS DEVELOPED
The multiple and changing strategies for Othello go hand in hand with the
critical educational skills developed. As with all the board games discussed
in this book, Othello is a “super food” of skill development enhancing math,
problem-solving, reasoning, social, and creativity skills while also touching
on language arts, social science, and spatial recognition skills.
Perhaps the most obvious skill developed through Othello is math. Every
move of Othello requires a player to “net out” the consequences of each
possible move. This netting out process necessarily requires a player to add
the pieces that will be captured and turned for each possible move, while
also anticipating his pieces that will likely be captured and turned on his
opponent’s next move. As an example, a move that will turn five opponent’s
pieces may result in an opponent’s counter move that will turn three pieces.
The net value of the move, in the short run, is therefore a positive two.
This netting out process requires a player to do multiple math equations in
his head for every move. Importantly, the development of these math skills
are such an integral part of the game that a player does not even realize he is
actually processing hundreds of math equations in his head each game. For
any parent who has struggled to have their child sit at a table to go over math
facts, the value of this process and the development of these skills through
Othello cannot be overstated!
The one aspect of Othello that immediately becomes obvious after only a
few games is that being ahead in the beginning or middle of the game is
quite meaningless. Indeed, one of the main strategies in Othello is the
mobility strategy which values board space and flexibility over turning
opponent’s pieces in the beginning and middle of the game. The problem-
solving, and reasoning skills developed through Othello teach the
importance of an overall plan and strategy that is willing to sacrifice short
term “wins” in the beginning and the middle of the game for achieving
victory at the end of the game.
Othello demands that players go against their intuitive desire to capture as
many pieces as quickly as possible to accomplish the goal of having the
most pieces at the end of the game. From a social skills development,
Othello rewards players that practice patience and develops an appreciation
for deferred gratification. In a society where gratification is expected
immediately, Othello is an excellent tool to teach that patience is indeed a
virtue (and necessary to win)!

VARIATIONS
The core educational skills developed by playing Othello in the traditional
way are hard to improve on, especially when it comes to math, problem-
solving and reasoning. However, a few easy and fun variations to the game
provide for a focus on the development of problem-solving, math, language
arts, social science, and communication skills.
One of the simplest variations of Othello is to alter the starting positions of
the pieces or by “handicapping” a game by giving one player all or some of
the corner squares. Players will learn that by altering the starting position of
the pieces, even slightly, strategies that have worked in the past are no longer
effective. As such, players will need to problem-solve and think through new
strategies to adapt to the new playing conditions. This variation will not only
develop and enhance problem-solving skills but will also require players to
think creatively about how to accomplish their goals in new environments.
A similar result can be achieved by altering the game board. Instead of an
8 by 8 board, sketch out a 4 by 4 board or even a 10 by 10 board. Again, the
change in the playing environment will require players to rethink strategy
and, by trial and error, will develop problem-solving skills and creativity.
While the math skills developed inherently with the play of Othello are
very solid, another small tweak to discs used in Othello allow for players to
focus on a variety of computation skills. Using small round labels, or even
just pieces of masking tape, put a number on both sides of each disc. Before
a player can flip a row of his opponent’s discs, he must add/subtract/multiply
the numbers on the discs to be flipped. By putting the same negative number
on the other side of the disc, computation skills using negative numbers can
be taught. It is amazing how quickly students will learn to compute multiple
number sets involving both positive and negative numbers; especially if it
means a win!
The discs in Othello can similarly be modified to vary the game play to
focus on the development of language arts skills and, specifically, grammar,
spelling, and reading. One of the easier variations is to put letters on each
disc and then have players look for opportunities to not only flip their
opponent’s discs, but to also spell out words. A scrabble type of scoring can
be maintained for words spelled out providing for two games in one.
A variation that uniquely applies to Othello takes advantage of the constant
flipping of discs. By using labels on each side of the disc write out words
that are opposites or antonyms. For example, one side of the disc says “hot”
while the other side says “cold.” Before a player can flip a disc, they must
correctly identify the antonym or opposite word on the other side. This is a
great head start for acing the nasty grammar questions on the college board
exams!
The Othello discs can also be used for developing early reading skills with
sight words by placing simple, short sight words on the front and back of
each disc. Players must correctly read each of the words on the disc before
flipping them. Once a player masters a set of words, new ones can be put on
the discs. For more advanced students, use words that are themed or a part of
a unit’s vocabulary list. Similarly, use significant dates on each disc to
reinforce a history unit. Vocabulary words and historical dates may not be
much fun to learn, but when a student needs to learn them to flip her
opponent’s discs to win a game you will be surprised at how quickly they
become second hand.
A final, simple variation on the game play of Othello is to play the game in
teams with each player alternating moves. While Othello is generally
thought of as a one versus one type of game, the complex strategy and
analysis involved in Othello makes it ideal for team play. Players are
encouraged to discuss moves with each other thereby developing
communication and cooperation skills, especially in a competitive
environment. To add another twist, have teams of two play two Othello
games simultaneously with each player alternating moves on each board,
with a time limit for each move. Simple, direct communication is taught
through this variation. More importantly, it is a blast to play and laughs and
shrieks are sure to accompany the frenzied back and forth of teams playing
multiple games at once.

OBSERVATIONS ON OTHELLO

• Othello is a member of the Games Magazine’s Hall of Fame.

• The first World Othello Championship was held in Tokyo in 1977 and was
won by Hiroshi Inoue of Japan. Thomas Heiberg of Norway was the
runner-up. Ben Steeley of the United States won back to back
championships in 2003 and 2004.
• In 1980, the Othello computer program, The Moor, beat the reigning world
champion. In 1997, Othello computer program Logistello defeated the
current world champion, Takeshi Murakami, by a score of 6:0. (That is
known as a “whooping.”)
• Our family’s Othello game was acquired for $3.00 at the World’s Largest
Yard Sale, held at the beginning of August every year and spanning six
states and almost 700 miles along US Route 127. For the record, we also
got a Hungry Hungry Hippos game, without any marbles, thrown in as
well.
• Othello was featured in an advertising campaign for Apple Jeans in Hong
Kong. The game was renamed Ping Gou Qi or “Apple Chess” in the ad
campaign.
• Over 40 million Othello sets have been sold. If Reversi sets are included,
the number exceeds 70 million.
• Time Magazine’s November 1976 issue claimed that Othello was the
national pastime of Japan played by more than 25 million Japanese.
Towels, tie clasps, and key chains were all sold with the Othello emblem.
While I love Othello, I just do not think “Take me out to the Othello
Game” is going to catch on.
• Aubrey de Grey, a biologist who predicts that people living today will live
for 1,000 years, solved a math graph problem (Hadwiger-Nelson) in April
2018 that had been perplexing mathematicians since 1950. “So what?” you
might say? Aubrey de Grey is a competitive Othello player and he credits
his years of playing Othello with helping him to solve the problem. Come
to think of it, maybe we should have led off the book with this fact!
• Proving the point that all great things start with board games, video game
giant Nintendo introduced its first arcade game in 1978. It was not Donkey
Kong (1981), nor was it Mario Bros. (1983). You guessed it: Nintendo’s
first arcade game in 1978 was Othello.

Othello discs may be the coolest game pieces of any board game. They have
some substance to them and the clicking and clacking sound they make just
feels elegant and high class. Most importantly, however, the discs slide great
across a hard-top table.
Why is that important you may ask. Because in our house Othello discs are
used on a kitchen table for Othello shuffleboard, Othello hockey, and Othello
pool. These games have unfortunately landed discs under the stove,
refrigerator, and down a heating duct, but what a blast!
 Chapter 5

Settlers of Catan
Monopoly for Millennials

Settlers of Catan is a true landmark game in the history of board games as it

represents the first “serious” board game that has wide spread popularity
among hard-core gamers and non-gamers alike. (Good luck finding a hard-
core board gamer who wants to play Candyland or a recreational family
game night featuring Lords of the Sierra Madre.)
You know you have found a great game when your kids wake up on a
Saturday morning and want to play. You really know you have a winner
when you are also excited to play, morning coffee and paper be darned.
This is the exact scenario we discovered when our family started playing
Settlers of Catan. The game is fast paced, ever changing, and even
incorporates players working with each other (or against the leader) as a
part of the expected game play. Moreover, unlike my Dungeon & Dragon
days in junior high, Settlers of Catan is played by almost everyone in school
settings, workplaces, and even in clubs and bars. Who knew that playing a
board game would not only develop math, problem-solving, reasoning,
economic theory, and negotiating skills, but also be a part of the popular
culture for both young and old.

A BRIEF HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF SETTLERS

OF CATAN
Settlers of Catan, or Catan as it is now known, was invented by Klaus
Teuber. Mr. Teuber, a dental technician from Germany, is the poster child
for perseverance and pursuing passions. Unlike some inventors of grand
board games who toil for years to finally come up with a “perfect game,”
Mr. Teuber actually won the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) in 1988
for his game Barbarossa. However, while achieving some commercial
success Barbarossa did not free Mr. Teuber from long days at the dental
clinic. Then he invented Catan.
To say that Catan is successful is a little like saying the New England
Patriots are a decent football team and Lionel Messi is a good soccer player.
Catan was first published in Germany in 1995 as Die Siedler von Catan,
followed by publication and sale in the United States in 1996 as Settlers of
Catan by Mayfair Games. Since its introduction in 1995, when it was also
awarded the Spiel des Jahres, Catan has sold over 28 million copies in thirty
languages. It is widely considered the first “German Board Game” to gain
widespread acceptance among serious gamers and recreational gamers
alike, paving the way for the main stream popularity of subsequent German
style board games such as Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, and Puerto Rico.
Historically, Catan is loosely based on the settlement of Iceland when first
discovered by the Vikings. (Well before WOW Airlines started flying to
Iceland for $99.) It was initially designed by Mr. Teuber as a much larger
and more complex game featuring exploration components but was
simplified for its public release. However, some of the original components
of Catan were incorporated into subsequent game releases such as Catan:
Seafarers.
One of the obstacles to wide spread popularity of German style or Euro
board games was the perceived, or actual, complexity of the game play.
Catan addressed this issue head on and the rules and game play are quite
simple and straightforward. Played on a game board consisting of nineteen
hexagonal tiles the goal of the game is to obtain ten victory points through a
combination of building, trading, and plain old strategy. Eighteen of the
tiles represent five different resources (ore, lumber, grain, wool, or brick)
while one tile represents the desert and is the initial starting point for the
“robber.”
The tiles are all assigned a number between 2 and 12 and players then
take turns rolling two dice. The number rolled corresponds to the numbered
tiles and those tiles will produce resources allowing players who have
settlements boarding those tiles to collect resource cards. Through the
collection of various resource cards (ore, lumber, grain, wool, and brick),
players can build additional roads, settlements and cities which equate to
victory points. However, when a seven is rolled the “robber” is activated
resulting in the loss of some accumulated resource cards for all players who
have over seven cards and the placement of the “robber” on a resource hex
of the players choosing; meaning that the hex tile will not produce any
resource while the robber is on the tile.
In addition to obtaining victory points through settlements, points are also
awarded for the longest road and the biggest army. This brings into play
development cards, which a player may also choose to buy during his turn.
Development cards, which consist of progress cards, knight cards (relevant
to the largest army), or the ever-valuable victory point cards, add another
strategy component to the game play.
One of the unique features of Catan is the trading of resource cards among
players. As different resource cards are needed to build roads, settlements,
and cities, players will look to trade with other players for the resource
cards they need. As a default, a player may also trade with the bank, but
generally at a much higher ratio.
The game ends when any player, through a combination of settlements,
cities, largest army, longest road and/or victory point cards reaches ten
victory points. And I can tell you from experience that when your opponent
builds that last city and throws out their hidden victory point card to take
the game it won’t take very long to demand another game!

SKILLS DEVELOPED
Catan develops a wide array of core educational skills, including math,
probability, problem-solving, deductive reasoning, economic theory, land
development, and creativity. However, what sets Catan apart from most
board games is its focus on communication and negotiation between players
as an integral part of the game play. Unlike Monopoly or Risk where side
deals or treatises with other players may become a part of the game, Catan
is designed so that trading, cooperation, and negotiation between players is
almost a prerequisite to winning.
One of the criticisms leveled at using board games, or any games, as
learning tools is that games are by nature competitive, zero-sum, exercises
with one winner. Catan does not do away with the competitive component
of games, which I believe is healthy, but also introduces the concept that
cooperation and competition can co-exist. Because of the limited resources
each player can obtain based on the location of initial settlements, and
because building additional settlements, roads, and cities requires additional
resources that players will likely not be able to obtain, to succeed in Catan
players must learn to trade with one another.
Catan players learn quickly that trades must benefit both parties and may
require giving up more than is received. For example, the player who has a
settlement boarding brick and lumber tiles may be well stocked in these
resource cards but will need to entice a player who has an abundance of ore
or grain cards to trade with him if he wants to build a city. In that scenario,
giving up four brick resource cards for two grain cards may be required,
and justified.
The social and negotiation skills developed by Catan cannot be
overstated. In an era where opportunities to teach social interaction,
discussion, and negotiation skills are limited, Catan develops these skills
through game play that will necessarily require players to engage with other
players to succeed in the game. In fact, Catan is regularly used as a means
for encouraging socialization and communication skills for students who
are overtly shy or non-communicative. In the development of these key and
necessary life-long skills Catan is unsurpassed.
While Catan uniquely develops negotiation and communication skills, it is
also a powerhouse tool for developing other core educational skills such as
math and probability. As with most strategy games involving multiple die
Catan provides ample opportunities to work on simple math skills by
requiring players to add the dice. However, Catan is unique in that the
probability that a certain number between 2 and 12 will be rolled is
incredibly important for players to understand in determining where to
place their initial settlements and roads, as well as determining the most
desirable intersections for future settlements.
The number discs used in Catan provide a visual display of the
probabilities for each number by using dots or “pips” under the number on
each disc to show how many dice combinations can be rolled to add up to
that number. For example, the “8” number disc has 5 dots under it showing
that there are 5 combinations with 2 dice that will add up to 8 (13.89
percent). Similarly, the “3” number disc only has two dots under it since
there are only two combinations with two dice that will add up to 3 (5.56
percent). There is not a “7” number disc since a roll of the dice resulting in
a 7 activates the robber and results in the potential loss of resource cards. It
won’t take players long to figure out that the most probable number to
result from a roll of two dice is 7 (16.67 percent).
Another way in which Catan develops math skills is through an
understanding of ratios and proportions. A player may trade with the bank
at any time at the rate of 4 cards to 1. A settlement or city on a harbor will
allow a player to trade with the bank at a more favorable rate, either 3 to 1
or 2 to 1. These trading exercises help teach a basic understanding of ratios
by visually demonstrating what a 4 to 1, 3 to 1, and 2 to 1 ratio looks like.
And if you are playing with someone who has hoarded a huge stack of wool
resource cards, one of which you need to build a settlement, you may learn
what a 5 to 1 or even 6 to 1 ratio looks like!
One of the hallmarks of all the games discussed in this book is how
creativity and flexibility are key components of the game play. Catan is no
different. Since there are multiple avenues to reach ten victory points
players must constantly evaluate and adapt their strategy throughout the
game. While having the longest road may have been part of a player’s
initial strategy to reaching ten victory points, an opponent who quickly
builds five road segments may require a change in strategy.
One of the other characteristics of Catan that develops creativity and
flexibility is that the Catan board may be set up differently, and randomly,
each game. Since the nineteen tiles can be arranged in any order, and with
some limitations the number discs may end up on any tile, a strategy that
worked for one game will not necessarily work for the next game. In a
sense this feature of Catan makes every game distinctly unique and requires
players to freshly evaluate the new game board set up for each game.
Catan’s use of development cards provides a significant opportunity for
the development of deductive reasoning skills. Since development cards are
not recycled and are limited in number and by type, players are able to not
only deduce what development cards other players likely have in their
hands but, more importantly, determine what development cards are left in
the deck to be purchased. Development cards are roughly broken into three
categories: Knight cards (14), Progress cards (6) and Victory Point cards
(5).
As these cards are played by other players and therefore either turned face
up (Knight cards) or played and discarded (Progress cards) the likely cards
remaining in the deck, as well as the un-played cards in another player’s
hand can be determined. For example, in a game in which 12 Knight cards
have been turned face up and 4 Progress cards have been played a player
can deduce that unused cards in the deck (or in other players hands) are
likely to be Victory Point cards.
A final, rather unique educational skill developed by Catan, is the
teaching of basic economic theories. Indeed, the basic premise of the game
is the settlement and development of a new country or territory. Unlike
Monopoly where houses and cities miraculously appear on properties by
paying money, Catan develops an understanding of how a wide variety of
natural resources are required to build roads, settlements, and cities. In
addition, the component of trading with other competing players for
necessary natural resources provides a good basic understanding of how
trade, commerce, and economic development are interdependent. While I
do not believe a steady diet of Catan will suffice for someone to completely
understand the intricacies of NAFTA or be admitted to the PhD program in
economics at the University of Chicago, it may not be a bad place to start.

VARIATIONS
As a starting point, there are a number of excellent variations of Catan that
have been published by Mayfair and are available for retail purchase. These
variations, expansions and extensions, such as Catan: Explorers & Pirates,
Catan: Cities & Knights and Catan: Traders & Barbarians allow for new
variants, different game lay outs and a multitude of different strategies and
options. However, the variations discussed below are focused on the
original Catan and are designed to emphasize or build on specific core
educational skills.
The premise of Catan, settling an uninhabited territory, allows for several
tweaks and variations to focus on geography and sociology. One of the
easiest variations is to replace the Catan game board with the outline of a
real country divided into nineteen hexagonal grids; they do not have to be a
perfect fit. Have students research to determine four key resources produced
by that country and simply change the resource cards and tiles with sticky
notes to reflect the new identified resources. Finally, have students name
settlements and cities they build to correspond to actual towns and cities
from the selected country. It is guaranteed that students will know a lot
more about the geography, resources, and cities of South Africa, Vietnam,
and Peru after playing a few games of Catan with these countries as their
game board.
Believe it or not, Catan also provides a basis to expand and teach
creativity and improve writing skills. The publishers of Catan refer to the
territory as an “isle consist(ing) of nineteen terrain tiles surrounded by
ocean” and that the goal of the game for players “is to settle on Catan and
expand your territory until it becomes the largest and most glorious in
Catan.” But why Catan, and who are these settlers and where did they come
from and why did they leave? With these simple questions, or any of your
choosing, have students write a back story to the Settlers of Catan. For an
additional twist, have students incorporate all elements of the game play
(i.e., resources, settlements, roads, armies, etc.) into their narrative.
As with most games involving dice, Catan also provides opportunities to
vary the game play to hone in on specific math skills. By allowing players
to split the die and play both numbers the probabilities and odds for specific
numbers completely change, as does the game strategy. For a variation that
will develop multiplication and division skills, introduce a third die to the
game. A player rolls two dice and multiplies the sum. He is then allowed to
select any number on the third die to divide the sum, assuming the result is
a whole number. For example, a roll of two sixes would be multiplied to
equal thirty-six. The player may then choose to divide that number by 3, 4,
or 6, resulting in rolls of 12, 9, or 6. Not only does this variation drill down
on simple multiplication and division, but it throws a new wrinkle into the
strategy of settlement and city locations.
The strategy, problem-solving and planning skills required to succeed in
Catan can also be used as a tool to focus development of these skills.
Requiring players to confidentially map out the settlement and city
locations they will achieve (at least four) prior to the game as well as pre-
planning how long of a road they will construct, how large of an army they
will build, and so on, highlights the importance of strategic planning. To
further emphasize the importance of strategic planning provide two victory
points for any player who fulfills each element of their pre-planned strategy.
To really ratchet up the importance of these skills, require that the winning
player must have fulfilled her pre-planned strategy in order to win. Not only
does this variation enhance the development of strategic and planning skills,
but it also adds a component of deductive analysis to the game play as other
players are incented to figure out and block their opponents pre-planned
strategy.
Finally, the critical importance of negotiation and trade with other players
in Catan provides an excellent opportunity to develop and enhance verbal
and non-verbal communication and language skills. Catan provides a
wonderful opportunity to teach foreign language skills by requiring players
to only negotiate in the language being taught. Board games in general have
long served as excellent tools for teaching English as a second language and
the inherent conversation and negotiation among players in Catan provide
the perfect opportunity to enhance and teach foreign language skills. For a
double whammy, when using an actual country or territory map as the
Catan game board as described above, require players to also negotiate and
communicate in the language of that country.
Interestingly, while negotiation and trade among players is a staple of
Catan game play, prohibiting any verbal or written communication is
actually a very effective way to develop communication skills. Studies
consistently show that non-verbal communication skills are critical to
effective communication but are rarely identified or taught. Eliminating
verbal and written communication to engage in negotiation and trades
forces players to focus on important, but sometimes ignored, non-verbal
communication skills. In addition, this variation is useful in settings where
some players tend to dominate all negotiations by sheer volume or force by
evening the playing field for those players who may be more reserved or
shy. Of course, the non-verbal demonstration by any player of firing the
robber across the room when a seven is rolled by an opponent is universally
understood!

OBSERVATIONS ON SETTLERS OF CATAN

• Settlers of Catan was inducted into the Games Magazine Hall of Fame in
1995.
• Klaus Teuber, the inventor of Catan, has won the prestigious Spiel das
Jahres for three different games, including Catan.
• The odds of playing a game of Catan in which a roll of seven never
occurs is 1 in 10,000.
• A movie based on Catan is in development and a novel based on Catan
has been published in Germany.
• There are over eighty official versions and expansions of Catan.
• Catan has been featured on The Big Bang Theory and Parks and
Recreation and Mark Zuckerburg has stated that he enjoys playing Catan
with his wife.
• The dice for Catan are made in Denmark, the wood pieces are from
Germany and Ohio, the cards are printed in Texas, the cardboard is from
Indiana, the boxes are made in Illinois and the plastic components are
manufactured in Wisconsin.
• A large secondary market exists for Catan including custom made/self-
designed boards, Catan socks, stuffed animals that represent the
resources, and custom made Catan playing tables (probably re-purposed
from Thomas the Tank Engine)!
• There are over 80,000 members of “Playcatan.com” which is an online
platform for the game.
• Want more games from Klaus Teuber? He also designed Domaine and
Noderwind.
• The Green Bay Packers have a regularly scheduled Catan game night.
Probably not invited is Indianapolis Colt’s quarterback Andrew Luck who
is also a die-hard Catan player.
• Regular Catan players are known as “Catanians.”
• In August 2013, 922 players played on a huge archipelago of Catans
linked together setting a Guinness Book of World Records for the most
people playing a board game together at one time.
• Playing Catan and drinking large amounts of Guinness will not help your
game.
• The World Championship for Catan is held every year at a castle in
Germany. In 2014, the championship was won by a player from Estonia.
Rumor has it that Estonia erupted in song!

Catan has become a mainstay of family reunions and holiday celebrations

with our family. Playing a huge Catan game on multiple linked boards with
fifteen or twenty players is a great way to get an entire extended family
laughing, talking and, in the case of my brother-in-law, cheating. In fact,
when our son went off to college at the University of Southern California he
reported that Catan was being played in dorm rooms, libraries, and
fraternity houses. Fight On!
 Chapter 6

Backgammon
An Ancient Game with a Modern Twist
While Chess may be commonly referred to as the “game of kings,”
Backgammon may rightly be considered the game of sheiks, emperors,
crusaders, and even Popes! With a pedigree similar to chess, Backgammon is
an ancient historical game that its popularity across the globe far exceeds its
popularity in the United States. In short, Backgammon is the soccer of board
games.
However, before you simply discount the game as something only played
in Turkish coffee shops or by players wearing black berets and smoking
cigarettes, consider this: The World Championship of Backgammon is held
every year at the world-famous casino in Monte Carlo and has, for the last
ten years, featured the largest cash prize of a board game competition or
championship.
Our family became interested in Backgammon years ago as an excellent
tool for teaching basic math skills, which it is, but it was when we finally
learned to play Backgammon in the same manner as it is played at
tournaments that it became one of our favorites. Far from the dusty old game
I had played with grandparents, when played as a match game with the use
of the doubling cube (that odd dice with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64) I finally
grasped the excitement, complexity and strategy of Backgammon. And no, I
have not resorted to wearing a beret.

A BRIEF HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF

BACKGAMMON
There is something ironic about writing a “brief history” of a game that has
been in existence for over 5,000 years. Originated in Persia, present day Iraq
and Iran, Backgammon, along with Chess and Go, is one of the oldest board
games on record. Believed to be an ancestor of the Egyptian game Senet,
according to Persian records Backgammon was invented by Persian royalty
to challenge the Indian game of Chess. The use of dice was meant to
symbolize fate and pieces being “hit” and then brought back into play was
meant to represent resurrection and rebirth.
The game of Backgammon was central to the way of life in Persia where it
was known as “Takhteh Nard” (Battle on Wood). In a bit of foreshadowing,
Backgammon was a part of the Persian education of young nobles. From
Persia, the popularity of Backgammon spread and grew over the following
centuries. Romans played Backgammon under the name of “Duodecum
Scripta et Tabulea” (Tables) and both Emperor Claudius and Nero played the
game regularly, the latter for the equivalent today of $10,000 per game!
From the Roman Empire the game spread even further with paintings
depicting Backgammon, or Tables, being played by Crusaders during the
great crusades. Backgammon was not well received by all those in authority
and there were numerous attempts throughout the centuries to ban
Backgammon as a game of chance. Indeed, Cardinal Woolsey in the
sixteenth century referred to Backgammon as “the devil’s folly” and forbid
its play. However, proving that necessity is the mother of invention, players
crafted game boards that could be folded in half to look like a book to
disguise the game: the first folding game board.
The name Backgammon is actually from the Welsh and means “wee
battle.” The game remained fairly unchanged through the years until the
addition of the doubling cube around 1931. The doubling cube, which will
be explained in greater detail below, changed the game from a simple race
game to a high stakes match game. The doubling cube also cemented
Backgammon as a very popular gambling game; the Texas Hold’em of its
time.
Prince Alexis Obelensky, an individual of Ukranian royalty who lived in
the United States, organized the first official Backgammon championship in
the Bahamas in the 1960s and the games popularity exploded in the 1970s
with Backgammon clubs popping up all over the world. Backgammon
moved swiftly into the world of computer games and Gerald Tesauro of IBM
wrote the first software to play Backgammon that taught itself using neural
networking, creating the first computer world class Backgammon player;
TD-Gammon. In 1993 the first internet Backgammon server was created by
Andreas Schneider and was hosted on an academic computer server in
Sweden allowing for internet play. From dice made of bones played by
Persian kings to dedicated internet servers in Sweden, to quote an old
commercial, “you’ve come a long way baby!”
The game play of Backgammon is quite simple to learn but belies the
complexities and advanced strategy involved in analyzing every move. Each
player starts with fifteen checkers which are placed on predetermined points
on the game board. The board itself is comprised of twenty-four “points” or
spaces in four different areas known as a player’s home board and outer
board and the opponent’s home board and outer board. The game is a classic
race game with players moving their checkers in accordance with the roll of
two dice to move all their checkers into their home board and then “bearing
them off,” the first player to bear off all his checkers being the winner.
While seemingly simple enough Backgammon adds complexity by
allowing players to split the role of the dice between checkers but restricting
moves to only those points that are unoccupied, occupied by a player’s own
checker(s), or occupied by only one checker of an opponent. In this
situation, the opponent’s checker is considered hit and is moved to the center
bar where a roll of the dice must be achieved to move it back into play in the
other player’s home board. For example, if a player’s checker is hit and
moved to the center bar and her opponent has multiple checkers on the 1, 2,
and 4 points in her home board, then she must roll a 3, 5, or 6 to move the
checker back into play. If such a roll is not achieved, then the player may not
move. (If you see similarities to the games of Parcheesi and Sorry you are
spot on as both games descend from Backgammon.)
 Backgammon may be played as a single game or may be played as a match
to a predetermined number of points. Generally, players agree to play to an
odd number and each win is worth one point. However, in match games the
doubling cube, gammons, and backgammons are introduced. A gammon
occurs when a player has born off all his checkers, but his opponent has not
born off a single checker and is worth two points. A backgammon occurs
when a player has born off all his checkers, but his opponent still has a
checker on the center bar or a checker on her home board. A backgammon is
worth three points.
The doubling cube provides an extra level of excitement by allowing a
player to double the stakes of the game at any point during the game. As an
example, a player who believes he has the advantage may take the cube and
turn it to the “2.” If his opponent accepts the double then the points for a
win, gammon or backgammon are all doubled. If the player refuses, then the
game ends at that point without using doubled scores. However, if a player
accepts the doubled game he then controls the doubling cube. If later in the
game, he feels that he has the advantage he can propose to double the game
again making all points worth four times their standard value. The doubling
may continue as long as the other player accepts the double.
Another manner of play and scoring is to play a “pip points” match to a
predetermined amount. At the end of the game the losing player’s checkers
are multiplied by the points on which they ended. For example, if a losing
player had two checkers on the third point and one checker on the fifth point
then the wining player would win eleven points (2×3+5). Not surprisingly
the strategy and tactics involved in a pip point match are different than a
traditional points game.
There are numerous variations of Backgammon, some of which will be
discussed later in this chapter, involving varied strategies, scoring, and
movements. Indeed, under the guise of playing Backgammon you could play
a different variation of the game practically every day of the year. However,
the basic goal of racing to get your checkers off the board before your
opponent generally holds fast no matter the variation.

SKILLS DEVELOPED
Backgammon has long been considered a staple in the list of traditional
board games that help develop educational skills and, in particular, math
skills. However, Backgammon has broken away from being simply a math
game to now being used to develop a wide assortment of business and
economics related skills such as decision theory application, situational
analysis and “what if” analysis. In addition, Backgammon has been shown to
develop and enhance creativity while also being used as a tool to supplement
sociology and cultural studies.
All that being said, Backgammon is a powerhouse game for developing
math skills. Since movements are determined by the roll of two dice an
understanding of the probabilities of specific numbers being rolled is critical
in analyzing and evaluating potential moves. For example, when a player is
considering various moves she must consider and understand the
probabilities associated with her opponent’s upcoming roll to determine
where to move checkers and when to leave a single checker exposed.
Math skills are also inherent in understanding the current game situation to
know who is winning, by how much, and whether a player should consider
doubling the game. This “running score” is accomplished through pip
counting, which is really just a mathematical calculation to determine how
many moves each player is from winning the game. A player counts pips by
multiplying the number of checkers he has on each point and then comparing
that number against his opponent. This calculation, which can be done prior
to each move teaches multiplication, addition, and simple algebra. A player
playing multiple games counting pips before each move will soon develop
extraordinary mental math skills as well as the ability to quickly analyze the
effect of an opponent’s likely move on the in-game score.
The understanding and analysis of probabilities to make decisions as to the
next move also lends itself to developing key business skills. Indeed, a
course on Backgammon was introduced at Georgia Southern University as a
part of the business curriculum. Specifically, developing the ability to make
decisions based on probabilities, but without complete information, is a core
component of decision theory studies and applications.
Decision theory involves an understanding of why decisions are made
based on known and unknown facts by evaluating the rationality of decisions
to determine the optimal decision. Stated another way, did you make the
right move, or the wrong move based on the circumstances. In the game play
of Backgammon, a player undertakes a decision theory analysis prior to each
move. By studying and learning what moves generally have better results
over the course of multiple games a player develops the ability to quickly
sort through known facts and, with probability, determine the most rational
move. However, players also learn that even the most rational move will not
always work. Welcome to the world of business (and life)!
Related to these economic decision theory skills developed through
Backgammon is the understanding of the “what if” analysis. Commonly
used for business modeling and projections, the “what if” analysis looks at
multiple possible variables to determine how models, projections or strategic
decisions are affected by various scenarios. Perhaps more commonly thought
of as an Excel tool, at its core the “what if” analysis is a part of every
Backgammon move. Players evaluate their next possible moves based on the
moves that their opponent might make, creating multiple different
contingency plans based on their opponent’s move.
One of the additional, beneficial results of the decision theory and “what
if” analysis that is a part of Backgammon game play is that players learn to
adjust on the fly to unexpected player moves or dice rolls. This flexibility to
change or rethink strategy results in the development of creativity. After all,
a double six roll by your opponent can lay waste to the best planned strategy
and “what if” analysis.
A final hidden educational gem found with Backgammon is the
opportunity to use Backgammon to teach history and sociology. As noted
previously, Backgammon has a rich history with both ancient and current
cultures. Moreover, the multiple variations of Backgammon played today
can generally be traced to specific countries or even specific cultural groups
within a country.
For example, a lesson on modern day and ancient Greece is easily
supplemented by an understanding of the Backgammon variant, Plakoto.
Similarly, Backgammon variants Jacquet and Trictrac provide additional
insight on French culture while Backgammon ancestor Fayles is an
interesting study related to the late middle ages in England and Spain.
Indeed, there is not a time period or geographic region anywhere in the
world that was not touched in some small way by Backgammon!

VARIATIONS
Backgammon has so many historical and current variations that an entire
book could be written solely on that subject alone. However, there are a few
variations and tweaks that will hyper focus the development of some key
educational skills. Basic and advanced math skills, problem-solving and
reasoning skills, social skills, and even language arts skills can be
specifically taught through a few simple variations and tweaks on the game
play of Backgammon.
One of the simplest variations to Backgammon to focus on the
development of basic math skills and increase strategy is to replace the dice
in Backgammon with dominoes. Each player plays with a set of dominoes
turned up (after taking out the blanks) and then selects a domino to represent
his dice roll. (Doubles may only be played after the first four moves and then
cannot be used again.) Once a player uses a domino it is turned face down
but can be used again after all other dominoes are played.
The advantage of dominoes Backgammon is that it eliminates the element
of luck through the dice roll placing added emphasis on strategy and
planning. Moreover, using dominoes to represent the dice rolls provides a
side by side visual of the numbers to be moved allowing for the development
of both visual and sensory (touch) basic math skills like addition and number
recognition. For an additional tweak, allow players the option to either play
the domino by adding the two sides (traditional) or by electing to subtract
the two sides and move one checker with the sum. This additional variation
adds in the concept of negative numbers and provides a tangible
demonstration of the negative number concept by allowing for backward
movement of the checkers!
More advanced math skills such as multiplication, division, and even
simple fractions can be taught by introducing a third dice into the game play
and basic algebra can be demonstrated by writing out the formula for
counting pips. By employing a third dice in Backgammon players are given
multiple movement options. They can play a dice roll and move traditionally
or multiply the first two dice and then divide by the third dice and play the
result as doubles (assuming it results in a whole number). A third option is to
allow players to take any two dice as a fraction and play the results of
reducing the fraction. For example, a roll of six and four could be played
traditionally or played as a three and two. Similarly, any roll with a one can
be reduced and played as a double (i.e., a roll of four and one can be reduced
and played as a double four). Not only does this variation focus on different
math skills but the multiple move options that are available with any dice
roll also increases the strategic thinking and planning required.
As a final math bonus, not a phrase most students would normally want to
hear, the process of counting pips to determine an end game score or the
number of moves left to win a game can be used to teach grouping and
simple algebra. Since pip counts use a combination of multiplication and
addition to arrive at the total it can be expressed as a formula.
The formula uses two inputs, the numbered points and the number of
checkers on each point, to determine the sum. Having students write out this
formula will not only provide a lesson in grouping and basic algebra but
make the students better players in the process. (As a cheat, the formula
should look something like this: (point number × number of checkers on that
point) + (point number × number of checkers on that point) + . . . = total
pips.)
As noted above, any variation or tweak in the way Backgammon is played
introduces new strategies and reasoning. For this reason, playing any of the
hundreds of variations of Backgammon will require players to understand
and employ new strategies, thereby developing and increasing strategic
thinking, problem-solving and reasoning skills. A simple Backgammon
variation that exemplifies these new strategies is to allow players to play
either side of the dice.
For example, if a player rolls a four and two she can either play that
combination or play the reverse side of the dice, a three and five. By
doubling the possible move options with any roll of the dice players are
required to double their evaluation of the possible moves available, with the
understanding that their opponent will also have multiple moves available.
(As an interesting side note, players will also learn that the opposite sides of
dice always add up to seven; a potentially valuable lesson if they ever decide
to play craps.)
Another simple variation to Backgammon is to designate one or two
checkers on the board that can move in either direction. Again, the multitude
of new movement options that result from this simple change will require
players to think differently, and creatively, about potential moves and
strategy. Similarly, Blocking Backgammon tweaks the traditional game play
by allowing a player to control a point by having a checker on the point.
Rather than hitting an opponent’s sole checker on a point a player may not
move his piece to the occupied point.
This small tweak requires an adjustment in strategy and a new creative
approach to the game as defensive board positions and control of points
becomes much more significant. Finally, a player’s creative and strategic
skills can really be tested by changing the object of the game. In a variant of
Backgammon known as “Misere” the object is to be the last player to bear
off all your checkers. Indeed, based on my Backgammon skills and record I
think I would do very well at Misere!
A very popular multi-player variation of Backgammon is an excellent way
to develop social skills. Commonly known as Chouette, this Backgammon
variant pits one player against a team of other players led by a captain.
While played competitively for points and money, Chouette is a great
variation for developing social and communication skills since the team
playing the individual player confer and discuss their moves and strategy,
although the captain has the final say on any move.
When the team beats the individual player, the captain becomes the
individual player and then everyone moves up slot. In this way, players are
interacting with different players, in distinct roles (captain, crew, solo
player), over the course of multiple games. Unlike a simple team game,
Chouette is an excellent variant to develop social and communication skills
since players will be put into very different roles in almost every game.
While Backgammon is rightly viewed as a mathematical game, a few
variations to the gameboard can create a very good tool for teaching
language arts. There are twenty-four points on the Backgammon board and
twenty-six letters in the alphabet. After eliminating “Q” and “X,” allow
players to alternately place a letter on each point of their choosing. During
the course of the game, play after the first move players are awarded points
for moving checkers to points that spell words in combination with points
occupied by their other checkers.
Scrabble type scoring can be tracked for the words created during a game
and a point is awarded to the player who totals the most points through
spelled words during a game, in addition to the traditional scoring for any
game (i.e., one point for a win, two points for a gammon and three points for
a backgammon). Who knows, maybe Backgammon will soon become a part
of English literature curriculum as well.
 OBSERVATIONS ON BACKGAMMON

• Acey-deucey is a popular Backgammon variant that was a favorite of the

US Navy, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marine starting in World War I.
• Emperor Claudius had a Backgammon board built on the back of his
chariot. (As a suggestion, if you are playing an Emperor you should
probably let him win.)
• Backgammon is the subject in Jan Steen’s 1667 painting, “Backgammon
Fight.” The original painting may be viewed in the Hermitage Museum in
St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Backgammon was the board game of choice for Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and
Joan Crawford in the early 1930s.
• Chaucer mentions Backgammon in Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare also
mentions Backgammon in “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
• In Acey-deucey, a player who occupies/blocks six consecutive points is
said to have a Hindenburg Line.
• Tavli (Backgammon in Greek) is the national game of Cyprus.
• A Backgammon Festival is held in Gibraltar every year. (A good
alternative to Coachella.)
• Backgammon gambling clubs flourished in the United States in the 1970s
and early 1980s. The rise in popularity of Texas Hold’em poker took over
many of these clubs.
• The Backgammon World Championship was won by players from three
different countries from 2015 through 2017 (Turkey, Sweden, and France).
• Benjamin Franklin was fond of Backgammon and it is mentioned often in
his journals. In the 1770s, Backgammon was considered a game for the
wealthy.
• For $387,890 you can own one of the most expensive Backgammon sets
ever made. Designed by Geoffrey Parker, this set features an alligator and
stingray board with yellow and white gold checkers and dice with
diamonds. (Probably not the set to play with your 5 year old.)
• Backgammon is an official event in the Maccabi Games, held every four
years in Israel. (The first Maccabi games were held in 1932.)
• Backgammon, along with chess, bridge, Go, and Scrabble, make up the
Mindsports World Championships held in Doha Qatar with prize money in
excess of $200,000.
• In 2018, there were over 1,000 players who identified their profession as
“professional Backgammon player.”
• Snowie and Jellyfish are the names of two Backgammon software
programs that will evaluate and rank how a player plays each game of
Backgammon. (I, fortunately, do not need this as my wife is all too happy
to tell me how I have played every time she wins.)

The first backgammon set our family owned was a magnetic travel set. I
would love to say that our kids sat quietly in the back seat for hours playing
backgammon, but the truth is that most games ended up in contests of who
could stack the most checker magnets or who could get the checker magnets
to stick to the board when tossed from across the back seat. That being said,
it was much better than breaking out the travel bingo!
 Conclusion
Time to Play!

Well, are you ready to clear your kitchen table and set up a CONNECT 4,
Ticket to Ride, Othello, or Backgammon marathon? (Be a little careful if
your family is hungry as the yellow CONNECT 4 checkers look a bit like
vanilla Oreos.) The educational impact of the board games discussed in this
book is astronomical. While no one is suggesting, or should suggest, that
board games are a substitute for traditional learning methods, the potential
these games have to develop multiple core educational skills is very
exciting. Indeed, these games not only develop the skills needed for
academic success but also career success. (“Well boss, my investment
strategy for the company was really something I learned when I was trading
ore on Catan.”)
And while I would love to think that I somehow unveiled the learning
potential of these board games, the royal families of Persia figured this out
5,000 years ago! Although, I am not sure they could have foreseen
CONNECT 4. Time to learn—Game On!
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 About the Author

Jeffery P. Hinebaugh is a senior partner with the law firm of Dinsmore &
Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is married to his wife, Erika Darfus
Hinebaugh, an elementary school teacher. They have two children, Hans, a
graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts,
and Analise, a student at the University of Michigan.
Jeff has been actively involved with the Head Start program for a number
of years, working to integrate affordable educational tools such as board
games that can be used in classrooms and at home. Jeff has also worked
with the Cincinnati Preschool Promise program to introduce board games as
a tool for developing language arts and mathematics skills to ensure that
preschool children are school ready.