3 Classic Board Games You Can Play on Mobile

If you see someone glued to their phone screen on public transportation, on the airplane or while waiting in line for their coffee, they might not just be mindlessly scrolling through social media. There is a good chance they are playing one of the many classic board games that are now available for mobile.

In the mobile era, you don’t need a table and box full of pieces to play your favourite table-top games. You don’t even need your friends and family to be in the same room as you. Below are 3 classic board games you can play on your smartphone anywhere at any time.

Scrabble

Scrabble is one of those games that will almost certainly be around in 500 years, likely with thousands of more potential word combinations. Invented in 1933 during the Great Depression, Scrabble has stood the test of time because people never get tired of testing their verbal intelligence and the opportunity to play with language.

Scrabble is now easily downloadable as an app on both Android and iOS. If you are new to scrabble or haven’t played in a while, you might want to consider using a tool to help you unscramble letters and come up with winning combinations while you get or regain the hang of things.

Monopoly

First created as an anti-monopolist game by Elizabeth Maggie in 1903 and originally titled “Landlords,” Monopoly was purchased by Parker Brothers for just 500 dollars with the agreement that they would manufacture the game for distribution. Since then, the game has been embraced by people the world over, in dozens of different languages and with a new version released seemingly every year.

Monopoly used to be one of those classic Saturday evening games that would take all night and be strewn out across the table. Now, all you need is a modern smartphone and an internet connection to play. There is a wide range of versions available for Android and iOS and they usually cost a couple of dollars.

Chess

Perhaps the oldest living board game, Chess is a part of human history and dates back to around the 7th century AD in India and then Persia. Since then, Chess has been played around the world by people of all ages. It is the quintessential thinking person’s game and has become almost synonymous with intelligence. The game has spawned famous people like Magnus Carlsen and Gary Kasparov.

There are myriad chess apps available for mobile, with many of them completely free. Chess is one of those games, whether you are playing it on mobile or on a physical board, that takes a lot of time to get good at. It is also helpful to read about strategy and to study the greats if you truly want to make major improvements.

Conclusion

Scrabble, Monopoly, and Chess are three classic board games that don’t seem like they will ever go out of style. While it is hard to say what form they will take as we continue to progress through the digital era, the essence of these games–wordplay, empire, and strategy–are part of the human condition. If you are looking for new games for your mobile and are tired of what’s new, you can always go back to the classics.