Chess
Beginner chess rules: how to set up the board, how each piece moves, castling, en passant, promotion, checkmate and draws — one clear beginner page.
A little less rulebook. A little more game night.
Less reading.
More playing.
Clear rules, quick guides, and smarter moves for your next game night.
What’s on the table?
Find your kind of game.A good place to start
Explore all games
Hearts
Hearts rules for four players: passing, breaking hearts, shooting the moon and scoring — plus jack of diamonds, 3- and 5-player variants and a glossary.
Farkle
Farkle rules with the complete PlayMonster scoring table: rolling and setting aside dice, farkles, hot dice, the 500-point entry and the final round.
Also known as Farkel
Draw Dominoes
Draw Dominoes rules with a double-six set: hand sizes, the opening tile, matching open ends, drawing until playable, blocked hands and scoring to 100.
Also known as Draw game
Beyond the basics
Your next move,
a little smarter.
Small ideas that make a difference. Start with a few useful principles, then find your own way to play.
Common mistakesCommon Backgammon mistakes and how to check themAvoid illegal dice use, stranded checkers, broken primes and cube errors with a short turn-by-turn routine.Beginner strategyMake safer choices in BackgammonThree questions to ask before you move your checkers.Beginner strategyBackgammon opening movesThe fifteen backgammon opening rolls with standard moves and one-line reasons — plus doubles replies and how to handle the back pair.ScoringBackgammon scoring and the doubling cubeScore singles, gammons and backgammons correctly, then use the cube in a match without mixing in money-play rules.Common mistakesSeven Chess mistakes beginners can catchA practical move-by-move checklist for avoiding loose pieces, unsafe kings and one-move blunders.Beginner strategyYour first ten moves in ChessA practical checklist for a calmer, more purposeful opening.Beginner strategyMake a plan after the Chess openingTurn a playable opening into a simple middlegame plan by improving pieces, reading pawns and limiting counterplay.
Beginner strategyCribbage strategy for your first gamesChoose discards, plan pegging cards and use board position without trying to memorise every possible hand.Common mistakesCommon Cribbage mistakes in play and scoringCatch illegal totals, missed go points, incorrect runs, crib flush errors and counting-order problems.ScoringCribbage scoring with worked examplesCount pegging, hands and the crib in a fixed order, with examples for fifteens, pairs, duplicate runs, flushes and nobs.
ScoringGin Rummy scoring: knock, gin, undercutCount deadwood, apply layoffs, and score knocks, gin and undercuts with worked examples for the 20-point gin ruleset.
Common mistakesCommon Texas Hold’em betting mistakesAvoid under-raises, string bets, reopened action and showdown disputes using Poker TDA procedure as the reference.
Common mistakesCommon UNO mistakes and how to fix themSort official UNO rules from house rules: drawing, Wild Draw Four challenges, UNO calls and end-of-round scoring.
ScoringYahtzee scoring and the Joker ruleScore every box correctly, earn the 35-point upper bonus, and place extra Yahtzees under the Joker rule with worked examples.