Game of skill

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Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance. Double portrait of a husband and wife by Jan Sanders van Hemessen.jpg
Backgammon is a game of skill. Strategy can give players advantages, but there is also an element of chance.

A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. [2] [3]

Contents

Alternatively, a game of chance is one where its outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, such as dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, or numbered balls drawn from a container.

While a game of chance may have some skill element to it, chance generally plays a greater role in determining its outcome. A game of skill may also have elements of chance, but skill plays a greater role in determining its outcome.

Some commonly played games of skill and chance include: poker, collectible card games, contract bridge, backgammon and mahjong. [4]

Most games of skill also involve a degree of chance, due to natural aspects of the environment, a randomizing device (such as dice, playing cards or a coin flip), or guessing due to incomplete information. For many games where skill is a component alongside chance, such as card games like poker but also some physical games, the skills needed to play the game well include the calculation of mathematical probabilities and the application of game theory. Game theory often leads to tactics such as bluffing and other forms of deception.

The distinction between "chance" and "skill" has important legal implications in countries where games of chance are treated differently from games of skill. For instance, games of chance (such as lotteries) are often more heavily regulated by the state, if not prohibited altogether, in order to protect consumers from addiction issues. However, the legal distinction between games of skill and games of chance is often vague, and varies widely from one jurisdiction to the next. [5]

In Germany, whether a game is considered of skill has legal implications with respect to whether wagers on the game's outcome are considered gambling or not. For example, poker is legally considered a game of chance in Germany [6] (thus only allowed in casinos), whereas a tournament of skat is considered a game of skill and competitions with money prizes are allowed. [7] Alternatively, poker has been ruled by a United States federal judge as a game of skill [8] rather than chance.

Examples

A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills. PuzzleOfDexterity.jpg
A ball-in-a-maze puzzle requires fine motor skills.

Games of skill requiring special equipment (selection)

With the increasing spread of computer games, a lot of software of this genre was also created. Originally, these were mainly so-called jump'n'run games. However, the range has long since expanded and now also includes games with a greater strategic component, for example the various Tetris variants. In contrast to the non-virtual skill game, which usually involves the entire body, eye-hand coordination is required here. Encouraging player responsiveness and imagination is controversial. Nevertheless, various online skill games and jump'n'run adventures also find a place in child psychotherapeutic work. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casino game</span> Types of casino games

Games available in most casinos are commonly called casino games. In a casino game, the players gamble cash or casino chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes. Casino games are also available in online casinos, where permitted by law. Casino games can also be played outside of casinos for entertainment purposes, like in parties or in school competitions, on machines that simulate gambling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck-a-luck</span> Game of chance played with dice

Chuck-a-luck, also known as birdcage, or sweat rag, is a game of chance played with three dice. It is derived from grand hazard and both can be considered a variant of sic bo, which is a popular casino game, although chuck-a-luck is more of a carnival game than a true casino game. The game is sometimes used as a fundraiser for charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambling</span> Wagering of money on a game of chance or event with an uncertain outcome

Gambling is the wagering of something of value on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration, risk (chance), and a prize. The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice, a spin of a roulette wheel, or a horse crossing the finish line, but longer time frames are also common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slot machine</span> Casino gambling machine

A slot machine, fruit machine, poker machine or pokies is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baccarat</span> Gambling card game

Baccarat or baccara is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup has three possible outcomes: "player", "banker", and "tie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game of chance</span> Game whose outcome is determined by random events

A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, numbered balls, or in the case of digital games random number generators. A game of chance may be played as gambling if players wager money or anything of monetary value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Video poker</span> Casino video game

Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.

Online skill-based games are online games in which the outcome of the game is determined by the player's physical skill or mental skill. As in off-line games of skill, the definition has legal meaning, as playing games of chance for money is an illegal act in several countries.

Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. It is a prolific form of online gambling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Scarne</span> American magician (1903–1985)

John Scarne was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, gambling, and related topics.

Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet. Sites offering the game launched around 1996, and the global gross gaming yield outside of the United States was estimated at US$500 million in 2006, forecast to grow to $1 billion by 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online gambling</span> Gambling done through the internet

Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos, and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Today, the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barona Casino</span> Casino in Lakeside, California

Barona Resort and Casino is an Indian casino on the Barona Indian Reservation in Lakeside in San Diego County, California. It is owned and operated by the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians.

The mathematics of gambling is a collection of probability applications encountered in games of chance and can get included in game theory. From a mathematical point of view, the games of chance are experiments generating various types of aleatory events, and it is possible to calculate by using the properties of probability on a finite space of possibilities.

Advantage gambling, or advantage play, refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling, in contrast to cheating. The term usually refers to house-banked casino games, but can also refer to games played against other players, such as poker. Someone who practices advantage gambling is often referred to as an advantage player, or AP. Unlike cheating, which is by definition illegal, advantage play exploits innate characteristics of a particular game to give the player an advantage relative to the house or other players. While not illegal, advantage play may result in players being banned by certain casinos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game</span> Structured form of play

A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work or art.

The Dominant Factor Test is the principle that most U.S. jurisdictions use in determining, legally, what is and is not gambling. The California Supreme Court said:

Town of Mt. Pleasant v. Chimento was a South Carolina case that ruled that while poker was a game of skill, the Dominant Factor Test is not demonstrably a legal standard in South Carolina and thus poker is still subject to the laws related to gambling. The case was later appealed to a higher South Carolina district court where the Judge overturned the trial court's convictions, stating that Dominant Factor Test was the appropriate legal standard and therefore participating in a private home poker game is not illegal, nor is it gambling. The Judge further declared sections of the 207-year-old statute unconstitutionally vague and therefore void. In 2012, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the statute and reinstated the convictions of the defendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambling in Italy</span>

Gambling in Italy has existed for centuries and has taken on many forms. Its dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, when the predecessor of the modern game of backgammon, Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, became popular among Roman legionnaires. It is also due to them that the game came to other European countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game design</span> Game development process of designing the content and rules of a game

Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems and rules of a game. Games can be created for entertainment, education, exercise or experimental purposes. Additionally, elements and principles of game design can be applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification. Game designer and developer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down into its elements, which he says are the following:

References

  1. Solly, Meilan. "The Best Board Games of the Ancient World". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  2. Jérôme Hergueux; Gabriel Smagghue (2023). "The Dominance of Skill in Online Poker". International Review of Law and Economics, 74(2), pp. 106119.
  3. Dervishi, Kay (2019-06-18). "Other games of chance and skill on Albany's agenda". CSNY. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  4. David Carter (9 November 2010). Money Games: Profiting from the Convergence of Sports and Entertainment. Stanford University Press. pp. 169–. ISBN   978-0-8047-7679-0.
  5. Jérôme Hergueux; Gabriel Smagghue (2023). "The Dominance of Skill in Online Poker". International Review of Law and Economics, 74(2), pp. 106119.
  6. "Poker". Administration of Saxony. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  7. A. C. Spapens; Toine Spapens; Alan Littler; Cyrille Fijnaut (2008). Crime, Addiction and the Regulation of Gambling. BRILL. p. 143. ISBN   978-90-04-17218-0.
  8. Secret, Mosi (21 August 2012). "Poker, a Game of Skill, Is Not Truly Gambling, a Judge Rules". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  9. Rainer Koch-Möhr: Computer in der Kinderpsychotherapie. Über den Einsatz von Computerspielen in der Erziehungsberatung. In: Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie, Year 47 (1998), Issue 6, pp. 416–425.
  10. "Computerspiele zur Förderung der kindlichen Entwicklung". Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

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