Abstract Strategy Games
Chess, Go, Hex, Shogi, and Raichu. What they share, why they endure, and how to find the right one for you.
What Is an Abstract Strategy Game?
An abstract strategy game is a game where strategy and tactics are the only factors. The defining properties:
- No luck. Dice, cards, or random elements are absent. The outcome depends entirely on player decisions.
- Perfect or near-perfect information. Both players can see the entire game state. Nothing is hidden.
- Simple rules, deep mastery. The rules fit on one page but mastery takes years. The depth emerges from the interactions between simple components.
- Deterministic. The same position with the same move always produces the same result. There are no dice to roll.
Abstract strategy games appeal to players who want pure skill competition, where the only variable is how well each player thinks.
Notable Abstract Strategy Games
Chess
The world's most widely played abstract strategy game. Sixteen pieces per side, six piece types, the goal of checkmate. Over a thousand years old with a living global community of millions.
Go
Played with black and white stones on a 19×19 grid. The rules are among the simplest in abstract strategy; the depth is among the greatest. Go predates chess by centuries and remains the hardest board game for computers to master.
Shogi
Japanese chess with a twist: captured pieces change sides and can be re-entered. The result is a game with even more tactical density than chess and a different strategic character.
Hex
Two players connect opposite sides of a diamond-shaped grid. A draw is mathematically impossible. One of the most elegant abstract strategy games ever designed.
Why Play Abstract Strategy Games?
No dice, no cards. The better player wins, consistently.
The same rules produce near-infinite variety. A chess or Go position is rarely seen twice.
Pattern recognition, planning, and tactical thinking developed in one abstract game carry over to others.
No story, no resource management, no luck mitigation. Just the pure strategic problem.