For all intents and purposes, board games and card games are the same thing. Most people don’t see a difference and don’t care that there is one; however, for those of us that want to know the technical difference between the two, I did some research and here’s what I came up with.
So what is the difference between board games and card games? The main difference between board games and card games is that board games consist of many, varied game pieces all interacting on top of a game board or boards; while card games typically use cards as their only or main game element. Both types of games fall into the general category of tabletop games—which simply means they are played on a raised flat surface.
Though this gets the core point across, there is quite a bit more to the difference between board games and card games. Let’s take a look at it below.
Detailed explanation of the differences
Technically, board games and card games are two separate categories that both fall into the general category of a tabletop game; and a tabletop game is simply a game that is played while sitting around a flat surface like a table or the floor. Board games almost always need a flat surface to move pieces and complete objectives dictated by the rules. Similarly, card games usually require placing cards onto a surface to complete a turn or progress the game.
As previously mentioned, board games and card games differ in their primary game mechanics. Board games are usually all about a complete experience in a box—made up of many different game pieces, mechanics and complexities. Specifically, board games use game boards which shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us. Card games, on the other hand, usually play with cards as the primary component; they are often the only component used in the game. They, too, can vary in complexity and mechanics used, but all of the components tend to support playing or using the cards themselves. They don’t usually have a game board, but use the flat surface as the board.
The difference between board games and card games (and many other types of games for that matter) isn’t an exact science though. There is definitely some grey area left open to interpretation. Many games may be considered both a card game and a board game at the same time because they use a game board and they use cards as the primary or only component. But using some generalized rules helps us understand that, in their purest forms, they are different types of games.
The term “board game” has morphed some and is often used synonymously with the term “tabletop game”. Though this is technically incorrect, most people just don’t differentiate between the two. They find the technicality of needing to use a game board to be an insignificant reason to separate the two. I tend to be in that camp and find myself using the term board game to encompass all games that are generally played on a table’s top. I just don’t bother myself with making sure I use the correct term, because they are all so closely related and everyone knows what a board game is. They don’t always know what a tabletop game is.
Definition of a board game
First and foremost, a board game is played on or with a game board. That is the easiest way to tell whether or not it is technically a board game. Though they do differ widely in the use and the makeup of the game board. Some board games like Chess and Monopoly are played exclusively on top of one, large game board. Others, like Azul, have individual boards for each player. Some even build the game board as the game progresses like Carcassonne. In other words, the physical structure of the board doesn’t matter, but the fact that it has one is what technically matters.
Another defining characteristic of board games is that they are a set of game pieces and components that come together in a box to create a fun experience. There is no real limit to what game pieces can be included in the game. Sometimes, there are only one or two different types of games pieces, while other games have dozens. Some common game pieces seen a lot are
- Meeples and pawns
- Dice
- Cards
- Coins/money
- Jewels/tokens
- Miniatures
- Tiles
Another core characteristic of board games is that, with the game board and game pieces, players are working toward an objective. They must complete the objective to win the game. Just like everything else, this looks different with each game; sometimes it’s earning enough points to trigger the end. Other times, it’s reaching destination or finishing a journey. Still, other times players must defeat all their opponents or possess all the resources. Sometimes the game has the end built in after a certain number of turns. However it is built, players must complete the objective to win and retain bragging rights over their friends for another week.
Definition of a card game
A card game is probably what you expect it to be. The main criteria for a game to be considered a card game is that its primary component and focus is on the cards. The vast majority of what is happening throughout the game happens with cards. This can mean that even though a game has a game board, it could still be considered a card game because most of what is happening is with cards.
Another common component in card games is that they generally facilitate hidden knowledge throughout a game. Cards are typically one sided, which allows players to hide vital information; or it helps the game to hide vital information from all the players at the same time. This certainly isn’t a requirement for all card games, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, hidden information is a central component—and the game wouldn’t be fun without it. Poker is a great example of this. If all players knew what each other’s hands were, there would be no reason to make bets or bluff, or even play the game at all.
Generally, there are two very broad types of card games. The first would be any games that are played with traditional face cards. These games don’t use special, unique cards or decks in gameplay. They simply use the 52 (plus jokers sometimes) cards that come in the generic pack. They tend to be games that everyone knows, but no one necessarily buys because all you need in order to play is a deck of cards.
The other broad category of card games is everything else that requires specific, packaged cards that depart in some way—or completely—from the face card model. They are usually sold as a specific brand-name card game. These games can look very different from one another. They tend to be much more ornately designed and can add a lot more rules and mechanics. A great example of a game that looks nothing like the face-card card games is Dominion. It is a card game with dozens of different types of cards, none of which have the traditional numbers or shapes that face cards have.
Common board games
1) Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a board game about building castles, roads and fields to score points. Players use meeples to take possession of these things and score the associated points. They can steal or share points with other players by invading the castles, roads and fields—but they have to do it creatively and indirectly. Each turn is taken through picking up a tile and connecting to the existing tiles in the middle. When all the tiles have been used, the game ends; the player with the most points wins.
Carcassonne is not a traditional board game because the board is being built as the game progresses. It starts with only one tile in the center, but by the end, the board is quite large. It is, however, always a custom layout because players have discretion on where to lay their tiles each round. Though not traditional, it certainly is a board game because it contains many different pieces that combine into one board game experience—all played on top of the board.
2) Survive
In Survive, the island is sinking into the ocean and your objective is to get your team safely off the island. The problem is that the other players are trying to do the same thing, with the same resources. This game turns into a bloodbath as players break opponents’ boats with whales, eat opponents meeples with sharks, or do it all at once with sea monsters. The player that manages to get the most of their team off the island by the time it sinks—or when there are no more moves left—wins the game.
Survive is also a bit of a different board game because it 1) has a traditional game board to play on and 2) has tiles that are added in different spots on the board each game. This creates variations of play so that not all games are the same. This shows its belonging in the board game category because it has a large board game with many types of game pieces such as meeples, tiles, dice, whales, sharks, sea monsters, boats, etc—all packaged up in a neat little experience.
3) Camel Cup
Camel cup is a game of statistics, where players are betting on a camel race. Players take turns making long-term bets (which camel will win the whole race) and short-term bets (which camel will win that round) on the camels in the race. Dice are involved so it’s certainly not always a sure bet, but players can mentally calculate which camels stand the best chance of winning each round—or perhaps the whole race. The game ends when the first Camel crosses the finish line. The player with the most money wins the game.
In Camel Cup, there are many clues that indicate that it is a board game. The camels race around a track the makes up the game board. There is a cardboard pyramid in the middle of the track that the dice are placed inside. There are also many tiles used in the game, as well as money that the players use to collect their earnings. Small cards are used to make long-term bets on camels. All these game elements combine together to make a very fun and interesting board game.
Common card games
1) Dominion
Dominion is a game where players buy cards from a set on the table that give them special actions and abilities in order to buy better cards—and points throughout the game. Each card’s ability is unique and the game comes with many cards that can be used in different combinations to create a different feel each time. The game ends when all the Province points are taken and the player with the most overall points wins.
This game is very obviously a card game, but it is about as far away from a face card type game as it can get. Players are picking cards up, laying them down, discarding them and buying new ones. Players don’t know what other players are going to do or what cards they have in their hands. There is a lot going on no matter the variation of Dominion, but it is all happening with cards. Even with all of that, most people would say that Dominion is still a board game, and I am one of those people. It doesn’t fit the technical definition, and isn’t technically a board game. But it is still on the list of board games for most people because it is a complete experience in a box, with many cards that act as a game board—even though no board actually exists.
2) Phase 10
Phase 10 is much simpler than Dominion but still very fun. In this game, players are each dealt a set of 3 cards in the first round and one card is added each round until each player has 10. The first player to get the right sequence of cards in each round “phases” which means they end the round and everyone with remaining cards collect points. The person finishing the 10th phase, with the fewest points wins the game.
This entire game happens exclusively with cards in hand and a deck in the middle. Players conceal their own cards so that the others have no idea who will “phase” and when. This is a great example of a card game because it is a simple, compact set of cards that is played on a tabletop, but that would also not be considered a board game.
3) Hearts
If you’re like me, hearts is a game you always tried playing on the computer as a kid, but never understood. So you randomly chose cards and always lost. Most of us probably learned how to play it eventually and realized it’s a great game! Hearts is a very strategic card game with the purpose of taking as few points as possible, while at the same time trying to deal them out to everyone else. Players take turns playing cards in the middle, with the highest of the lead suit taking each trick. Points are awarded whenever a player takes either the queen of spades or any of the 13 hearts in the game. The player with the lowest score when one of the players reaches 100 points wins.
Hearts is a very classic card game. It uses a normal set of 52 face cards and nothing else. Players strategize and work only within those parameters. One key element of Hearts, just like most card games, is that other players don’t know what each other is holding. They do exchange 3 cards at the beginning of most rounds, so they get a glimpse of a few cards another player has; but, the rest is a mystery. Throughout each round, cards are revealed and points are taken. It is simple and fun!
Conclusion
In the end of the day, everyone has their own specific interpretation of the intricacies of the difference between board games and card games. For a full look at our favorite board games and card games, click here; or you can navigate there from the menu by clicking on resources page.