Glossary

Alquerque (41)
- derived the Arabic Al Qirkat : is a traditional game played on the vertices of a square grid on which alternate diagonals have been drawn in. Alquerque is used here as a generic type of games that include the Spanish Alquerque and similar games all over the world
Games of Alignment (9)
- where multiple pieces need to aligned in a straight line in different possibility of combinations
Asymmetric games
- where the game rules give one player an advantage over others
Bagh Chal (17)
- type of alquerque game where the aim is to capture pieces (as in other alquerque variants) or to block the possibilities of moving. Bagh means 'tiger' in many Indian languages and there are multiple variants
Board game
- is used here to denote a flat surface on which players may move pieces. The term became common in the 1840s with the use of cardboard. Boardgames in this database are not made of cardboard
Card games
- played with playing cards This database features ganjifa cards

Dashavatar (4)
- Refers to the ten avatars of Vishnu This is also a type of ganjifa cards
Etched games (18)
- or incised games. These are game-board patterns etched in the floors of temples, caves and secular sites
Ganjifa (9)
- derived from the Arabic ganj meaning 'treasure'): Originally imported by the Mughals, these are usually round cards (although they may be rectangular) used to play certain trick-taking games. The suits are more numerous and very different from the French suit/ European cards
Guti (8)
- Playing pieces in many Indian languages
Kat
- 'cutting' or the capture of pieces in many Indian languages Examples of games are Lau Kata Kati, Lam Kat, Sipahi Kat etc
Mancala (21)
- from the Arabic naqalah or 'to move'): These are a type of distribution game usually with parallel sets of holes (two parallel sets in South Asian variants) where the players distributes cowrie shells or tamarind seeds The player whose shells / seeds remain on the 'board' loses

Nine Men's Morris (8)
- or Merels refers to games in the Nine Men's Morris family. In these games, players form rows of three which, according to the rules, allows the capture of opponent pieces. The game is won when the opponent is reduced to two pieces and can no longer form a row
Sedentary Games (47)
- games played sitting down. There is often a pejorative connotation especially in colonial discourse