thumb|The wagon must travel a path that is given by a mathematical function.
A mathematical game is a game whose rules, strategies, and outcomes are defined by clear mathematical parameters.
Often, such games have simple rules and match procedures, such as Tic-tac-toe and Dots and Boxes.
Generally, mathematical games need not be conceptually intricate to involve deeper computational underpinnings.
For example, even though the rules of Mancala are relatively basic, the game can be rigorously analyzed through the lens of combinatorial game theory.
Mathematical games differ sharply from mathematical puzzles in that mathematical puzzles require specific mathematical expertise to complete, whereas mathematical games do not require a deep knowledge of mathematics to play.
Often, the arithmetic core of mathematical games is not readily apparent to players untrained to note the statistical or mathematical aspects.
Some mathematical games are of deep interest in the field of recreational mathematics.
When studying a game's core mathematics, arithmetic theory is generally of higher utility than actively playing or observing the game itself.
To analyze a game numerically, it is particularly useful to study the rules of the game insofar as they can yield equations or relevant formulas.
This is frequently done to determine winning strategies or to distinguish if the game has a solution.
List of games
Sometimes it is not immediately obvious that a particular game involves chance.
Often a card game is described as "pure strategy" and such, but a game with any sort of random shuffling or face-down dealing of cards should not be considered to be "no chance".
Several abstract strategy games are listed below: Lattice board
Angels and Devils
Arimaa
Checkers (English draughts)
Checkers variants
Chess
Chess variants
Chomp
Domineering
Dots and boxes
Go
Go variants
Gomoku
Hex
Hexapawn
L game
Othello
Pente
Philosopher's football
Rhythmomachy
Tak
Tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe variants
Non-lattice boards and other games
Graph pebbling
Hackenbush
Chopsticks (Hand game)
Mancala
Nim
Sim
Sprouts
Four Fours
Chance involved or imperfect information
24
Prisoner's dilemma
References
See also
Solved game
Games of skill
Math Games Online
