Games: English Vocabulary List

things done in one's free time for pleasure or enjoyment

"Recreation is important."

"The city park offers many recreation facilities including tennis courts a pool and running trails."

a type of game in which a player does not speak and only uses movements or gestures to express the meaning of a word or phrase so that the other players can guess what word or phrase it is

"We played charades."

"Playing charades at the family gathering caused everyone to laugh at the exaggerated gestures and guesses."

a picture on a cardboard that is cut into different pieces and one should fit them together in order for the picture to become whole again

"The jigsaw puzzle had one thousand pieces."

"They spent the entire rainy afternoon completing a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of a mountain landscape."

someone with whom a child plays

"The playmate was friendly."

"The only child often invited his neighbor to be his playmate because he felt lonely without siblings."

one of the set of 52 cards with unique symbols and numbers on one side, used in specific card games

"The playing card was old."

"He hid a playing card up his sleeve to cheat during the poker game but got caught immediately."

a game for two players who take a turn to put an X or O in nine provided squares, and the first player who manages to make a row, column, or diagonal of three Xs or Os in those squares wins

"Tic-tac-toe is simple."

"Children learn to play tic tac toe before they develop more complex strategic thinking for board games."

a type of doll that, based on popular belief, represents an attractive young woman

"The Barbie doll is pink."

"She collected Barbie dolls as a child and kept them in perfect condition for decades afterward."

each of a set of small flat blocks, made of wood, plastic, etc., with spots that represent numbers on one side, used in specific games

"The domino fell."

"The falling domino created a chain reaction that knocked down every single piece on the table."

a human-like soft doll made from cloth pieces

"The rag doll was old."

"The little girl refused to sleep anywhere without her homemade rag doll made by her grandmother."

a type of toy that consists of colored plastic blocks that fit together and using which children can build different things

"The child built a castle with Lego bricks."

"Children can build almost anything with Lego bricks because the simple design allows unlimited creative possibilities."

a type of board game in which one tries to make words on a board using small blocks with letters on them

"We played Scrabble."

"Playing Scrabble regularly can improve your vocabulary because you learn new words to earn more points."

a board that displays the score in a contest or game

"The scoreboard lit up."

"The scoreboard displayed a tie game with only thirty seconds left before the final buzzer sounded."

an upright lever that can be moved in different directions to control an image or character in a video game

"The joystick moved easily."

"He gripped the joystick tightly while playing the flight simulator making sharp turns to avoid enemy missiles."

the action of providing people with activities, performances, etc. to make them laugh or amuse them

"The show was good entertainment."

"The festival offered a wide variety of entertainment for all ages, including music and comedy."

(always plural) one of the four sets in a pack of playing cards that is marked with a black design in the shape of a leaf with 3 connected balls on a small stem

"He has three clubs."

"In the card game, the player who holds the most clubs is likely to win."

(plural) one of the four sets in a pack of playing cards that is characterized by a red diamond shape

"She picked a diamond."

"The objective is to collect all four diamonds before your opponents do."

(plural) one of the four sets in a pack of playing cards that is marked with a red heart shape

"The queen of hearts won."

"The gambler carefully considered his options, holding several hearts in his hand."

(plural) one of the four sets in a pack of playing cards that is marked with a black design in the shape of a pointed leaf with a small stem

"Play the spade card."

"In this game of cards, the spade suit is considered to be the highest ranking of all."

one of the playing cards with only one symbol on it, which in most card games is considered the highest-ranking card

"The ace was hidden."

"The ace of spades is the highest card in many poker games."

the set of playing cards that a player is given during a game

"This is my hand."

"The novice poker player nervously examined the cards in his hand, hoping for a winning combination."

an indoor game for two teams of players each trying to throw a ball with their hands to the opponent's goal

"Handball is fast."

"Handball is a fast paced team sport that requires excellent agility and quick decision making skills."

a type of doll that, based on popular belief, represents an attractive young woman

"She played with a Barbie doll."

"The iconic Barbie doll has been a popular toy for generations, inspiring countless childhood dreams."

one of the small objects that a player moves around in board games

"Move your piece now."

"The player strategically advanced his piece across the board, aiming to capture his opponent's king."

a type of board game in which players use game currency to buy buildings or streets represented on the board

"They played Monopoly."

"Monopoly is a classic board game where players aim to bankrupt their opponents by acquiring properties."

an image that is the representation of a player in a game or an account on social media

"My avatar is a dog."

"He spent a lot of time customizing his avatar to perfectly represent his online persona in the virtual world."