board game with no board

If you mean a game that doesn't have a traditional "board" in the box, there are a lot of them.

If you mean game that aren't played on a flat surface, there aren't very many - even connect 4 requires a flat surface.

The following games you could research as not coming with a game board

Hive - I think this is most like what you are talking about
Dominion (I would not consider this a card game due to complexity)
Carcassone (has a scoring board, which could have been removed in lieu of another scoring method)
Chrononauts (another game that is played with cards, but requires enough table space that I consider it a board game)

Some older ones
Jenga
Dominoes

In general, I think the "board" aspect to a board game is mostly a classification anymore - there doesn't need to be a board for it to be a "board game." I've heard the term "Table Top" games used frequently enough that I think that might be a better term - though that can sometimes include RPGs which are really another sort of animal.

Where I find this to be contradictory is in the large quantity of card piles you must have, and the fact that there isn't really a common deck of cards, but more resource piles and each individual has a personal deck of cards.

Also, while which cards are used are randomly assigned, the cards themselves are static. Dominion could have a board, in some ways this would make set-up easier, but it doesn't NEED a board. Similar to Carcassone.

By complexity, I wasn't meaning in rules - I was meaning in the set-up of the game. It requires a large amount of table space, with specifically laid out decks of cards.

I'm ok being alone in this opinion though :-)

Hi there.

Hope you guys don't mind me jumping in a week later.

I actually just wrote an article on the physical components of a board game (for nobody in particular, just a HubPages article because I thought it was fun), so this is fresh in my mind.

In my humble opinion, a board game needs a board, or it's not a board game. I prefer the term "box games" for the new generation of board and card games - meaning everything you need to play is packaged in the box. We've got a lot of crossover and originality which sort of blurs the lines between board, card, miniature, dice, etc game. The way I answer the question of what is a board game is: if you took away the board, can you still play the game?

Dominion is a card game. Chrononauts is a card game (there are quite a few card games that need an ample amount of space to play). Carcassonne is a board game, but the board is composed of individual tiles. You still play meeples onto those tiles (which comprise the board) in order to score. I would consider Hive a tile game like Dominoes (although I've never played Hive, so I reserve the right to change that opinion. ;) ). Balderdash is a party game (you don't really need the board to play, it just keeps score).

Connect 4 is still a board game, but with a vertical board.

I'd be interested in hearing about your game.

The above is only my opinion and only has the authority you choose to give it. :)

-C

I use the term "Tabletop Games" although it doesn't perfectly describe the medium. People seem to understand it well enough.