City Building

City Building games compel players to construct and manage a city in a way that is more efficient, powerful, and/or lucrative than their opponent's cities.

Civilization

Civilization games often have players developing and managing a society of people. The aim of each player is usually to employ citizens in ways that are beneficial to society, and have them progress throughout the game so that their civilization gains superiority over others. Civilization games may have each player build their society independently, or through warfare and diplomacy, each player may find themselves benefiting or suffering from the actions of others.

Educational

Educational games engage players in a process of learning about a subject other than playing the game itself and might even lack winning conditions, instead emphasizing how learning can be fun. In general, these games are designed for younger audiences.

Puzzle

Some question whether puzzles are actually games, but certainly some games require players to solve a puzzle.

Racing

Racing games are of two sorts. The kind we're concerned with here is the kind in which players actively race toward a specific goal. So far, this has been strictly interpreted to include only those games in which an emulation of a physical race is occurring, i.e., not including "race to get most points" or "race to beat my opponents in a gunfight" games.

Territory Building

Territory Building games have the players amass control over a specific area, frequently of their own design. It could be viewed as a subcategory of the Area Control/Influence mechanic, in which the areas are not necessarily delineated at the beginning of the game but are instead created as the game progresses.

Transportation

Transportation games are difficult to pin down, as they by definition should include all games using the Route/Network-Building mechanic but can also be associated only with Train games and variations thereof (automobiles, ships), making it more of a thematic category.

Card Game

Card Games often use cards as its sole or central component. There are stand-alone card games, in which all the cards necessary for gameplay are purchased at once. There are also Collectible Card Games (CCGs), where players purchase starter and "booster" packs in an effort to compile a more and more powerful deck of cards to compete with.

Collectible Components

Games in the Collectible Components category have components which are sold separately. Not all components are required to play the game, but by having a greater variety of components, a player has more options for how to play. See Collectible Cards Games

Dice

Dice games often use dice as its sole or principal component. Dice games traditionally focus almost exclusively on dice rolling as a mechanic (e.g., Yahtzee, Liar's Dice, Can't Stop).

Generally, Dice game also refer to a number of Wargames that frequently use a large number of dice to decide a majority of game outcomes and variables. Usually, dice will account for the "luck" or "random chance" factor often needed in military simulations. These types of Wargames are colloquially known as "dice-fests."

Electronic

Electronic games often have an electronic apparatus as the central component of the game. They differ from electrified games (e.g., Operation) as Electronic game components will contain circuitry, and sometimes a simple computer.

Miniatures

Glossary entry for Miniatures Game

Book

Book games are not games 'per se', but rather a collection of game designs and rules that can be played using common gaming equipment (checkered board, paper and pencil, cards, dominoes, dice, etc.). Another type of Book games are those like Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series that uses storytelling, dice rolling, and a "multiple-choice paragraph system" as mechanics.

Expansion for Base-game

This is not a stand-alone game, but instead an expansion for another game. Generally not playable on their own, expansions add new pieces, new rules, and/or new mechanisms to base-games for different playability.

Game System

A Game System game is any one whose main components have historically been used for a multitude of other stand-alone games.

Abstract Strategy Games

Glossary entry for abstract strategy game

Children's Games

Children's games are designed for those between the ages of 0 and 12 and now have their own sub-domain on BGG.

Collectible Components

Many but not all games in the Collectible Components category are Collectible Cards Games, another sub-domain here at BGG.

Wargame

All games in which war and conflict is the subject. Wargames now have their own subdomain on BGG. The subcategories within the Wargame category tend to include only wargames, but it is possible for a game to be about the Vietnam War, for example, without being a wargame. Similarly, it is possible for a game to be about any war and still not be considered a wargame by some or all of the gaming community. Here on BGG, the category itself tends to have a fairly liberal interpretation.

Skills Categories

Most games tap a specific set of skills or require players to perform particular activities, such as memorizing cards, performing math, or negotiating with other players.

Thematic Categories

Most categories encapsulate what a game is "about" or address the theme of the game, however "tacked on" it might be. Themes might include the historical time period represented in the game or a particular genre of movies that the game addresses. Depending upon how tied the theme is to the mechanics, it may or may not have any bearing on actual game play. Some of these genres are common to other media, such as Horror or Mafia, but a couple are peculiar to board games, like the ubiquitous Train game.