Board games played on a grid-like board are bounded by their perimeters. An infinite board (cf. [Voice]'s annotation - see link) would remove this constraint and provide an infinite and unbounded playing surface. However, simulations show that folding up and putting away an infinite playing surface at the end of the game would both take an infinite amount of time (even if folding it in half, in half again, etc., if we assume that each fold takes the same time to do), and require an infinite sized games box to store the game in.

As a compromise, if an infinite and unbounded playing surface is impractical, how about a finite but unbounded surface - e.g.a sphere? A spherical scrabble or chess board could be rapidly inflated and use some sort of velcro-like mechanism to stick the playing pieces to it. Creating a regular grid on the surface of the sphere for the playing surface is a challenge but there are a few ways of doing this. The minor difficulties in design of the game and setting up the game are more than balanced by the additional opportunities for strategy provided by the removal of board edges and the ability for play 'moves' to 'wrap around' the board.


(Note that this idea is not the same as just adding a rule to a regular 2-D board to say that if you go off one edge you come back on the opposite edge. Oh no, not at all, it's quite different.)
-- hippo, Sep 18 2017

Infinitely_20Long_20Name_20For_20Pi [hippo, Sep 18 2017]

The rule you mention at the end would make it a toroidal board rather than a spherical one, so this is true. As I mentioned before, I had something in the works which I shall now post.
-- nineteenthly, Sep 18 2017


[19thly] you're quite right - I was confusing my spheres and toroids there!
-- hippo, Sep 18 2017


Although a toroidal board would also be interesting, as would a Möbius strip-shaped one.
-- nineteenthly, Sep 18 2017


As would scrabble on a regular board, but a transparent board which could be played on either side. You'd obviously only be able to play palindromes and it would work best on zero-g, with the board floating between the players.
-- hippo, Sep 18 2017


Palindromes made of letters with vertical symmetry.

You could do it underwater.
-- nineteenthly, Sep 18 2017


Would you do it underwater ? Would you do it with your daughter ? Would you do it in a car ? Would you do it in a bar ? Would you do it for a laugh ? Would you do it in the bath ?
-- 8th of 7, Sep 18 2017


I would do it in the bath. I would do it for a lath. I would like to do some math, when I do it in the bath. I would play it with my daughter. With my daughter underwater. Playing it, she me would slaughter.
-- nineteenthly, Sep 18 2017


I would play it up in space, I would lose with little grace; I would play it with your daughter, because you say I really oughta; In poetry, I like to dabble, but really I prefer some Scrabble
-- hippo, Sep 19 2017


"Palindromes made of letters with vertical symmetry."

SWIMS reads the same upside down backwards

I think [nineteenthly] may have been hinting at this.

lol, sis
-- beanangel, Sep 19 2017



random, halfbakery