At a glance
• Classroom course
• South Kensington Campus
• Tuesdays 18:00 - 20:00
• Starts 28 April 2025
• 8 weeks | April to June
• Fees from £160
• Tutor: Dr Francesco Salerno
Enrol by
20 April 2025
Board games are as much a part of human civilization as the pyramids at Giza, the Benin Bronzes of West Africa and the Mona Lisa in Paris. They are also astonishingly ancient.
In this course we are going to look at abstract strategy games. Within the community of board gamers, the term 'abstract strategy games' refers to two-player games with no inherent element of luck, with perfect information and no theme. These are also sometimes called 'combinatorial games'.
While Chess and Go are the most well known and global examples of abstract strategy games, a large number of lesser-known games, both ancient and contemporary, also share high replayability, complexity, and social, cultural and scientific relevance.
On this course you are invited to join your tutor on an exploration of four key areas related to games:
- The evolution across history and diverse cultures of the rules of both traditional games (such as Chess, Go, Draughts and Mancala) and modern board games (such as Othello, Hive, Hex, Quoridor).
- An introduction to the mathematical aspects of some abstract games and their connections to various branches of science, including the ubiquitous domain of artificial intelligence.
- Fundamental strategic and tactical principles of some of these games, enabling students to enhance their skills and enjoy such games (practising with each other during the second part of each class).
- What makes a game popular, fun and replayable in terms of game mechanics and goals, exploring their deliberate application in the modern board game industry (principles of game design).
You do not need any previous experience or background in games, maths or history to enrol in this course, however it is recommended to bring a smartphone, tablet or laptop to be able to practise the games with other people on the course in the second part of each class.
Class Recordings
These classes are not recorded
Attendance Certificate
Successful completion of this course leads to the award of an Imperial College attendance certificate
Terms and conditions apply to all enrolments to this course. Please read them before enrolment
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Dr Francesco Salerno has played chess since a very young age and after obtaining his PhD in Chemistry at the Imperial College London he decided to focus on the popularisation of board games as educational tools.Useful Links
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