ChatGPT is no longer just a chatbot that can hold conversations; it can now join you in playing a wide range of games, including board games. It keeps track of every move and remembers the entire game state easily. On top of that, it makes strategic decisions that can make the game challenging and genuinely exciting. Best of all, you don’t need a ChatGPT Plus subscription to get started—you can play ChatGPT board games on the free version too.
Table of Contents
1. Tic-Tac-Toe
I started with a relatively simple board game to test ChatGPT’s gaming capabilities – Tic-Tac-Toe. Kickstarting the game is straightforward. Simply type – Let’s play Tic-Tac-Toe. But the prompt below for a consistent and better experience:
Let's play Tic-Tac-Toe. You will be 'O,' and I will be 'X.' Please set up the grid numbered 1 through 9 for us to choose from. After each move, update and display the board.Upon receiving the prompt, ChatGPT took “O,” gave me “X,” and marked the grid with numbers 1 to 9. I could select a number to place my “X” on each turn. After each move, ChatGPT redraws the board updating the details. I played four games with ChatGPT, and all ended in a draw. This indicates that ChatGPT comprehends the board game perfectly and doesn’t just place its marks randomly while following the rules.
2. Scrabble
The next board game I tried with ChatGPT was Scrabble. Initially, the experience was disappointing, as ChatGPT didn’t provide me with letters or the board. However, after prompt engineering my way to the below command, the gameplay got smoother and more enjoyable:
Let's play Scrabble. Start by giving us each a random set of letters. Additionally, create a simple table using a code block to track our word placements and scores. If possible, include basic rules for premium squares to make the game more authentic.The official Scrabble game includes premium squares where you earn double or triple points for building words having them. But, integrating these details into the basic table that ChatGPT generates proved challenging.
3. Connect 4
You can also play Connect 4. This game is somewhat similar to Tic-Tac-Toe but features a 7X6 grid. Use the below prompt to begin:
Let's play Connect 4. Please set up a 7X6 grid for the game. You will be 'O,' and I will be 'X.' After each move, update and display the board.In the official game, players use colored discs on a vertical board. However, ChatGPT generates a basic board using “X” and “O.” Unlike Tic-Tac-Toe, we found ChatGPT’s performance with Connect 4 inconsistent. Sometimes it plays well, but other times it may allow an easy win. Additionally, we observed that ChatGPT occasionally loses track of the board details and changes positions, though this only happened once during our tests.
4. Chess
Chess is another board game I’ve played with ChatGPT many times before, and every time it was a mixed experience. Sometimes, ChatGPT remembers the position of all the pieces perfectly and makes reasonable moves based on that. Other times, however, it completely messes up the positions and makes moves that are not even legal. Once or twice it brought dead pieces back onto the board. To play Chess with ChatGPT, use the following prompt:
Let's play Chess. Create and Update the board after each move.You’ll need to make moves using standard chess notation, such as e4, Nf5, or Qb4. It can be confusing if you’re not familiar with it. Additionally, since ChatGPT occasionally forgets game rules. You might find it helpful to use a paper to keep track of the game yourself instead of relying solely on ChatGPT.
5. Checkers
Checkers is one of the best ChatGPT board games. You can play checkers with ChatGPT with a simple little prompt:
Let's play Checkers.It effectively remembers the positions of the pieces and makes accurate moves. However, to make a move, you must specify the beginning and end points. For example, to move a piece from (1, 1) to (2, 2), you’d say “1,1 to 2,2.” While this input can be tiring for a game like checkers, overall, the gameplay with ChatGPT is smooth and enjoyable.
6. Monopoly
Monopoly is the only board game in this list where ChatGPT was unable to generate the board at all. To start, you can try the prompt:
Let's play Monopoly.While ChatGPT can’t play Monopoly, it excels at explaining the rules of the game. It effectively keeps track of cash, purchased properties, and other game details and statuses.
You can ask ChatGPT for details such as remaining properties to buy or any questions about the game rules, and it will explain them to you in detail. The best part is that to roll the dice, ChatGPT uses a random number generator code rather than announcing a random number that might work in its favor.
You can even check the code and results yourself.
If you can perfect this prompt or figure out a good way to play Monopoly in ChatGPT, give us a shout on X (Twitter).
7. Battleship
ChatGPT effectively manages the game board, tracks hit and misses, and updates the status of each player’s ships.
Let's play Battleship. Set up the board and start guessing the coordinates.However, it mistakenly revealed its ship locations to me multiple times in different games. ChatGPT not only has to remember the ship’s positions and hits, it must keep its own details hidden from me which can be quite complicated to manage. The experience was pretty good in most games.
We have tried some other board games on ChatGPT like Backgammon, Go, etc., however, we were unable to generate or play these games with any of the prompts we tried. Again, hit us on social media if you figure out a suitable prompt.
