Games and Competition

Play the Smithsonian Magazine Weekly Word Search: State Capitals

Find the capital cities, working from a list of state names

The game's art dealer, a cunning fox named Redd, sells Arnold Böcklin's Island of the Dead under the name Mysterious Painting.

Can You Spot Animal Crossing's Art Forgeries?

Gamers are brushing up on their art history knowledge to spot Redd's counterfeit creations

A virtual tour isn't the same as an in-person experience, but it can still afford some great views.

Nostalgic for the North? Take a Virtual Dogsled Ride in Fairbanks, Alaska

Armchair travelers can also enjoy 360-degree views of the city's famed Northern Lights

Stonehenge, as recreated by Alexandra McNamara of Tappan, New York, with cheese, a rock, granola and bread

See 'Cheesehenge' and Other Historical Homages Created for Archaeology Competition

The Archaeological Institute of America launched its Build Your Own Monument challenge early to inspire families quarantining at home

"Occupy White Walls" features hundreds of architectural elements. Users are represented by avatars resembling common reference mannequins.

This Free Game Lets Users Build Their Own Virtual Art Museums

"Occupy White Walls" allows players to design their own art galleries—and explore others' out-of-the-box creations

The list includes Sagrada, Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, Wingspan and Dune.

Twelve Board Games You Can Play With Friends From Afar

These virtual versions of classic and lesser-known games are ideal for social distancing

An Etlatongo ballplayer figurine unearthed at the site

Newly Unearthed Mesoamerican Ball Court Offers Insights on Game's Origins

"This could be the oldest and longest-lived team ball game in the world," says one archaeologist

A piece of worked glass unearthed from the English island of Lindisfarne that researchers suspect may have once been a Viking game piece

This Glass Gaming Piece May Hail From First Viking Raids in England

Discovered on the island of Lindisfarne, the artifact was likely once part of a Hnefatafl board game set

A Ludus Latrunculorum board found in Roman Britain

The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

Thousands of years before Monopoly, people were playing games like Senet, Patolli and Chaturanga

Kryptos, displayed in a courtyard of the CIA’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters, has long puzzled codebreakers.

New Clue May Be the Key to Cracking CIA Sculpture's Final Puzzling Passage

"Northeast" joins "Berlin" and "clock" as hints for deciphering a 97-character section of Kryptos' code

The list includes Wingspan, Letter, Jam, Parks and Dune.

The Best Board Games of 2019

Take to the skies, the national parks and to the streets of Tokyo in these offerings perfect for family gatherings

The rook in question certainly wasn't the first chess piece ever created, but it may be the oldest found to date.

Is This Chess Piece Unearthed in Jordan the World's Oldest?

The two-pronged rook, found in a seventh-century trading post, shows how quickly the game spread across the Islamic world

Nirmal Purja smashed the speed record for summiting the world's 14 highest peaks, racing up all "8000ers" in just six months and six days

Nepalese Mountaineer Smashes Speed Record for Climbing World's 14 Tallest Peaks

Former special forces soldier Nirmal Purja summited Everest, K2 and a dozen other 8,000-meter peaks in just six months

AlphaStar, playing as the StarCraft race Protoss, in green, dealing with flying units from the Zerg players with a combination of powerful anti-air units. The AI program mastered all three races in the game, Protoss, Terran and Zerg.

A.I. Mastered Backgammon, Chess and Go. Now It Takes On StarCraft II

DeepMind's AlphaStar learns the complex strategy video game, which has trillions and trillions of possible moves conducted in real time

Netflix's animated series, Carmen Sandiego, just released its second season.

How a Generation Became Obsessed With Tracking Down Carmen Sandiego

The globe-trotting thief of the popular 1985 computer game is back at it in a second season of an animated Netflix series

Let the battle of the bulge commence

Holly Cow! Fattest Bear of Them All Claims Coveted Title

For #FatBearWeek2019, the furever fabulous 435 Holly reigns triumphant

A New Monopoly Celebrates Women. But What About the Game’s Own Overlooked Inventor?

At the turn of the 20th century, Lizzie Magie created the Landowner’s Game, which sought to teach players about the injustices of wealth concentration

The Wiffle Ball comes with slots on one side to make it easier to throw curves and other pitches.

How the Wiffle Ball Came to Be

Patented in 1957, the lightweight ball saved players' arms and more than a few windows

The 8-bit system looks dated by today’s standards.

Thirty Years Ago, Game Boy Changed the Way America Played Video Games

Nintendo's handheld gaming system proved to be a huge success, thanks to its durability and battery life

Poker poses a challenge to A.I. because it involves multiple players and a plethora of hidden information.

This Poker-Playing A.I. Knows When to Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em

Pluribus won an average of around $5 per hand, or $1,000 per hour, when playing against five human opponents

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