Every board on the Inkwellmoorgame shelf

Four of these lean hard into chess, from a donation-funded server to a tactics gym that remembers every puzzle you fluffed. The other two widen the table: hundreds of licensed tabletop games on one side, draughts, backgammon and battleship on the other. Each card carries our scores and a fair note on time.

Our first board01

Open-source chess server

Lichess

A non-profit chess server funded by donations, with every feature open to everyone: rated games from bullet to correspondence, Stockfish analysis after each game, studies, puzzles and eight variants. Choose a clock, get paired in seconds and pick the game apart afterwards without a single upsell in sight.

No adverts or paywallEngine analysis for allChess960 and more variants

Desktop and mobile browser; mobile app also available

Depth at the board9

Generosity to free players10

Help for improvers8

Company and opponents8

Play on Lichess Our review

Busiest club02

Chess community and school

Chess.com

The largest chess community online, with live and daily games, bot opponents built as playable personalities and an interactive library of lessons and puzzles. Free accounts get unlimited games and a daily puzzle; a paid membership adds fuller game reviews and more lessons for players who want the full coaching treatment.

Bots with personalitiesLive and daily chessLessons and puzzles

Desktop and mobile browser; mobile app also available

Depth at the board9

Generosity to free players6

Help for improvers9

Company and opponents10

Visit Chess.com Our review

Games night saviour03

Tabletop game library

Board Game Arena

A licensed platform hosting a huge catalogue of modern and classic tabletop games that run entirely in the browser. The site enforces every rule, so nobody argues over the rulebook, and tables can play in real time or turn-based over several days. A premium membership unlocks extra titles, but most of the library is free.

Huge licensed libraryLive or turn-based tablesRules handled for you

Desktop and mobile browser; mobile app also available

Depth at the board10

Generosity to free players7

Help for improvers6

Company and opponents9

Set up a table Our review

Tactics gym04

Chess training site

Chess Tempo

A chess training site built around a huge bank of rated tactics problems taken from real games. Spaced-repetition sets bring back the positions you got wrong, endgame and opening trainers add structure, and you can also play live or correspondence games against other members. The free account covers unlimited tactics.

Rated tactics problemsSpaced repetition setsLive and correspondence play

Desktop and mobile browser; mobile app also available

Depth at the board8

Generosity to free players8

Help for improvers10

Company and opponents5

Start solving Our review

Old-school lobby05

Classic games lobby

PlayOK

A long-running, lightweight lobby for traditional games: chess, draughts, backgammon, reversi, go, dominoes and a stack of card games. Join a room, sit at a table and play rated or casual matches, with regular tournaments and thousands of people online at once. Guest play means you can be moving pieces within seconds.

Dozens of classic gamesRatings and tournamentsGuest play allowed

Desktop and mobile browser

Depth at the board7

Generosity to free players9

Help for improvers4

Company and opponents8

Find a table Our review

Margin classics06

Pen-and-paper classics

Papergames.io

Pen-and-paper favourites rebuilt for the browser: battleship, tic-tac-toe, connect 4, gomoku, checkers, backgammon and chess. Share a link to challenge a friend as a guest, enter daily tournaments, or build your own bracket for a family or office league. Quick, cheerful and very easy to start.

Guest play by linkDaily tournamentsBuild your own brackets

Desktop and mobile browser; mobile app also available

Depth at the board5

Generosity to free players8

Help for improvers3

Company and opponents7

Challenge a friend Our review