Think of abstract games as games without a fully developed metaphor. These games might consist of a set of rules for play, without relating them to any simulated events.

Some games feature complex rules with simple gameplay, and some feature just the opposite. This juxtaposition is what makes these games so much fun.

Many of the old games -- that is the very old, ancient games -- are abstract in nature, and one of the newer classics (pictured above) is based around the abstract games of old.