Game of Skill
A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than by chance. A game of skill generally has an element of chance, but skill plays a greater role in determining the outcome.
One benefit of games of skill is that they are a means of exploring one's own capabilities. Games encourage the player to look at, understand, and experience things. They teach people lessons about themselves and possibly the world, and allow such insights to be passed on to others.
Most games of skill also involve a degree of chance, due to natural aspects of the environment, a randomizing device (such as dice, playing cards or a coin flip) or guessing due to incomplete information. Some games of skill such as poker may involve bluffing and other forms of psychological warfare.
The distinction between "chance" and "skill" has legal significance in countries where chance games are treated differently than skill games. The legal distinction is often vague and varies widely from one jurisdiction to the next.
Some commonly played games of skill include, poker, collectible card games, contract bridge, backgammon, and mahjong.
In a number of countries like Germany, whether a game is considered of skill has legal implications with respect to whether money bets on the game's outcome are considered gambling or not. For example poker is legally considered a game of chance in Germany (thus only allowed in casions), whereas skat is considered a game of skill and competitions with money prizes are allowed.
