Hobbies
Games & puzzles
Tabletop games, puzzles and the hobbies that grow around them.
Kintaro / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Game mastering
Running roleplaying games for other people — a distinct craft of preparation, improvisation and table management.
£25–£100 to start · indoors · sedentary
yui* / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Mahjong
A four-player tile game of drawing and discarding, whose several national rule sets are the single most confusing thing about it.
£25–£100 to start · indoors · sedentary
Noah Wulf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Live action roleplay
Playing a character physically, in costume, at an event — and the thing nobody outside it writes down, which is what actually happens on the day.
£100–£300 to start · indoors or out · moderate effort
Also in this category
Classified but not yet written up.
85 activities in the catalogue, 3 written up so far.
Abstract strategy games
HobbyPerfect-information games with no theme — hex, hive, twixt and their relatives.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Adventure caching
HobbyLocation-based puzzle trails completed on foot, a newer branch of geocaching.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Air hockey
HobbySportA fast table sport with a competitive circuit almost nobody outside it knows about.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur cryptography
HobbyLearning ciphers and codebreaking as a puzzle and historical discipline.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Arcade cabinet restoration
HobbyCraftRestoring arcade machines, part cabinetry part vintage electronics.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Backgammon
HobbyA race game of dice and doubling, where equity matters more than luck.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bar billiards
HobbyA timed pub table game with holes and skittles, played in leagues across southern England.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Board game collecting
HobbyCollecting published games as objects — editions, printings and out-of-print runs rather than plays.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Board game design
HobbyCraftDesigning, prototyping and testing your own tabletop games.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Canasta
HobbyA rummy-family card game for partnerships, with melds, wild cards and a long social club tradition.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carom billiards
SportPocketless billiards scored by caroming off both object balls, the dominant cue sport in continental Europe.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carrom
HobbySportA flicking board game of South Asian origin, played on a powdered board with pockets at the corners.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess
HobbyThe classical two-player strategy game, playable in a park or a tournament.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess problems
HobbyComposing and solving constructed positions, a discipline distinct from playing games.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess variants
HobbyPlaying the family of games around chess — Chess960, bughouse, three-check and others.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Close-up magic
HobbySleight of hand performed at arm’s length, where the method must survive scrutiny.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Competitive jigsaw
HobbySpeed jigsaw assembly, now with national and world championships.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contract bridge
HobbyPartnership trick-taking with bidding as a language of its own.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cornhole
HobbySportPitching bean bags at a raised board with a hole, a American lawn game with a serious league scene.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cribbage
HobbyA counting card game played on a pegged board, fast once the counting sticks.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crokinole
HobbyA dexterity board game of flicked discs on a circular board, with a competitive circuit.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crosswords
HobbySolving word grids, from quick puzzles to full cryptics.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cryptic crosswords
HobbyCrosswords where every clue is a small piece of coded wordplay.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Deck-building games
HobbyBoard games where constructing your engine during play is the game.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Domino toppling
HobbyBuilding and filming large chain-reaction constructions, a patience and engineering hobby with a big online scene.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dominoes
HobbyTile games from simple blocking to fives-and-threes scoring.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Draughts
HobbyA short-rules capture game with far more depth than its reputation.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
English billiards
SportThree balls, cannons, pots and in-offs on a full-size table — the game snooker displaced.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Escape room design
HobbyCraftDesigning puzzle rooms and hunts, a hobby that has grown its own amateur scene.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Escape rooms
HobbySolving a themed room of puzzles against a clock, in a small team.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Esports
HobbySportCompetitive video gaming in teams and leagues, trained for like a sport.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Eurogames
HobbyStrategy board games built around resource management and low luck rather than direct conflict.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Geocache hiding
HobbyDesigning, placing and maintaining caches rather than only finding them.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Geoguessing
HobbyIdentifying where a street-level photograph was taken from vegetation, kerbs, bollards and sun angle.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Go
HobbyThe ancient territory game with the simplest rules and the deepest play.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Interactive fiction
HobbyWriting and playing parser and choice-based text games, with an annual competition culture.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jigsaw puzzles
HobbyAssembling picture puzzles, from 500 pieces to competitive speed puzzling.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kendama
HobbyCatching a ball on the cups and spike of a Japanese skill toy, with a graded trick ladder.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kubb
HobbyA Swedish lawn game of throwing batons at wooden blocks, with a world championship.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Legacy board games
HobbyCampaign board games that are permanently altered as you play, over a fixed number of sessions.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Locksport
HobbyLearning lock mechanisms by picking them, as a puzzle discipline with a strict ethic.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Magic
HobbyLearning and performing close-up or stage conjuring.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mancala
HobbyA family of seed-sowing board games played across Africa and Asia for centuries.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Marble collecting
HobbyCollecting glass and clay marbles by maker and pattern, from handmade German canes to machine-made runs.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Marbles
HobbySportCompetitive ring marbles, played in Britain to a fixed ring size and an unbroken championship.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mechanical puzzle design
CraftDesigning and making burr, sequential-movement and packing puzzles.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Megagames
HobbyLarge multi-team games run for a day with dozens of players and a control team.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mentalism
HobbyThe branch of magic performed as apparent mind-reading, built on scripting far more than props.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Modern board gaming
HobbyPlaying designer board games — the hobby, the collection and the group.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mölkky
HobbySportThrowing a wooden pin to knock numbered skittles for an exact score, from Finland.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Othello
HobbyA minute to learn and a lifetime to master, on an eight-by-eight board of flipping discs.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pinball
HobbyCompetitive play on electromechanical and solid-state machines, with leagues and rankings.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Play-by-mail gaming
HobbyLong-form games conducted by post or email over months, with turns rather than sessions.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Play-by-post gaming
HobbyRoleplaying or wargaming asynchronously in writing, over months, with no scheduled session.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Poker
HobbyBetting games decided by incomplete information and long-run decision quality.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Puzzle hunts
HobbyTeam events solving chained cryptic puzzles against the clock, often across a city.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Puzzle setting
HobbyCraftConstructing crosswords, logic puzzles or cryptics, which is a craft with its own conventions.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quiz writing
HobbyWriting and hosting quizzes, which is question construction, difficulty balancing and performance at once.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quizzing
HobbyCompetitive general knowledge, from the pub league to national championships.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rummikub and tile rummy
HobbyRummy played with numbered tiles, where rearranging the table is the whole game.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scrabble
HobbyWord placement for score, with a competitive scene built on word lists.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shove ha’penny
HobbyA pub board game of sliding coins into scoring beds, still played in leagues in parts of England.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shuffleboard
HobbySliding weights down a long table, revived in bars and requiring almost no fitness.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skirmish wargaming
HobbySmall-scale miniature games with a handful of figures each.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skittles
HobbyRegional pin-bowling games played in pub alleys, with rules that change by county.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Solo board gaming
HobbyBoard games designed to be played alone against a system, a fast-growing corner of the hobby.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speedcubing
HobbySolving twisty puzzles as fast as possible, using learned algorithm sets.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speedrunning
HobbyCompleting games as fast as possible, to a verified ruleset and leaderboard.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spinning tops
HobbyThrowing and controlling string-launched tops, a competitive tradition in several countries.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
String figures
HobbyMaking figures from a loop of string, with a recorded international repertoire.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sudoku & logic puzzles
HobbySolving number-placement and logic grids by deduction alone.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Table football
HobbySportCompetitive foosball, which has a governing body, a ranking system and a serious technique.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Table shuffleboard
HobbySportSliding weighted pucks down a long waxed table to score in the far zones.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tabletop roleplaying
HobbyCollaborative storytelling with dice and rules, run by one player for the rest.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tabletop wargaming
HobbyPlaying battles with miniatures on terrain, under a published rule set.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tiddlywinks
HobbyA genuinely tactical adult game of squidging counters into a pot, with national associations and a rulebook.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trading card collecting
HobbyCollecting and grading trading cards, from sports to modern card games.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trading card games
HobbyCompetitive card games with constructed decks from a collectable card pool, played at organised events.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Video gaming
HobbyPlaying games seriously — as a hobby with its own depth and community.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Whist
HobbyA trick-taking card game with a long club and village-hall drive tradition in Britain.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Worldbuilding
HobbyCraftInventing consistent fictional places, histories and cultures in detail.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Yo-yo
HobbyTrick play across five competitive divisions, from string tricks to offstring and freehand.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet