Sports of Netherlands
Europe
Originating in Netherlands
Sports whose history and codification began here.
Ice Sailing
From Netherlands
Wind-powered racing on frozen lakes in a small skate-mounted sailboat — speeds beyond 100 km/h.
Korfball
From Netherlands
Dutch mixed-gender team sport invented 1902 by Nico Broekhuysen. 8 players per team (4 men + 4 women each) score by shooting ball through 3.5m elevated basket (korf). UNIQUE — only major team sport designed for MANDATORY MIXED-GENDER play. Popular Netherlands, Belgium, Taiwan, small international scene. IWGA World Games sport.
Sailing
From Netherlands
Wind-powered water sport in which crews race sailboats around a marked course, tacking and gybing to complete windward-leeward, coastal, or offshore legs faster than competitors.
Sitting Volleyball
From Netherlands
PARALYMPIC volleyball for athletes with lower-limb disabilities. Players SIT on floor + must maintain hip contact with floor while playing ball. Court 10m × 6m (smaller than standing volleyball); net 1.15m (men) / 1.05m (women). Highly athletic + strategic. Originated 1956 Netherlands. Paralympic sport since 1980.
Speed Skating
From Netherlands
Ice-skating race sport on a 400 m double-lane oval; distances from 500 m sprint to 10,000 m endurance with skaters swapping lanes each lap.
Stratego
From Netherlands
Hidden-information war game — set up 40 pieces, hunt the flag, and don't step on a bomb.
YINSH
From Netherlands
Fifth game in the GIPF project — form five-in-a-row rings on a hex grid to score.
Widely played in Netherlands
Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)
From United States
Interactive narrative games blurring reality + fiction across websites, phone calls, physical locations, social media. Players ('players') collaborate online to solve massive puzzles + uncover story. Pioneered by 'The Beast' (2001, promoting AI film) + 'I Love Bees' (2004, Halo 2 promo); Cicada 3301 (2012-2014) legendary mysterious ARG.
Archery
From United Kingdom
Precision sport of shooting arrows at a target from a set distance — competitive events include recurve (Olympic), compound, barebow, and field archery.
Artistic Gymnastics
From Germany
Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform short choreographed routines on apparatus — men on 6 events (floor, pommel, rings, vault, parallel bars, high bar), women on 4 (vault, uneven bars, beam, floor) — judged on execution and difficulty.
Baseball
From United States
9-a-side bat-and-ball sport played on a diamond — the batter tries to hit a pitched ball into fair territory and circle the bases; the team with the most runs after 9 innings wins.
Beach Volleyball
From United States
Two-a-side variant of volleyball played barefoot on sand — the smaller court and no substitutes make endurance, all-round skill, and reading the wind essential.
Bingo
From Italy
Number-matching game where players mark drawn numbers on a card, aiming to complete a pattern (line, house, or shape) and shout 'Bingo!' first.
BMX
From United States
Bicycle motocross — high-intensity 20-inch-wheel bike sport spanning motocross-style racing on 8-rider tracks with jumps, and freestyle disciplines (park, dirt jump, street, flatland, vert).
BMX Freestyle
From United States
Extreme cycling discipline on 20-inch BMX bikes performing tricks, spins, flips, and grinds on parks (bowls, ramps, boxes), streets (rails, ledges, stairs), dirt jumps, or flatland — judged on difficulty, style, and combination.
Bolt Action
From United Kingdom
WWII 28mm miniature wargame. First published 2012 by Warlord Games + Osprey Publishing. Designed by Alessio Cavatore + Rick Priestley (both ex-Games Workshop). Uses ORDER DICE mechanic — one die per unit drawn from bag; introducing tactical uncertainty. Third Edition released 2024. Most popular WWII historical miniature wargame.
Bridge
From United States
The world's premier partnership card game — bid to a contract with your partner, then take enough tricks to make it.
Call of Duty
From United States
Long-running military first-person shooter franchise spanning WWII, modern warfare, Cold War, and futuristic settings — with a massive multiplayer scene and the free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone.
Carcassonne
From Germany
Modern German tile-laying board game (2000) — players draw + place terrain tiles building a shared medieval landscape of cities, roads, monasteries, and farms; place 'meeples' to claim features and score points; 2001 Spiel des Jahres winner.
Catan
From Germany
Modern German-style strategy board game for 3-4 players, in which players collect resources by rolling dice on their hex-tile settlements, then trade and build to reach 10 victory points first.
Charades
From France
Classic party game in which players silently act out words, phrases, or titles for their team to guess — with strict rules against speaking, sound-making, or drawing.
Connect Four
From United States
Two-player vertical strategy game — players drop colored discs into a 7-column × 6-row grid, aiming to be first to connect four of their color in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally).
Crazy Eights
From United States
Classic shedding card game (ancestor of UNO) — players discard cards matching top card by suit or rank; eights are wild + let player change suit. First to empty hand wins. Simple, fast, universal children's + family game worldwide.
Crossword Puzzle
From United States
Word puzzle where solvers fill grid with words based on clues — horizontal (Across) + vertical (Down) intersecting words. Invented by Arthur Wynne (British-American), published NY World Dec 21, 1913. Global staple: NYT Crossword launched 1942 (Sat/Sun 21×21, weekday 15×15); The Guardian cryptic; American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) since 1978.
Darts
From United Kingdom
Precision throwing sport in which players hurl small missiles at a segmented circular board, aiming to reduce a starting score (usually 501) to exactly zero, finishing on a double.
Diabolo
From China
Ancient Chinese juggling skill toy — spool-shaped device balanced + spun on string held between 2 hand sticks; tricks include spinning acceleration, tosses to great heights, 'suicide' releases, whip-catches, and choreographed multi-diabolo routines. Popular Chinese cultural performance + modern juggling sport.
Drag Racing
From United States
Straight-line acceleration motorsport — two vehicles race from standstill to finish line over quarter-mile (402m) or eighth-mile (201m). NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) sanctions US pro drag racing since 1951. Top Fuel dragsters reach 335+ mph (540 km/h) in under 4 seconds; fastest accelerating land vehicles.
Draughts
From Iraq
Ancient two-player strategy board game played on a checkered board (8×8 or 10×10) where pieces move diagonally, capturing by jumping — first to eliminate opponent or trap all pieces wins.
Dressage
From France
Equestrian Olympic sport — precision performance of prescribed movements by horse+rider in 20×60m arena. French word 'dressage' = 'training.' Governed by FEI since 1921. Olympic since 1912. Modern era dominated by Germany + Netherlands + UK. Iconic: Charlotte Dujardin (GB, Valegro), Isabell Werth (Germany, most decorated female Olympian).
Dungeons & Dragons
From United States
Foundational tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) — a Dungeon Master narrates adventures for 3-7 players, who create characters and roll polyhedral dice (d4/d6/d8/d10/d12/d20) to resolve actions in a shared fantasy world.
EA Sports FC
From Canada
The world's most successful football (soccer) simulation — annual release by EA Sports. Renamed from FIFA to EA Sports FC in 2023 after EA-FIFA partnership ended. Ultimate Team mode dominates gameplay; over 150M lifetime FIFA/FC players; largest sports simulation esport.
Escape Rooms
From Japan
Live team-based puzzle experience — 2-8 players 'locked' in themed room, solve interconnected puzzles + riddles to escape within 60 minutes. Originated Japan 2007 (SCRAP's 'Real Escape Game'); global explosion 2012+; 10,000+ facilities worldwide by 2020s; $2B+ industry.
Eventing (3-Day Event)
From Sweden
Olympic equestrian triathlon combining Dressage + Cross-Country + Show Jumping across 1-4 days. Originated as cavalry test 1900s; Olympic since 1912. Cross-country phase — 4-6 km course with 30-45 obstacles at 550-570 m/min — is world's most physically demanding equestrian test. Iconic events: Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky.
Farkle
From United Kingdom
Family-favorite push-your-luck dice game in which players roll 6 dice, set aside scoring dice, and choose to bank points or risk further rolls — first to 10,000 points wins.
Field Hockey
From United Kingdom
Eleven-a-side stick-and-ball team sport played on artificial turf — flick, push and hit a hard ball into a caged goal using a J-shaped stick.
Football
From United Kingdom
The world's most popular team sport — two sides of eleven aim to score more goals than the opponent using any part of the body except the arms and hands.
Geocaching
From United States
Global outdoor treasure hunt using GPS coordinates — players find hidden containers ('caches') at specific coordinates worldwide. Started May 2000 (day after GPS Selective Availability turned off); 3+ million active caches; 8+ million users; every continent + underwater + space station.
Grand Theft Auto V
From United Kingdom
Open-world action-adventure crime game and online multiplayer platform set in a satirical Los Angeles, developed by Rockstar and one of the best-selling and highest-grossing entertainment products in history.
Hearts
From Spain
Trick-taking card game for four players where the goal is to avoid winning hearts and the Queen of Spades, or 'shoot the moon' by winning all of them.
Jet Ski Racing
From United States
High-speed motorized water sport — riders race Personal Watercraft (Jet Skis, WaveRunners) around buoyed course at 100+ km/h; disciplines include Ski (standing), Runabout (sitting), and Freestyle (aerial tricks). UIM Aquabike World Championship since 1996.
Jigsaw Puzzle
From United Kingdom
Assembly puzzle where players fit irregular-shaped interlocking pieces to form complete picture. Invented ~1760 by John Spilsbury (British engraver, London) — originally 'dissected maps' for teaching geography. Sizes: 100 pieces (child) to 40,000+ (world's largest). Popular meditative hobby; RAVENSBURGER + BUFFALO GAMES top publishers.
Judo
From Japan
Japanese grappling art of throws, pins, chokes and arm-locks — win by ippon (perfect throw) or accumulate waza-ari.
Karting
From United States
Open-wheel motorsport with small four-wheeled vehicles ('karts'). Modern karting invented 1956 by Art Ingels (California). Standard training ground for Formula 1 drivers — Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen all started karting. FIA-sanctioned World Karting Championship + amateur leagues globally.
Kickboxing
From Japan
Stand-up combat sport combining boxing punches with karate/muay-thai-inspired kicks, contested in a ring with various rulesets (K-1, Full-Contact, American, Dutch).
Kitesurfing
From France
Extreme water sport combining surfing + kite flying + wakeboarding — rider stands on small board (kiteboard or surfboard) while being pulled across water by large controllable power kite; jumps 10-30m high, back-rolls, kite-loops. Olympic sport since Paris 2024 (Formula Kite class).
Magic: The Gathering
From United States
The world's first trading card game (TCG) — 2+ players build 60-card 'decks' (Modern/Legacy) or 100-card commander decks from ~25,000+ unique cards, then battle by casting spells + summoning creatures to reduce opponent's life total from 20 to 0.
Mahjong
From China
Chinese four-player tile game — arrange 14 tiles into four sets and a pair before your opponents, using draws, discards, and locked melds.
Mancala
From Egypt
Ancient African + Middle Eastern family of 'sowing' or 'counting' board games — players scoop seeds/stones from cups and 'sow' them one-by-one around the board, trying to capture opponent's pieces; oldest known board game family (~5000 years).
Marbles
From Global (ancient)
Ancient game using small colorful glass or stone balls — players flick their 'shooter' marble at target marbles inside a ring or hole; hitting/knocking out targets wins them. Countless regional variants; global children's game with 5,000+ year history.
Mixed Martial Arts
From United States
Full-contact combat sport combining striking (boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai) with grappling (wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo) — most bouts fought in an octagonal cage over 3-5 rounds of 5 minutes.
Motocross
From United Kingdom
Off-road motorcycle racing on closed dirt circuits with jumps, whoops, and berms, contested in short heats over 30-40 minutes plus 2 laps.
MotoGP
From United Kingdom
Premier class of motorcycle road racing — 1,000 cc four-stroke prototype bikes race on closed circuits worldwide at speeds exceeding 350 km/h.
Muay Thai
From Thailand
Thai national combat sport known as the 'art of eight limbs' — fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees and shins over five rounds of three minutes.
Murder Mystery Games
From United States
Role-playing party game — guests assume characters + solve fictional murder over dinner or during evening. Popularized by 1980s HOW TO HOST A MURDER kit series; modern iterations include Hunt A Killer subscription boxes, interactive theater experiences, and online formats.
Nine Men's Morris
From Italy
Ancient 2-player abstract strategy game — dates to Roman Empire (200 AD Egyptian rooftop carvings). Players place + move 9 pieces on 24-point grid; form 'mills' (3 in a row) to capture opponent pieces. Solved as draw (2003); still played worldwide. Featured in Shakespeare (Midsummer Night's Dream).
Nonogram
From Japan
Grid logic puzzle — fill cells based on numeric row/column clues to reveal hidden picture. Invented independently 1987 by Non Ishida (Japanese graphic editor) + Tetsuya Nishio (Japanese puzzler). Made global by Nintendo's PICROSS video games (1995+). 100M+ Picross games sold; standard NYT Sunday Games feature.
Padel
From Mexico
Fast-growing racket sport played in doubles on an enclosed 20×10m glass-and-mesh court where the ball can bounce off walls — hybrid of tennis and squash.
Pandemic
From United States
Iconic COOPERATIVE modern board game by Matt Leacock (Z-Man Games, 2008) — 2-4 players work TOGETHER as disease specialists racing to cure 4 diseases before outbreaks destroy the world. Revolutionized cooperative board gaming; Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (2015) is BoardGameGeek's #1 game of all time. 8M+ copies sold.
Pictionary
From United States
Classic party game in which teams take turns drawing pictures to help teammates guess a secret word within 60 seconds, racing across a board to win.
Pokémon Trading Card Game
From Japan
World's #2 collectible card game — 2 players battle using decks of 60 Pokémon + Trainer cards. Launched Japan 1996; global explosion via Pokémon franchise; 43+ billion cards printed by 2023. Pokémon TCG World Championships since 2004; Charizard rare cards sold for $420,000+; annual sales $1B+.
Pool
From United States
Cue sport played on a 7-9 ft pocketed table with 15 numbered object balls and a white cue ball; primary variants are 8-Ball (stripes vs solids) and 9-Ball (lowest to highest).
Real Tennis
From France
The ORIGINAL tennis — 12th-century French monastic sport played in enclosed courtyards with sloping roofs, buttresses, galleries + windows. Predecessor to modern lawn tennis. Only ~50 active courts worldwide; played mainly in UK, Australia, France, USA. Considered father of most racket sports.
Reversi / Othello
From United Kingdom
Abstract strategy game invented 1883 in England — 2 players place black/white discs on 8×8 board; flanking opponent's discs converts them to your color. Simple rules ('A minute to learn... a lifetime to master'); huge in Japan; WOF World Othello Championship since 1977; computer-solved for perfect draw (2023).
Risk
From France
Classic strategy board game of global military conquest for 2-6 players in which armies dice-battle across a stylized world map of 42 territories on 6 continents.
Road Cycling
From France
Bicycle racing on paved roads — from single-day Classics (Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo) to three-week Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España).
Rock Paper Scissors
From China
World's most-played hand game — 2+ players simultaneously make 1 of 3 hand shapes (Rock, Paper, or Scissors). Rock crushes Scissors; Scissors cuts Paper; Paper covers Rock. Origins in ancient China (~200 BC 'shoushiling'); modernized Japan Edo era (jan-ken); global dispute-resolution tool. World RPS Society championships since 2002; $10K+ prizes.
Rocket League
From United States
'Soccer with rocket-powered cars' — Psyonix's beloved vehicular football; 3-vs-3 teams driving cars with jumps + boost + aerial flips to hit oversized ball into goals. Massive esports scene (RLCS); simple concept + deep skill ceiling; considered greatest hybrid sports game ever.
Rowing
From United Kingdom
Endurance water sport in which crews propel long, narrow shells backwards over 2,000 m using single (sculling) or double (sweep) oars, with or without a coxswain.
Rummikub
From Israel
Tile-based rummy game for 2-4 players invented in 1930s Romania by Ephraim Hertzano; players race to be first to lay down all their tiles by forming sets (same number, different colours) and runs (consecutive numbers, same colour).
Scavenger Hunts
From United States
Team/individual quest to find or complete list of items/tasks within time limit — parties, schools, corporate team-building, city-wide events. Popularized by American columnist Elsa Maxwell 1930s NYC celebrity scavenger hunts; modern variants include photo hunts, University of Chicago's 4-day 'Scav' hunt (world's largest, since 1987), CityHunt corporate events.
Shot Put
From United Kingdom
Ancient throwing event in athletics — athletes 'put' (push) a metal shot (7.26 kg men / 4 kg women) as far as possible from a 2.135m diameter circle using explosive rotational or gliding technique.
Show Jumping
From Ireland
Olympic equestrian sport in which a horse-and-rider partnership navigates a course of 12-15 fences within a time limit, incurring penalties for knocked poles, refusals, and time over.
Skateboarding
From United States
Action sport in which riders roll on a skateboard performing tricks on street obstacles, ramps, and bowls, judged on difficulty, style, execution, and consistency.
Snakes and Ladders
From India
Universal children's board game — 2-4 players race tokens from square 1 to 100 by rolling dice; ladders shortcut up, snakes drop you down. Originally ancient Indian MOKSHA PATAM (~2nd c BC) with SPIRITUAL/KARMA themes teaching virtue vs vice. British Victorian adaptation 1892; Milton Bradley 'Chutes and Ladders' 1943.
Softball
From United States
Bat-and-ball team sport related to baseball — played with a larger ball, an underhand pitch and a smaller diamond over seven innings.
Sudoku
From United States
Number-placement logic puzzle in which a 9×9 grid partly filled with digits 1-9 must be completed so every row, column, and 3×3 box contains all digits 1-9 exactly once.
Superbike Racing
From United Kingdom
Motorcycle road racing on production-based sportbikes (1000cc superbikes). WorldSBK series founded 1988 by FIM as alternative to prototype MotoGP. Iconic manufacturers: Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW, Honda. Top riders: Carl Fogarty (4×), Troy Bayliss (3×), Jonathan Rea (6× consecutive 2015-20), Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (2021, 2024).
Swimming
From United Kingdom
Aquatic racing sport contested in a pool over set distances in four legal strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly — plus medley events.
Texas Hold'em Poker
From United States
World's most popular poker variant — 2-10 players receive 2 hole cards + share 5 community cards. Best 5-card poker hand wins pot. Exploded globally via 2003 WSOP Chris Moneymaker win + online poker boom + televised broadcasts. WSOP Main Event $10K buy-in draws 10,000+ players; $10M+ prizes.
Ticket to Ride
From United States
Modern strategy board game for 2-5 players in which players collect train cards to claim railway routes across a map, connecting cities for points and completing hidden destination tickets.
Track Cycling
From United Kingdom
Olympic velodrome-based bicycle racing on a banked oval indoor/outdoor 250m track — includes explosive sprint events (200m flying, keirin, team sprint) and endurance events (individual + team pursuit, points race, omnium).
Warhammer 40,000
From United Kingdom
Iconic tabletop miniature wargame set in the grim dark future of the 41st millennium — players assemble, paint, and battle armies of intricately detailed plastic + metal figures across science-fiction battlefields.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar
From United Kingdom
Games Workshop's high-fantasy tabletop miniature wargame — successor to Warhammer Fantasy Battle after 2015 'End Times' reboot. Stormcast Eternals + Sylvaneth + Skaven + Nighthaunt + Ogor Mawtribes + 20+ factions battle across Mortal Realms. 4th Edition launched 2024. Sister game to Warhammer 40k.
Water Polo
From United Kingdom
Aquatic team ball sport where two teams of 7 players tread water in a deep pool and try to throw the ball into the opposing goal.
Water Skiing
From United States
Water sport where rider on skis is towed behind a motorboat via handle attached to towrope; disciplines include Slalom (zigzag through buoys), Trick (rotations + flips), and Jump (ramp launches for distance). Invented 1922 USA; peak popularity 1950s-80s. Barefoot skiing + wakeboarding are related.
Yahtzee
From Canada
Dice game where players roll five dice up to three times per turn and try to score in 13 different categories, aiming for the eponymous 'Yahtzee' (5 of a kind).
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
From Japan
World's #3 collectible card game — 2 players duel with decks of 40-60 monster/spell/trap cards. Based on manga/anime by Kazuki Takahashi (1996). Launched Japan 1999; global anime boom 2001+. Guinness Record most sold TCG (2011): 25.1+ billion cards sold; Blue-Eyes White Dragon + Dark Magician iconic; Konami owns rights.