Study reveals Chess as the second most cheated at game following scandal

Earlier this week, a report revealed US Grandmaster Hans Niemann as a serial chess cheat.

Shortly after, another cheating scandal erupted in the world of high-stakes poker.

While these are both instances of professional foul play, chess and poker can often be enjoyed by families at home – yet, that doesn’t stop cheating from occurring, with over half of men and one-third of women admitting guilt in a recent study.

With that in mind, online gaming company Solitaired.com investigated which tabletop games people cheat at the most. Using Google Keyword Planner, they searched two terms per game related to ‘cheats’ and added them together to create a combined number of monthly cheating searches.

In first place, Scrabble players are the biggest cheats, with 11,110 people on average searching for game cheats per month.

Scrabble, an educational word game designed for two to four players, has been around since 1933 and is predicted to be present in 60 percent of US homes. Its household popularity has even led to Scrabble competitions, such as the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA), and the release of an official players dictionary.

Not surprisingly, Chess is the second most cheated game and has 5660 players avidly searching for tips on how to win.

For centuries, people have been curious about the two-player strategy board game, with the second book ever to be printed in the English language, published about Chess in 1474. It’s not just a trivial game either, it has been used in military training – to illustrate battlefield tactics. Plus, the number of moves possible during a game is almost infinite, so it’s no surprise people look for hacks.

Searches for ways to cheat at Monopoly are the third highest of all tabletop games, with 2220, on average, every month.

With over 300 licenced versions of Monopoly currently available worldwide, the multi-player game is regularly enjoyed by the whole family – but, according to a study by its creators, Hasbro, at least 50 percent of people cheat. Their findings led to the release of Monopoly: Cheaters Edition in 2018, which lets players steal money and bend the rules – complete with handcuffs.

Completing the top five is Blackjack (890), Boggle (730) and Connect 4 (730). Other notable games featured in the top 10 include Poker (610), Checkers (320), Mancala (210), UNO (180) and Battleship (140).

Neal Taparia, CEO, Solitaired.com commented on the findings saying:

“Table-top games are a classic example of family-friendly entertainment that has been around for centuries, so it’s hardly surprising that these have grown in popularity in the last few years amid the pandemic, and now, the cost-of-living-crisis.

“With cheating scandals rocking the professional game world, it’s interesting to see how many people are seeking out ways to cheat for success. However, I’m sure we’ve all been involved in a tense game, or two – at some point!

“With many of these now available to play for free online, as well as in-person, these games will likely continue to be loved by many generations to come.”