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Notation and signals of play: chess and other game notation, scoring systems, officiating signals, and the marks used to record a game after it has been played.
Here when the mark belongs to the conduct or the recording of a game. Added as a domain because filing chess notation under cultural or referee signals under everyday would have degraded both.
Officially standardised and unusually well evidenced: nearly every mark here is defined in a rulebook published by the body that governs the game.
All 251symbols in this domain, A–Z.
Blue and white chequers, the N flag.
The single large suit mark, ranking either lowest or highest.
Arm swept down to horizontal.
Both arms extended forward, meaning play continues despite an offence.
A grade that is an opinion.
A record of points, doubles and gammons in a match.
Numbered points from 1 to 24, counted in opposite directions for each player.
Forearms raised, hands open.
A bamboo stem on a numbered bonus tile.
Numbers for fielding positions and letters for outcomes.
Split diagonally, black and white.
Plain black, with a car number.
An orange circle on black.
Both hands on the hips.
Plain blue.
A double question mark marking a serious error.
Slashes and crosses recording spares and strikes.
A slash, a cross and a carry.
A number and a suit — the level, and what would be trumps.
Four quadrants showing each player's cards by suit.
A double exclamation mark marking an exceptional move.
An open palm raised above the head, marking runs scored without the bat.
A lower-case x between piece and square, recording that a piece was taken.
A lattice of small repeating curves and circles whose real job is to give nothing away.
Matching Roman-numeral-like scribes on two timbers.
A fist struck into the open palm.
A plus sign after a move, recording that the move attacks the enemy king.
A hash after a move, recording that the move ends the game.
Black and white squares.
Exclamation and question marks judging a move's quality.
A mitre with a diagonal slit, standing for the bishop.
A small flag that falls when time runs out.
A crowned figure topped with a cross, standing for the king.
A horse's head, standing for the knight.
A small ball on a collar, standing for the pawn.
Plus, minus and crossed shapes rating who stands better.
A coronet of points, standing for the queen.
A castellated tower, standing for the rook.
A chrysanthemum on a numbered bonus tile.
Several incompatible scales for one difficulty.
A mark showing where a pitch ends.
A small mark showing fixed protection.
A mark naming the hardest section.
A line traced up a photograph or drawing.
A black cloverleaf on a stem — three lobes, not a weapon.
A compact string of letters, superscripts and page counts.
A pictorial description sheet.
The rank and suit repeated small in two corners, so a fanned hand can be read.
King, queen and jack — and why the jack is marked J rather than Kn.
A ball-by-ball grid.
Fists thrust forward twice.
Bracketed numbers after a clue, giving the answer's letter count and word breaks.
Numbered squares keying clues to their starting cells.
Letter-and-number shorthand for a dartboard segment, such as T20 or D16.
Wrists crossed and uncrossed below the waist, cancelling the delivery.
An arm raised and held.
Three digits, a decimal point and further digits.
A red lozenge standing on one point.
A count, a d, a die size and a modifier.
The dot patterns on a die, and the rule that opposite faces total seven.
Arm held out toward the goal attacked.
A closed fist with the thumb up.
Two forefingers brought together.
A closed fist with the thumb down.
A closed fist held against the chest.
Thumb and forefinger forming a ring.
A flat hand drawn across the throat.
A flat hand rocked from side to side.
A flat palm held facing forward.
Writing carried for what signals cannot say.
A rectangle split into two halves, each carrying nought to six pips.
A single dot in the scorebook, recording a delivery from which nothing was scored.
Two fingers held up.
Palms patting alternately downward.
A cube marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64, used to raise the stake in backgammon.
Numbered squares recording moves on the playing diagonal.
A question mark followed by an exclamation mark, marking a doubtful move.
The character for east on a tile face.
A letter A to E followed by two digits.
An abbreviation marking the capture of a pawn that has just passed.
A second gun calling them back.
A rope dropped across the pool.
Forearms rotating around each other.
A single line of text encoding a whole chess position.
A hand sweeping toward the attacker.
An arm raised for the scoring side.
One arm pointed downfield.
Both hands miming a forward throw.
Four fingers held up.
An arm waved from side to side across the body, marking a boundary four.
A circling arm above the head.
Arm bent at the elbow, hand on chest.
Blue and white vertical stripes.
Acorns, leaves, hearts and bells.
Letters and numbers naming points on a Go board, in three competing conventions.
Numbers, triangles, squares and circles printed on stones in a Go diagram.
Numbered stones showing the order of a sequence.
Round black stones placed on the marked star points before play begins.
A colour and a coordinate naming where a stone is placed.
Small marks showing captured stones and counted territory.
White lights and a down call.
An exclamation mark marking a move the annotator judges strong.
The character for prosperity on a tile face.
Plain green.
A red rounded form, the one suit that survived every regional redesign.
Fists held one above the other at the forehead.
A fist gripped and pulled down.
A tugging motion at waist height.
Arm raised, then crossed at the chest.
Arms swept flat, side to side.
The referee's raised arm, held up until the kick has touched a second player.
A blue cross on white.
An exclamation mark followed by a question mark, marking a move worth attention.
Crossed arms at the chest, fists closed.
A dotted qualifier for a faint feature.
A hatched qualifier for a covered feature.
A broken outline qualifying a feature.
A grid of eight columns describing each control.
A solid triangle standing for a rock.
Three solid triangles together.
An open outline in wooded ground.
A line with teeth on the lower side.
A hollow shape opening upward.
A small solid mound shape.
A square standing for a built feature.
Short horizontal strokes in rows.
Two lines meeting at a point.
A wave form standing for water.
The column qualifying the feature's state.
The column giving a feature's size in metres.
The column naming what the control is on.
The column saying where on the feature the flag hangs.
The column for refreshment, first aid or a crossing.
The column distinguishing one feature from its twins.
A mark placing the flag at the base.
A quadrant mark giving a compass side.
An arm straight up: the contest is over.
The extra card, and an American invention rather than a medieval one.
Both thumbs raised.
Two letter O separated by a hyphen, recording the short castle.
A hand patted forward off the other.
A hand tapping a raised knee, marking runs off the batter's body.
Letters, a number, then a decimal cutter and a year.
Winds and dragons — the tiles with no number and no sequence.
Named hand patterns with point or fan values.
Circles, bamboo and characters — three suits numbered one to nine.
Three suits, honours and bonuses.
The twenty-two trump cards of the tarot pack, designed for a trick-taking game.
A flat palm stopping the bout.
A question mark marking a move the annotator judges weak.
A line of dots and dashes with a curved arrow.
A hand indicating the net's top.
One arm held straight out sideways, marking an illegal delivery.
Numbers beside a grid counting runs of filled cells.
The character for north on a tile face.
The assistant referee's raised flag, then angled to show where the offence occurred.
Five interlaced rings of equal size, the emblem of the Olympic Movement.
A bird standing where a cane would be.
An orchid on a numbered bonus tile.
A paired mark showing where to cross.
Two concentric circles marking the finish.
A triangle marking the course start.
An arm dropped toward the mat.
The umpire's raised index finger, dismissing the batter.
Both arms forward, palms out.
Arm angled up at forty-five degrees.
A hand placed on the opposite shoulder.
A text format recording a whole game with its tags.
A colour that means something local.
The four marks that divide a deck, and where they actually came from.
A plum blossom on a numbered bonus tile.
Two-character card codes and the s or o that marks a starting hand suited or not.
A circular motion of the forefinger.
Red and white stripes, the AP flag.
An equals sign followed by a piece letter, recording what a pawn became.
A red flag on the boat.
Three letter O separated by hyphens, recording the long castle.
A named pattern on a jacket.
Vertical red and yellow stripes.
A plain red rectangle shown by a referee to dismiss a player.
The character for centre on a tile face.
Plain red.
Red for a foul.
Both shoulders touched, arms crossed.
Letters SC on a board.
Palms together above the head.
Arm horizontal, pointing sideways.
Four numbered tiles naming the seasons.
A finger pointed at the offender.
A tile bearing the angle mover character.
The promoted bishop, written on the reverse.
The promoted rook, written on the reverse.
A mark showing a captured piece re-entered.
A tile bearing the gold character.
A five-sided tile bearing the king character.
A tile bearing the cassia horse character.
A tile bearing the fragrant chariot character.
A piece, a destination and a mark for dropping or promoting.
A tile bearing the foot soldier character.
A wedge-shaped tile pointing at the opponent.
A mark showing a piece has been turned.
A tile bearing the flying chariot character.
A tile bearing the silver character.
Fingers tapped on the shoulder.
Blue and white, the S flag.
A hand tapped on the shoulder.
Both arms raised straight above the head, marking a boundary six.
A chopping motion at the forearm.
A fixed value for each coloured ball, from one for red to seven for black.
A sliding scoreboard showing points and the break.
The character for south on a tile face.
A pointed black leaf on a short stem, ranking highest in most games.
Cups, coins, clubs and swords.
A forward slash on the scoresheet, recording ten pins down in two balls.
Nine marked intersections used for handicap stones.
A cross on the scoresheet, recording all ten pins down with the first ball.
Small candidate numbers written in a cell's corners or centre.
Hands forming a letter T.
Games, sets and tie-break figures in a fixed order.
A rectangle drawn in the air.
One arm raised, three fingers extended.
A small numeral on a letter tile giving its score.
Both arms straight up.
A crosstable of results by round and opponent.
Fists rotating around each other.
A chopping strike at the back of the leg.
Arm raised straight above the head.
Arms extended straight out sideways.
A dashed line with a curved arrow.
A rectangle drawn in the air.
Arms swept flat to the sides.
An arm out sideways: a half score.
The character for west on a tile face.
A blank tile or one bearing an empty frame.
Plain white.
White for a trial that counts.
A capital W in the scorebook, recording a dismissal.
Both arms held straight out sideways, marking a delivery out of reach.
A disc bearing the advisor character.
A disc bearing the cannon character.
A disc bearing the chariot character.
A disc bearing the elephant or minister character.
A disc bearing the general or marshal character.
A disc bearing the horse character.
A piece, a file and a direction relative to the player.
A crossed square at each end of the board.
Chinese characters on flat discs, differing by side.
A blank band across the middle of the board.
A disc bearing the soldier character.
A plain yellow rectangle shown by a referee as a formal caution.
Plain yellow.