Games

This article is about games shown in episodes of Lost. For other uses, see: Game (disambiguation)

The Man in Black and Jacob playing Senet. ("Across the Sea")

Several games are featured in the storyline of Lost.

Occurrences

Game	Notes
American football (Gridiron Football)	Jack played football with Tom during his time with the Others. ("Par Avion")
Axis and Allies or Risk	Locke was seen playing a board game, during lunchbreak, with one of his colleagues. The game appeared to consist of a Risk board and generic plastic army men, but is probably meant to strongly resemble Axis and Allies. ("Walkabout") A similar game was played by Locke, Sawyer, and Hurley at the Barracks. This was the 2005 "library" edition of the game with triangular blocks rather than figurines of soldiers. ("The Shape of Things to Come") The same game was seen open on a table in Benjamin Linus' house in 1977. ("Dead Is Dead")
Backgammon	Locke claimed Backgammon is a better game than Checkers, as it dates back 5,000 years. ("Pilot, Part 2") Locke was referring to the Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur, which is also related to the Egyptian game of Senet. Locke explained the rules of Backgammon to Walt, when he said, "Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark." ("Pilot, Part 2") Walt was seen beating Hurley, even though Hurley claimed he was once ranked 17th in a tournament. Hurley lost $83,000 through his Backgammon games with Walt, who doesn't know that Hurley is good for the money. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues") Desmond had a board with him in the hatch. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") Locke and Charlie played it on the beach, during which Locke brought up Charlies heroin addiction. ("Abandoned") Kate was playing it by herself. ("Left Behind") Locke and Sawyer played it while Locke asked if the group still had confidence in him. ("Eggtown") Even as a child, Locke liked Backgammon. ("Cabin Fever") As children, Jacob and the Man in Black played Backgammon. ("Across the Sea") In the non-canonical novel Endangered Species, Locke finds the backgammon set with Faith.
Baseball	Christian Shephard's catchphrase was about the Boston Red Sox never winning the World Series. ("Outlaws") Ben shows the Red Sox winning the World Series on the Hydra television to Jack. ("The Glass Ballerina") Jack asks Frank Lapidus if the Red Sox won the World Series. Frank says he doesn't want to talk about it because he bleeds "Yankee blue". ("The Economist") One of Richard Alpert's items that he uses to administer a test to John Locke is a baseball glove. ("Cabin Fever") Dogen is seen spinning a baseball on his desk. When Jack enters the room, he asks him what it is and Dogen dryly responds, "It's a baseball." ("What Kate Does") Jack sets up a television in David's room so he can watch the Red Sox ("Lighthouse") The picture on the wall of David's room in Jack's house is of Dodger Stadium in LA, and in the photoset in David's room at his mother's house he is wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat. ("Lighthouse") All of the "numbers" are retired numbers of the New York Yankees: 4- Lou Gehrig; 8- Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey; 15- Thurman Munson; 16- Whitey Ford; 23-Don Mattingly; 42- Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by every baseball team by order of MLB) and eventually also Mariano Rivera. Kate's number, 51, belonged to Bernie Williams whose number may be retired soon but is not yet retired. In baseball, there are 27 (4+8+15) outs in a game.
Chess	Henrik and Mathias are seen playing chess in the listening station ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") Locke finds a computer that allows him to play chess against an automated opponent in the Flame station. Mikhail claims the computer cannot be beat, but Locke manages to unlock the Flame video by winning a game. ("Enter 77") The board setup is taken from an actual game, the 16th game of the 1985 World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. However the final move shown is not actually checkmate as white can interpose a bishop. People in the background of Sayid's Paris cafe are playing chess. ("Enter 77") Pryce is playing chess with Luke when Ben orders him to go get the Losties ("Greatest Hits") Mikhail is playing chess with Richard Alpert. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") Each player in chess starts with 16 pieces. A chess board is eight squares by eight squares, half light, half dark. "MacCutcheon" is a name of a prominent brand of Scotch in Lost; it is also a variation of the French Defence opening in chess [1][2] [3] [4] [5]. Chess is the central theme of "King of the Castle". Ben and Jack are playing, and Ben is victorious after playing a "castle". However the position is nonsense, for example Ben has three bishops. In "The Beginning of the End", Matthew Abaddon sits in front of a chess board. While in the mental institution, Hurley plays a chess game against a vision of Mr. Eko. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") In Lost: Via Domus, Elliot finds a chessboard amongst the wreckage.
Connect Four	Connect Four was the game played by Leonard Simms at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. It appears he was playing both colors, while chanting the Numbers over and over again. ("Numbers") Hurley was playing Connect Four at Santa Rosa in "The Beginning of the End". Walt played Connect Four during his time at Santa Rosa. ("The New Man in Charge") When a player places four pieces in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, he wins the game. Connect Four has 42 possible positions to put pieces in.
Crossword Puzzles	Shannon worked on a crossword puzzle on the beach. ("Walkabout") Shannon worked on a crossword puzzle in the airport. ("Exodus, Part 1") She is actually working on a word seek puzzle from a Penny Press Super Word Seek magazine. Locke worked on a crossword puzzle in the Swan. ("Collision") Jack had a crossword puzzle in his car. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
Soccer (Football)	Sayid and Essam played soccer in the park. ("The Greater Good") Young Eko and Yemi are seen playing soccer before the militia crime lords came to the village. ("The 23rd Psalm") Desmond watched a soccer game in a pub twice (with fictional team 'Graybridge' playing) and predicted the outcome both times; his second prediction was correct. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") Ruth told Desmond, "We dated for six years, and the closest you ever came to a religious experience was Celtic winning the cup." ("Catch-22")
Golf	Hurley set up a golf course. ("Solitary") Desmond borrows a golf club from Paulo, and offered some advice. Paulo enquired if Desmond played golf, to which Desmond responded "I'm Scottish." (the St. Andrews golf course in Scotland is considered the spiritual home of golf). ("Every Man for Himself") Jin had a psychological breakdown on the golfcourse, after which the Losties decided to quit golf for a while. ("Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course") Sayid meets and kills Mr. Avellino while playing golf on a private course in the Seychelles. ("The Economist")
Horseshoes	Hurley defeats Sawyer at a game of horseshoes at the barracks due to his superior luck. ("The Other Woman")
I Never	Kate and Sawyer played I never. ("Outlaws")
Mouse Trap	Locke demonstrated the game Mouse Trap to a child before catching a glimpse of his mother. ("Deus Ex Machina") A Mouse Trap game (box upside down) was seen in front of the window Kate was staring at in the barracks rec room. ("Left Behind") On a Mouse Trap board, every third space contains only the number 23 (really a juxtaposition of 2&3) and every third space contains the numbers 23 and 4
Ping Pong	A ping-pong table was shown in the Swan station. ("The Long Con") A ping-pong table was mentioned in a notebook read by Kate. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2") Sawyer challenged Hurley to a match to win his stash back. Hurley wins the game. ("Enter 77") A match between Sawyer and Hurley is interrupted by Nikki. ("Exposé") Sawyer plays Jack after his return from the Others' camp, joking that they have to do so every 108 minutes or the island will explode. ("Catch-22")
Poker	Boone was wearing a shirt with four aces on it. ("Homecoming") Sawyer, Hurley, Kate, and Jack all engaged in a game of Texas Hold 'Em in which Jack won the medical supplies back from Sawyer. They used the DHARMA Initiative playing cards from the Swan station. ("Lockdown")
Senet	The Man in Black found a game on the beach that was a variation of Senet. He and Jacob frequently played the game with each other — Jacob using white stones as playing pieces, the Man in Black using black stones. When Jacob laid the dead bodies of Mother and the Man in Black together in the cave, he placed one black and one white stone from the game in a pouch, which he set in his brother's hand. ("Across the Sea") Centuries later, Jack discovered the skeletons and found the two stones in the pouch. ("House of the Rising Sun")
Tic-Tac-Toe	Miles and Hurley played multiple games with X's and O's made from twigs and leaves in the Temple. Miles became frustrated and bored by their constant ties. ("Lighthouse")

Minor occurrences

• Rugby League/Union

• A Brisbane Broncos rugby league team poster is seen in Claire and Thomas' apartment. ("Raised by Another")
• The Brisbane Bronco's arch rivals, the North Queensland Cowboys, are seen on an advertisement in the newspaper being read by Jin at Sydney International Airport. ("House of the Rising Sun")
• A Bledisloe Cup match between the Australian National Rugby Union team (Wallabies) and the New Zealand National Rugby Union team (All-Blacks) is shown on the television in the bar Sawyer drinks at with Christian Shephard. ("Outlaws")

• Basketball

• The patients at Santa Rosa played basketball. ("Dave")
• Kevin Callis wore a NBA Miami Heat logo T-shirt. ("I Do")
• The neighbors across the street of the Reyes' in Hurley's childhood scene were playing basketball. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
• Jack and Hurley play a game of HORSE, a variant of basketball, at Santa Rosa. ("The Beginning of the End")

• Pool

• Sawyer met Kilo at a pool hall. ("Confidence Man")
• Ana Lucia tracked down Jason McCormack in a bar containing a pool table. ("Collision")
• Kate was held prisoner by the Others at the Barracks in a rec room containing a pool table, foosball table, and two pinball machines ("The Man from Tallahassee")
• Efren Salonga is a possible reference to Efren "Bata" Reyes, a professional Filipino billiards/pool player.("Jughead")

• Foosball

• A foosball table was visible (Image) in the toy store breakroom as Frainey visits Locke ("Deus Ex Machina"), as well as the room in the Barracks where Kate is held prisoner by the Others ("The Man from Tallahassee") which also contains a pool table and pinball machines.
• A foosball table was in the recreation room where Kate was held prisoner by the Others at the Barracks. ("The Man from Tallahassee")

• Darts

• A dartboard is also in the Barracks recreation room when Benjamin and Sayid are being held by Locke.("The Economist") It's pattern is in Black and White.
• There is a dartboard and darts in the Swan station which become magnetically attracted towards the electro magnetic force behind the wall of the station at the end of Series 2.

• Sawyer calls the Island "Monkey Island," a possible reference to LucasArts' series of computer adventure games. ("Pilot, Part 1")
• Walt was frequently seen playing fetch with Vincent.
• Boone is seen wearing an old jersey of the Italian national football team. ("Hearts and Minds")
• Ice hockey can be seen played as Hurley quickly surfs between television channels during a flashback. ("Numbers")
• Sanjay is apparently playing a video game when Kate arrives at the front desk of the motel. ("Born to Run")
• Walt played with a Game Boy Advance SP. ("Exodus, Part 1")
• Locke compared the removal of the dynamite to the game Operation. ("Exodus, Part 2")
• Old Scooter Man wore a gambling themed baseball cap. ("Exodus, Part 2")
• A dart board was shown in the Swan station.
• Sawyer compared the Swan computer to the video game Donkey Kong. ("The Long Con")
• While residing at Santa Rosa, Libby is seen seated at a table with a Mancala set in front of her. ("Dave")
• Sawyer boxed in prison. ("Every Man for Himself")
• Desmond is accidentally struck by a cricket bat. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
• Two pinball machines can be seen in the Barracks recreation room. One is the 1999 "Revenge From Mars", the other is the 1988 "Cyclone." When we visit the Barracks later in "LaFleur," purportedly in 1974, the "Cyclone" machine is visible, though it shouldn't even exist yet.
• Some residents of the Barracks were playing volleyball at the time of the Purge. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
• Keamy is seen on the freighter skeet shooting. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
• Sawyer and Hurley played blackjack. ("Fire + Water")

Recurring themes

The "metagame"

• Desmond warns Jack that Ben and Eloise are playing some kind of game, and that the survivors are just the pieces. ("316")
• The interactions between Ben and Widmore are governed by a set of rules. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
• Jacob's conversation with the Man in Black on the beach suggests that the two are playing by the same rules. ("The Incident, Part 1")

Games as a metaphor

“	"I like to use the baseball metaphor which is, you can go to a baseball game and if you don't know a lot about baseball, I think you can enjoy it on one level as a casual viewer and you can enjoy it on a much deeper level as a regular viewer".	”
—Carlton Cuse, "Lost Survivor Guide"

• Operation: Locke told Jack, "I'm removing the driest pieces to minimize our risk transporting it. You ever play Operation?"

  Metaphor: The removal of the dynamite was compared to the tenseness of the game of Operation.

• Mouse Trap: Locke said, "One by one, you build the trap; shoe, bucket, tub. Piece by piece it all comes together. And then you wait 'til your opponent lands here on the old cheese wheel. And then if you set it up just right, you spring the trap."

• Metaphor: Locke's description of Mouse Trap mirrored the con Locke's father orchestrated to steal Locke's kidney, and in a more general sense, the ongoing con of Locke by the Man in Black, giving him faith in the Island in order to occupy his body and kill Jacob.

• Poker: In "Lockdown", Jack pretended to have a great poker hand, but Sawyer didn't believe him. In the same episode, Ben told Locke that he typed in the Numbers into the Swan computer.

• Metaphor: Jack's bluffing in Poker was mirrored in his successful ploy to outwit Sawyer, and in Ben's ploy to lie to Locke.

• Baseball: Christian Shephard told Sawyer, "You are suffering. But, don't beat yourself up about it. It's fate. Some people are just supposed to suffer. That's why the Red Sox will never win the damn series."

  Metaphor: The futility of Sawyer trying to end his own suffering was compared with the futility of the Red Sox trying to win a World Series. (see also: Irony)

Half-Life

Several events allude to the popular PC game series Half-Life.

• Sound bytes are used from Half-Life 2 ("Pilot, Part 1"): When the plane's engine explodes and debris rains down, a man is hit by a piece and the sound produced is virtually identical to that of a Combine soldier dying. The sound of the debris crashing is also identical to that of wood breaking in the game.
• Jack's sightings of his father Christian ("Walkabout"), ("The Greater Good") watching from a distance, wearing a blue suit, and walking away after a moment strongly resemble the recurring appearances of the "G-Man" throughout the Half-Life series.
• Richard Alpert's appearance in the window viewing the newborn baby John Locke ("Cabin Fever") is also nearly identical to a typical G-Man sighting. (It can even be said that Alpert himself bears a strong physical resemblance to a younger G-man.)
• Sayid's acquaintances, Yusef and Haddad, are playing the 2001 Playstation 2 version of Half-Life when he is first introduced to them in their apartment by Essam. ("The Greater Good")

See this fan video for demonstrations.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two also contains a Lost Easter egg.

The Numbers

Some games have references to the Numbers:

• The objective of Connect Four is to get 4 discs in a row on a plane of 42 holes.
• Backgammon consists of two sets of 15 checkers. There are 4 sets of six playable spaces. A die has six numbers on it, the same amount of Numbers there are. The doubling cube has the numbers 4, 8, 16 and 32 on it (which is 23 backwards). The most number of spaces (without being taken out of play) a piece can move if the player is not yet able to take their pieces off the board (which requires all the player's pieces to be in the last six spaces on their side) is 23.
• Each player in chess starts with 16 pieces on an 8 by 8 grid.
• In the game HORSE, the first two letters earned are H and O, the 8th and 15th letters of the alphabet.

Black and white

Several games are depicted or described as having black and white elements:

• Locke specifically describes the pieces on a Backgammon board: "One side is light, and one side is dark." The playable spaces on the board also alternate with one being light and one being dark. There are four dice: two for the player playing white, which are white with black dots, and two for the player playing black, which are black with white dots.
• The pieces on a chess board and the board itself are black and white.
• The crossword puzzles are depicted as a grid of black and white squares.

Producers' commentary

• In an interview[6] with Entertainment Weekly, writer/executive producer Damon Lindelof defended writing decisions for the show using a game-based analogy:

“

I feel like we're playing a chess game. In the first six moves, we've lost our queen and two bishops, and the audience is saying 'They are the worst chess players in the world!' What they don't realize is that we're nine moves away from checkmating you. If we lose, we lose. But that's the play, and we're standing by it.

”

See also

• Counter-Strike: Source map
• The Lost Experience
• Myst
• Outside references to Lost - by the games: PvP Online's Lost Role Playing Game, Ctrl+Alt+Del's parody of Command & Conquer 3, The Impossible Quiz web game, the game "Desert Island" in The Office, Half-Life 2