What does “joc de societate” mean in Romanian?

Joc de societate is how Romanian says “board game” — but it literally means a “society game,” because societate is “society” and these are games you play together, in company. The label is broad: it covers board games, card games, and party games alike, anything social around a table. So if a Romanian invites you to un joc de societate, expect people, not solitaire.

The phrase is a fixed compound: joc (“game”) + de (“of”) + societate (“society/company”), close in spirit to the older English “parlour game.” Plural is jocuri de societate. In this clip the specific game is Șarpe și scări — “Snake and ladders,” the Romanian name for Snakes and Ladders, where a scară (ladder) sends you up the board and a șarpe (snake) drops you back down. You’ll see jocuri de societate on shelf signs in any Romanian toy or bookshop.