Tato desková hra je známá.

Tato is the feminine singular nominative form of the demonstrative this.

Because hra (game) is a feminine noun, the demonstrative has to match it:

• ten = masculine
• ta = feminine, but usually that or a more neutral everyday the/that
• tato = this for feminine nouns

So:

• tato hra = this game

In everyday spoken Czech, people often say ta hra instead of tato hra, but tato is the clearer and more explicitly this form.

They all end in -á because they agree with hra, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

Czech adjectives and words like this/that change their endings to match the noun they describe.

Here:

• tato = feminine singular nominative
• desková = feminine singular nominative
• známá = feminine singular nominative
• hra = feminine singular nominative noun

This kind of agreement is very important in Czech.

Desková hra is the normal Czech way to say board game.

It is made of:

• desková = board as an adjective
• hra = game

So literally it is something like board-type game, but in natural English it is simply board game.

Czech often uses an adjective + noun combination where English might also use a compound noun.

Hra is in the nominative case.

You can tell because it is the subject of the sentence:

• Tato desková hra = the thing being talked about
• je známá = is well-known / is famous

In a basic sentence with X is Y, the subject is usually in the nominative.

Also, the forms around it support this:

• tato
• desková
• známá

All are nominative feminine singular forms matching hra.

No, in standard Czech you normally must keep the present tense of to be in this kind of sentence.

So:

• Tato desková hra je známá. = correct
• Tato desková hra známá. = not standard Czech

Czech is different from languages that can omit the present tense copula. In Czech, je is normally required.

Známá comes from známý, which means known, well-known, or sometimes famous, depending on context.

So this sentence could mean:

• This board game is well-known.
• This board game is famous.

Usually známý/známá suggests that many people know it. It does not necessarily mean people like it.

Compare:

• známá = well-known
• oblíbená = popular / liked
• slavná = famous, often in a stronger sense

Because predicate adjectives in Czech also agree with the subject.

In English, we say:

• The game is known

and known does not change.

In Czech, the adjective after je changes to match the subject:

• hra je známá — feminine singular
• film je známý — masculine singular
• město je známé — neuter singular
• hry jsou známé — plural

So známá is feminine because it refers back to hra.

The basic word order here is natural and neutral:

• Tato desková hra je známá.

But Czech word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible for emphasis.

For example:

• Tato hra je známá. = This game is well-known.
• Známá je tato desková hra. = It is this board game that is well-known.
  This sounds more marked or emphatic.

So yes, the word order can change, but the original sentence is the most neutral version.

Yes, you could, but the meaning shifts a little.

• tato desková hra = this board game
• ta desková hra = often that board game, though in everyday speech it can sometimes function a bit more loosely

If you specifically want a clear this, tato is the better choice.

In spoken Czech, people often prefer shorter forms, so ta hra is common in conversation, but for learners it is good to understand that tato is the textbook form for this with a feminine noun.

You usually learn noun gender together with the noun.

For hra, the dictionary form is feminine, and its ending also fits a common feminine pattern.

You can see the gender from agreement:

• tato hra
• desková hra
• známá hra

All those feminine forms confirm that hra is feminine.

A very useful habit in Czech is to learn nouns together with gender and, if possible, with a sample adjective or pronoun.

The plural would be:

• Tyto deskové hry jsou známé.
• These board games are well-known.

Changes:

• tato → tyto
• desková → deskové
• hra → hry
• je → jsou
• známá → známé

This shows how many parts of the sentence change in Czech to reflect number and gender.

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

• TAH-toh DES-koh-vah HRA yeh ZNAA-mah

A few notes:

• tato = TAH-toh
• desková = stress on the first syllable: DES-ko-vá
• hra begins with hr, which can be tricky for English speakers
• je sounds roughly like yeh
• známá = ZNAA-mah, with a long á

Important: Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.

Negative:

• Tato desková hra není známá.
• This board game is not well-known.

Question:

• Je tato desková hra známá?
• Is this board game well-known?

So:

• je = is
• není = is not

Czech often forms yes/no questions just by intonation in speech, but putting je first is a very standard way to write it clearly.