TUAW has a preview of an iPad application called Game Table. It costs 99 cents, and it lets you play classic board games such as Chess, Poker or Checkers on the iPad.

The beauty of its approach is the fact that it's not really a game — it just gives you the necessary components and the mechanics to play a variety of games. And, when you think of it, for many users this app (or apps like it) might be the killer app that makes the Apple iPad worth purchasing.

If you're a classic board game geek, you probably love the feeling of cards, dice or a chess board under your hand. But in all those situations when you don't have the actual board — let's say you're going on a vacation, and you don't want to carry the extra weight and fiddly bits and pieces — the iPad can be a very good replacement. While classic board games were also available on the iPod and the iPhone, the iPad's bigger screen size will make the experience much more pleasant.

Beyond classic board games, it's a huge market; just check out BoardGameGeek for all the available board titles. I bet we'll be seeing many of those titles converted for the iPad, and I bet many of them will be a huge success.

Game Table may seem like just another app, but it's a great example of how iPad's bigger screen size can open Apple's mobile application platform to new possibilities. The iPhone's screen is used by one person at a time in most cases; but the iPad can be effectively used by two people; playing a game, creating an artwork, visualizing a project. It's a big difference, and it's another one of those details that will, ultimately, make people want to buy this device.

As the first batch of iPads hurry to their new owners, I'm more and more convinced Apple has indeed created a whole new market with this device.