Tristan Donovan. (2017). It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan. St. Martin's Publishing Group.

Tristan Donovan. 2017. It's All a Game: The History of Board Games From Monopoly to Settlers of Catan. St. Martin's Publishing Group.

Tristan Donovan, It's All a Game: The History of Board Games From Monopoly to Settlers of Catan. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2017.

Tristan Donovan. It's All a Game: The History of Board Games From Monopoly to Settlers of Catan. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2017.

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It's All a Game

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   • fileAs: Donovan, Tristan
   • bioText: TRISTAN DONOVAN is a British author and journalist. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including BBC News Online, The Atlantic, The Times of London, Stuff, Wired, The Guardian, Eurogamer, Kotaku,Community Care, and The Big Issue. He lives in the UK.
   • name: Tristan Donovan

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It's All a Game

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"[A] timely book...It's All a Game provides a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history." —The Wall Street Journal
Board games have been with us longer than even the written word. But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification?
In It's All a Game, British journalist and renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games—from chess to Monopoly to Settlers of Catan, and more—have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations.

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1. • value: Grade 7
2. • value: Grade 8

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1. • premium: False
   • source: Mashable
   • content: "[A] splendid new book...A quick and breezy read, it doesn't just tell the fascinating stories of the (often struggling) individuals who created our favorite games. It also manages to convey the entire sweep of boardgame history, from the earliest forms of Checkers to modern-day surprise hits like Settlers of Catan."
2. • premium: False
   • source: Booklist
   • content: "Throw away your preconceived notions and dive into this rich story that informs who we are by the games we play...Each chapter is a thematic essay that stands alone but also artfully weaves together culture, business, and ways games impact society... This history of games is perfect for the budding social scientist, the casual reader, or someone looking to impress party guests with trivia knowledge."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Tom Vasel, Host, The Dice Tower

   • content: "Tristan Donovan takes what might seem like a dull topic and brings it to life. Turning a hobby into a fascinating history subject, It's All a Game manages to cover the entire realm of tabletop games in an easy-to-read yet fascinating tale. Think you know everything about board games? Read this to find otherwise!"
4. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     May 1, 2017
     Throw away your preconceived notions and dive into this rich story that informs who we are by the games we play. Donovan delivers the history of board games from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and prehistoric sub-Saharan Africa, where royalty and commoners used games to contact the afterlife as well as for recreation, through the golden age of Anglo-American tabletop games. Each chapter is a thematic essay that stands alone but also artfully weaves together culture, business, and ways games impact society. For example, the chapter on chess begins in fourth-century India and goes to Deep Blue's AI victory over Garry Kasparov in 1997. This history of games is perfect for the budding social scientist, the casual reader, or someone looking to impress party guests with trivia knowledge. There is a wonderful introduction that takes the reader from a chess plaza in New York City's Washington Square to gaming cafes surrounding it, but the book lacks a conclusion to tie everything together. Donovan demonstrates that, like libraries, board games thrive in a world of smart phones and technology.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

popularity

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"[A] timely book...It's All a Game provides a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history." —The Wall Street Journal
Board games have been with us longer than even the written word. But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification?
In It's All a Game, British journalist and renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals...

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2. • code: HIS054000
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   • description: Mathematics / Game Theory