Spotlight on Games
Board Game Books
10/10/2011
update:
Contents:
- Strategy
- Game Rules
- Fandom
- History of Gaming
- For Inventors
- For Collectors
Strategy
- Berlekamp, Elwyn R., John H. Conway & Richard K. Guy,
Freeman, Jon,
Playboy Winner's Guide to Board Games (1975)
Reviews and tips on a wide variety of games including
Acquire,
Backgammon,
Black Box,
Careers,
Cartel,
Clue,
Cosmic Encounter,
Diplomacy,
4000 A.D.,
High Bid,
Monopoly,
Nuclear War,
Parcheesi,
Quebec 1759,
Rail Baron,
Risk,
Scrabble,
Smess,
Speed Circuit,
Summit,
Twixt,
UFO and many others including sports games,
role-playing games, wargames and
Strip Poker, of course. There is even a primer on probability.
Kohnen, Dieter,
Mah-Jongg: Basic Rules & Strategies (1998)
Pritchard, David (editor),
The Games & Puzzles Book of Modern Board Games (1975).
Each chapter by a game expert describes and analyzes a different game:
Alan Calhamer on his game
Diplomacy;
Terry Donnelly on his game
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire;
Darryl Francis on
Scrabble;
John Humphries on
Confrontation, Escape from Colditz, Tri-Tactics;
Josie Matthews on
Speculate;
David Parlett on
Cluedo, Monopoly, Sigma File;
David Wells on
Mastermind, Ploy, Twixt.
Game Rules :
- Abbott, Robert,
- Costello, Matthew J.,
The Greatest Games of All Time (1991)
- Frere, Thomas, Hoyle's Games: The Modern Methods of Playing the
Latest and Most Fashionable Games
- Hofstadter, Douglas R.,
Metamagical Themas.
(1996)
Includes rules for the bluffing game
Mediocrity.
The title is an anagram for "Mathemetical Games".
- Knizia, Reiner,
-
Dice Games Properly Explained
The prolific game inventor presents here
200+ pages discussing hundreds of games and variants along with their
strategies and tactics as well as probability calculation.
Original games include Matches (page 23), Tit for Tat (51),
Equal or Quit (125), Octo (143, previously published 1990),
Six Hundred (167, previously published 1990),
Thirty Six (171),
Mr. Postman (178),
Criss-Cross (182, previously published 1990),
Criss Versus Cross (186),
Catego (187, previously published),
Powerplay (192),
East-West (193, previously published 1995),
Double or Quits (200),
Mice and Men (210) and
Rats! (213).
[US edition]
[UK edition]
[amazon UK]
[Deutsch]
- Kartenspiele im Wilden Westen (1995)
Cardgames of the Wild West (in German) consists of
12 cardgames by award-winning game inventor Reiner Knizia. They
can be played solitaire, two-handed or in large groups, and
are intended for both 32 and 52 card decks. Many examples
are included. The reader's constant companion is Joe Joker,
who recounts tales of the Wild West's Saloons and
campfires, of panning for gold and swindling in the building
of railways. Nerve-wracking fun for all. Out of print.
- Neue Taktikspiele mit Würfeln und Karten (1990)
New Strategy Games with Dice and Cards (in German) consists
of rules to the following games:
Complica (Dia-Complica, Doppel-Complica),
Dubito (Judico, Subito),
Goldrausch
(Blinder Goldrausch, Langer Goldrausch, Goldrun),
Kanzler (Demokratie, Kabinett, Parlament, Vox Populi),
Kartenjagd
(Augenjagd, Fuchsjagd, Kartenjagd mit Passen, Offene Kartenjagd, Treibjagd),
Katego (Multego),
Mr. President (published by Pro Ligno as Catena),
Schreibtisch-Jogging (Hindernis-Jogging, Stafetten-Jogging,
Vielseitigkeits-Jogging),
Sechshundert,
Sechsunddreißig (Siebzehn), Sellout,
Sono (published by Pro Ligno as Prisma),
(Doppel-Quasono, Kooperatives Sono, Offenes Sono, Offenes Unisono, Quasono,
Strategisches Sono, Unisono),
Swap (published by Pro Ligno as Um Speis und Trank), (Sway Swap),
Tor,
Turmbau zu Babel,
Vier mal Vier, Zehnkampf
(Zehnkampf mit Energie, Zweikampf).
- New Games in Old Rome (1996)
Includes games from 7 Time Periods:
- Founding of Rome:
-
Wheel of History (2-5 players) and
Seven Hills of Rome (2)
- Republic of Rome:
-
Consul (2-4) and
Senator (2-3)
- Ascent of Rome:
-
Hannibal versus Rome (2) and
Proconsul (3-5)
- Roman Revolution:
-
Caesar (2-5) and
Spartacus (3-5)
- Rhetoric and Law:
-
Tribunal (4-7) and
Catiline Conspiracy (3-5)
- Roman Emperors:
-
Imperium (2-5) and
The Praetorians (2-4)
- Bread and Circuses:
-
Mercator (3-7) and
Circus Maximus (2-5)
- Kramer, Wolfgang,
-
Der Palast der Rätsel. Ein Buch zum Nachdenken, Rätseln und Staunen
(2000)
-
Die Rätsel der Pyramide. Wer löst die Geheimnisse des unterirdischen Labyrinths?
(2000)
-
Chronos. Buch und Spiel
(1999)
- Parlett, David,
-
Card Games
(1994)
-
Card Games for One
(1994)
- Sackson, Sid (prolific boardgames inventor),
- Schmittberger, R. Wayne,
New Rules for Classic Games (1992)
This work by the former editor of Games magazine
features dozens of new games to play on common game boards,
such as those for cards, dice games, outdoor games,
Charades,
Checkers,
Chess,
Clue,
Dominoes,
Monopoly,
Parcheesi,
Risk,
Scrabble,
Trivial Pursuit
and more.
- Solomon, Eric W.,
Games With Pencil and Paper (1994)
- Stein, Lincoln David,
Family Games (1979)
- Thompson, Patricia A. and Betty Maloney (Illustrator)
The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated (1999)
- Sylvester, Peer,
Jam Dudel und 29 Andere Spiele
(2005)
Published in German by
Bambusspiele,
thirty different games playable with ordinary cards and other
materials are presented. The inventors are
Reiner Knizia (Ascot),
Sid Sackson (Haggle),
Michael Schacht (Die Fliegenden Händler von Karthago),
Uwe Rosenberg (Ein Satz),
James Ernest (Wer Hat Dr. Greens Pueblo Gestohlen?),
Tom Jolly,
Heinrich Glumpler,
Oxford Games,
Michael Laver,
Jean Marc Pautry,
Stanley E. Anderson,
Sharon Cichelli,
Jonathan Leistiko,
Benjamin J. Gibbs
and
Peer Sylvester.
- Sylvester, Peer,
So Spielt die Welt
(2007)
Published in German by
Bambusspiele,
this takes up where this site's
interviews with game players around the
world leaves off, visiting the game scenes and game histories
of Japan, Poland, Finland,
Madagascar, Israel, Singapore, Northern Ireland, Thailand,
Australia, Brazil, the USA, Alaska and Hawaii, all told.
In addition, rules for a number of games of various stripes
are presented.
- Previously unpublished:
-
Aloi mak by Peer Sylvester (part of his Thailand trilogy)
Change by Michael Schacht
Revolte by Michael Schacht
- Previously only web-published:
-
Insel der Anwälte (Deduce or Die)
So oder so by Ingo Althöfer
- Previously published:
-
Go-Nin-Kan by Nobuaki Takerube
Sudoku Moyo by Günter Cornett
Attraktion by Jaroslaw Cichocki
Zigg-Zag by Joli Kansil
Simpel, aber genial by Rudi Hoffman
- Traditional:
-
Ristokontra
Katro
Yaniv
Chor Dai Di (Big Two)
Makrrok Thai
500
Pif-Paf
Konane
- Thompson, Patricia and Betty Maloney,
The Mah Jong Player's Companion
- Whitney, Eleanor Noss,
Mah Jong Handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win the Modern Game (1965)
-
Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary
Fandom
- Bellin, Andy,
Poker Nation: A High-Stakes, Low-Life Adventure into the Heart of a Gambling
Country (2002)
- Fatsis, Stefan,
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of
Competitive Scrabble
(2001)
- Glenn, Jim,
The Treasury of Family Games
(2003)
- Knizia, Reiner,
- Hofer, Margaret K. ,
The Games We Played (2003).
Wonderful coffee table book with very large illustrations of games
made in the early days of American publishing. The book is just
beautiful and also it ties together the game topics with the
changing American scene, showing how games always reflected their
age. The game of the MacLoughlin house (later acquired by Milton
Bradley) are especially featured. Chapters include:
Parlor Amusements
"The World's Educator"
Morals to Materialism
War Games
Parlor Athletics
The Urban Experience
'Round the World
- Knopf, Michael,
Spielen. Kleine Philosophie der Passionen (1999).
Avid game players will rapidly identify with
Games. Small Study of a Passion,
which discusses in polished, yet unforced humor what constitutes a
typical player, winning and losing, the burden of being a
rules explainer, playing with non-gamers, trouble with
one's lover after a game of Caesar and Cleopatra,
trading on Catan, the difference between board and chess players,
etc. etc. etc. The only complaint is that this 123-page booklet
isn't any longer. A cute addition is that at the bottom of each
page is pictured the face of a die, apparently chosen at random.
Or is this not random, but itself a game to be puzzled out?
Translated chapter titles are 1. Life is a Box, 2. Six is the
Beginning of All Things, The Unveiling, Schnapps is Served,
We'll Discuss It Later!, Cheaters and Other Non-Gamers,
Checkmate, Waiting for Catan, Everybody's a Politician,
Expedition to the Dungeons, The Beautiful Aesthetic,
The Hippopotamus in the Bath Tub.
Some American games publisher ought to translate and publish this
one as I'm sure a lot of gamers would love to read and own it, if
for no other reason than to explain themselves to their loved ones.
- Lowder, James (editor)
Hobby Games: The 100 Best (2007)
One hundred different writers were asked to select a single
hobby game and make a case for its place on the list. The only
restrictions were that the writers could not select a title
they designed, or a game in which they have a financial stake.
Participants included Gary Gygax, Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson,
Richard Garfield, Larry Harris, authors R. A. Salvatore, Tracy
Hickman, Douglas Niles, and Ed Greenwood; computer industry
notables Warren Spector (Deus Ex), Bruce Shelley (Age of Empires),
Jack Emmert (City of Heroes), and Bruce Nesmith (Oblivion); as
well as Richard Berg, Monte Cook, Zeb Cook, Greg Costikyan, Bruno
Faidutti, Jeff Grubb, the other Steve Jackson, Tom Jolly, Marc
W. Miller, Alan R. Moon, Christian T. Petersen, Sandy Petersen,
Mike Pondsmith, Ted Raicer, Greg Stafford, S. Craig Taylor,
Martin Wallace, James M. Ward, Jordan Weisman, Stewart Wieck,
and Teeuwynn Woodruff. Also features a foreword by Reiner Knizia
and an afterword by James F. Dunnigan. Only a churl would point
out that game designers rarely make good reviewers. ;)
- Millhauser, Steven,
The Barnum Museum (1997)
The title of the first short story is
"A Game of Clue" in which, among other things,
Miss Scarlett attempts to seduce Colonel Mustard.
[amazon UK]
History of Gaming
- Anspach, Ralph,
The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle
(1998)
De-bunks the myths surrounding the invention and first publication
of the popular game
Monopoly.
- Bell, R.C.,
Discovering Old Board Games (2008)
Descriptions of sixty historical board games ranging in age
from 3000 BC through to the turn of the nineteenth century,
including First House, Landlord's Son, Lapp King, Tenant Farmer,
Lapp Warriors, Dablot Prejjesne, Lapp Prince. Book is
organized by game type in Race, War, Position, Mancala, Calculation
and Dice Games. Includes instructions for making games and pieces, and
a bibliography.
- Bell, Robbie,
Board Games Round the World: A Resource Book for Mathematical Investigations
(1989)
- Glonnegger, Erwin,
Das Spiele-Buch (1999)
The Game Book contains
an interesting selection of games from all over the world.
Brief descriptions of the most important games, including diversions such as
Pachisi and Backgammon, but also newer games as recent as Tikal
(1999) and the re-released Adel Verpflichtet (2000),
with over 600 illustrations.
-
Orbanes, Philip E.
The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers, from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit
(2003)
- Parlett, David (inventor of the classic game Hare and Tortoise - Hase und Igel)
- Whitehill, Bruce
-
Games: American Boxed Games and Their Makers, 1822-1992
- Americanopoly: America as Seen Through its Games
Highlights games that have gained popularity worldwide, and
explains the effect the US industry has had on the games of
Europe, especially Germany. Also examines
the games of England, Germany, India, and Africa that have had
an influence on American games, showcasing thirteen
themes, e.g.
politics, films and television, social issues, ethnic
diversity, advertising, finance, sports & leisure, pop culture,
and other aspects of American lilfe.
For Inventors
- Crowe, Ellie and Robert N. Yonover,
Hardcore Inventing: Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit From Your Inventions
- Filis, Frederick,
Design and Sell Toys, Games & Crafts (1977)
- Gobet, Fernand,
The Psychology of Board Games (2004)
- Koster, Raph,
Theory of Fun for Game Design (2004)
- Levy, Richard and Ronald Weingartner,
The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook
(2003)
Unfortunately the emphasis here is on the toys rather than the
games, and especially on toys intended for the huge American companies
like Mattel and Hasbro. A book on this topic which never even mentions
the name Knizia has to be rather suspect in 2003.
- Meyers, Keith,
Paid to Play: The Business of Game Design
(2008)
In ten chapters and eighty-nine pages, discusses game design and
marketing, citing one of his own developed games in the process.
- Ollman, Bertell,
Class Struggle Is the Name of the Game:
True Confessions of a Marxist Businessman
The designer of the game Class Struggle describes bringing it
to market (using some unusual marketing strategies) in the 1970's,
first on his own, then selling it to Avalon Hill.
- Fullerton, Tracy, Christopher Swain, Steven Hoffman
Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games
(2004)
- Salen, Katie & Eric Zimmerman
-
The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology
(2005)
-
Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
(2004)
- Schell, Jesse,
The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
(2008)
- Tinsman, Brian,
The Game Inventor's Guidebook
(2003)
- Werneck, Tom, Leitfaden für Spielerfinder
For Collectors
Spotlight on Games
>
Bibliography
spotlightongames.com