Around The World In 80 Games: A Mathematician Unlocks The Se

I heard an author interview for this book on the radio, and knew I had to get it for our game-playing son. He’s mid-40s and has been playing all kinds of board and role-playing games since he was a teenager (he and I play different games when he visits). He also has an inquiring mind and loves to know the whys and wherefores of things. Many of his favorite games are discussed in the book, and learning of the world origins is very interesting. My husband and I looked through the book before gifting it, and really enjoyed it, too.

Around the world in 80 games is great, I loved it. Perfect for dipping in and out of. The book gives some history behind each game as well as providing mathematical insights into perfect play. Over all it's a lot of fun to read, never too heavy and you can read about the 80 games in any order you like and the book still makes sense.

As other reviewers have noted, the marketing surrounding this book misses the mark. This is not a deep dive into the mathematics underpinning various games. (To be fair, the author is upfront about this in the foreword, and anyone who was expecting a mathematical deep dive at 4.8 pages per game was bound to be disappointed.) This is more a book of pop-sociology examining a selective sampling of games through a mathematical lens. The sociology is overgeneralized; the explanation of the rules of the games is cursory; and the mathematical interludes assume a certain level of mathematical knowledge that is misaligned with the otherwise casual audience that seems to be the book's target. None of this keeps the book from being an interesting read. It is a book that reflects on what certain games, and some of the mathematics underlying them, might say about the people who invented and/or enjoy those games. It is good for provoking thoughts about games and their connection to mathematics and culture. It reaches no definitive conclusions on these subjects, and it shouldn't (that should be left to actual sociologists). It is merely meant to suggest deeper connections lying under the surface of games, to put them casually within a cultural frame of reference. It is a good first read to expand one's awareness of how games can link cultures through mathematical concepts, and it does this in interesting ways. Heck, I was aware of at least half of the information in this book already, and it was still interesting to read about it through the author's lens. At bottom, it unlocked no secrets of the universe, but it is one of the more enjoyable things I've read.

I've only reached the first three. Help!

This is a remarkable book full of insightful comments and analysis about how (mostly board) games can be played to win. There are many familiar games but also -as the book title implies - games from around the world.