Seven Games: A Human History

Seven Games: A Human History
Author: Oliver Roeder
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2022-01-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1324003782

A group biography of seven enduring and beloved games, and the story of why—and how—we play them. Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable. Roeder introduces thrilling competitors, such as evangelical minister Marion Tinsley, who across forty years lost only three games of checkers; Shusai, the Master, the last Go champion of imperial Japan, defending tradition against “modern rationalism”; and an IBM engineer who created a backgammon program so capable at self-learning that NASA used it on the space shuttle. He delves into the history and lore of each game: backgammon boards in ancient Egypt, the Indian origins of chess, how certain shells from a particular beach in Japan make the finest white Go stones. Beyond the cultural and personal stories, Roeder explores why games, seemingly trivial pastimes, speak so deeply to the human soul. He introduces an early philosopher of games, the aptly named Bernard Suits, and visits an Oxford cosmologist who has perfected a computer that can effectively play bridge, a game as complicated as human language itself. Throughout, Roeder tells the compelling story of how humans, pursuing scientific glory and competitive advantage, have invented AI programs better than any human player, and what that means for the games—and for us. Funny, fascinating, and profound, Seven Games is a story of obsession, psychology, history, and how play makes us human.

Game Play

Game Play
Author: Jessica Stone
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2019-11-12
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1119553768

The essential guide to game play therapy for mental health practitioners The revised and updated third edition of Game Play Therapy offers psychologists and psychiatrists a guide to game play therapy’s theoretical foundations and contains the practical applications that are appropriate for children and adolescents. Game playing has proven to invoke more goal-directed behavior, has the benefit of interpersonal interaction, and can perform a significant role in the adaptation to one's environment. With contributions from noted experts in the field, the third edition contains information on the time-tested, classic games and the most recent innovations and advances in game play approaches. Game Play Therapy’s revised third edition (like the previous editions) continues to fill a gap in the literature by offering mental health practitioners the information needed to understand why and how to use this intervention effectively. The contributors offer advice for choosing the most useful games from the more than 700 now available and describe the fundamentals of administering the games. This important updated book: Contains material on the recent advances in the field including information on electronic games and disorder-specific games Includes illustrative case studies that explore the process of game therapy Reviews the basics of the underlying principles and applications of game therapy Offers a wide-range of games with empirical evidence of the effectiveness of game therapy Written for psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health clinicians, the revised third edition of Game Play Therapy offers a guide that shows how to apply game therapy techniques to promote socialization, encourage the development of identity and self-esteem, and help individuals master anxiety.

Game Play

Game Play
Author: Paul Booth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2015-04-23
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1628927429

The 21st century has seen a board game renaissance. At a time when streaming television finds millions of viewers, video games garner billions of dollars, and social media grows ever more intense, little has been written about the rising popularity of board games. And yet board games are one of our fastest growing hobbies, with sales increasing every year. Today's board games are more than just your average rainy-day mainstay. Once associated solely with geek subcultures, complex and strategic board games are increasingly dominating the playful media environment. The popularity of these complex board games mirrors the rise of more complex cult media products. In Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games, Paul Booth examines complex board games based on book, TV, and film franchises, including Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, The Hunger Games and the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. How does a game represent a cult world? How can narratives cross media platforms? By investigating the relationship between these media products and their board game versions, Booth illustrates the connections between cult media, gameplay, and narrative in a digital media environment.

Bulletin

Bulletin
Author: Philippines. Bureau of Education
Publisher:
Total Pages: 112
Release: 1911
Genre: Education
ISBN:

The New Game of Life and How to Play It

The New Game of Life and How to Play It
Author: Florence Scovel Shinn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2012-09-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1582703744

Presents a modern interpretation of Florence Scovel Shinn's text on prosperity and fulfillment.

Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play

Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play
Author: David G. Embrick
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2012-03-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0739138626

While many books and articles are emerging on the new area of game studies and the application of computer games to learning, therapeutic, military and entertainment environments, few have attempted to contextualize the importance of virtual play within a broader social, cultural and political environment that raises the question of the significance of work, play, power and inequalities in the modern world. Many studies tend to concentrate on the content of virtual games, but few have questioned how power is produced or reproduced by publishers, gamers or even social media; how social exclusion (e.g., race, class, gender, etc.) in the virtual environments are reproduced from the real world; and how actors are able to use new media to transcend their fears, anxieties, prejudices and assumptions. The articles presented by the contributors in this volume represent cutting-edge research in the area of critical game play with the hope to draw attention to the need for more studies that are both sociological and critical.

Game Addiction

Game Addiction
Author: Neils Clark
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2009-06-08
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 0786453494

An eleven-year-old boy strangled an elderly woman for the equivalent of five dollars in 2007, then buried her body under a thin layer of sand. He told the police that he needed the money to play online videogames. Just a month later, an eight-year-old Norwegian boy saved his younger sister's life by threatening an attacking moose and then feigning death when the moose attacked him--skills he said he learned while playing World of Warcraft. As these two instances show, videogames affect the minds, bodies, and lives of millions of gamers, negatively and positively. This book approaches videogame addiction from a cross-disciplinary perspective, bridging the divide between liberal arts academics and clinical researchers. The topic of addiction is examined neutrally, using accepted research in neuroscience, media studies, and developmental psychology.