Seven games : a human history
(Book)
Author
Status
Adult Nonfiction - South Wing Main Floor
794 R622
1 available
794 R622
1 available
Description
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Adult Nonfiction - South Wing Main Floor | 794 R622 | On Shelf |
More Details
Format
Book
Physical Desc
306 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Language
English
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-296) and index.
Description
"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 behavioral design that make 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"--,Provided by publisher.
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Roeder, O. (2022). Seven games: a human history (First edition.). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc..
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Roeder, Oliver. 2022. Seven Games: A Human History. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Roeder, Oliver. Seven Games: A Human History W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2022.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Roeder, Oliver. Seven Games: A Human History First edition., W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2022.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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