The Oxford History of Board GamesFor thousands of years, people have been planning attacks, captures, chases, and conquests - on a variety of different boards designed for an astonishing diversity of games. Today the compelling mix of strategy, skill, and chance is as strong as ever; new board games are invented almost daily,while the perennial favourites continue to attract new devotees and reveal new possibilities.The Oxford History of Board Games investigates the principles of board games throughout the ages and across the world, exploring the fascinating similarities and differences that give each its unique appeal, and drawing out the significance of game-playing as a central part of human experience - asvital to a culture as its music, dance, and tales. Beautifully illustrated and with diagrams to show the finer points of the games, this is a fascinating and accessible guide to a richly rewarding subject.In his trade-mark accessible, entertaining style, David Parlett looks at the different families of games: games based on configuration or connection, races or chases, wars or hunts, capture or blockade. He focuses mainly on traditional games, the folk entertainments that have grown up organicallythrough the centuries, and which exhibit endless local variations, although he discusses also the commercial products that have tried, with varying degrees of success, to match their astonishing popularity.This is not primarily a how-to book, although the rules and strategies of certain games are discussed in detail, neither does it offer sure-fire tips for success, although with a fuller understanding of a game the reader will undoubtedly become a better-informed, if not better, player. Rather, itis an affectionate and authoritative survey of one of the most familiar parts of our cultural history, which has until now been inexplicably neglected. |
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Page 12
Chase games This group covers more than Murray's ' hunt games ' . These he defines as played on a war - game board ( such as a chessboard ) between two players , of whom one has many pieces and the other only one or two , and never more ...
Chase games This group covers more than Murray's ' hunt games ' . These he defines as played on a war - game board ( such as a chessboard ) between two players , of whom one has many pieces and the other only one or two , and never more ...
Page 130
Murray , History of Board Games , 39 , quoting correspondence from W. Cubbon in The Times . 9. Ibid . 41 . 10. G. E. Dartnell , Notes & Queries , 8th ser . 12. 333 . 11. Murray , History of Board Games , 44 , gives a list ...
Murray , History of Board Games , 39 , quoting correspondence from W. Cubbon in The Times . 9. Ibid . 41 . 10. G. E. Dartnell , Notes & Queries , 8th ser . 12. 333 . 11. Murray , History of Board Games , 44 , gives a list ...
Page 307
Based on Murray's translation of Salemann's German translation . 3. ... From Patanjali's commentary on Paninin's grammar , the Mahābhāshya ( Murray , 33 ) . 8. H. Holländer , ' Thesen zur Früh- und Vorgeschichte des Schachspiels ' ...
Based on Murray's translation of Salemann's German translation . 3. ... From Patanjali's commentary on Paninin's grammar , the Mahābhāshya ( Murray , 33 ) . 8. H. Holländer , ' Thesen zur Früh- und Vorgeschichte des Schachspiels ' ...
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - JonathanGorman - LibraryThingA little dry at times, but a good read if you're interested in board games. (I have to say, I might advise skipping right past the chapters on racing and chase games. Some interesting things there ... Read full review
The Oxford history of board games
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictThis book by Parlett (A Dictionary of Card Games, Oxford Univ., 1992) is a superb work that succeeds in defining board games from their ancient inception to the present day. The most basic games were ... Read full review
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