Oxford History of Board Games

Rating:
Summary: A must buy for anyone interested in games!
Review: "The Oxford History of Board Games", the latest book from British writer and games expert David Parlett, is a magnificent overview of the development of games over the millenia. Such a book is long overdue - the previous similar work was H.J.R. Murray's "A History of Board-Games", published back in 1952. Parlett however has the distinct advantage of another half a century of research, and this shows: His book even includes and discusses (not to say dissects) the Roman board game recently excavated by archeologists in Colchester, and rounds off with a chapter on modern board game design: Risk, Monopoly, Diplomacy, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and a host of others are to be found right there. Parlett is thus able to correct a number of the mistakes made by Murray, and adds considerably to the store of knowledge in the field of games. Parlett also in his book divides the games by a very logical classification, and tells about the historical development of each in turn. This book is in short a long-overdue milestone, and an absolute must for anyone with the slightest interest in games. Despite the thoroughness with which Parlett treats the subject, the writing is lucid, sprinkled with interesting cultural references and topped with occasional flashes of dry British humour. I cannot recommend it highly enough - and as a collector of books on games, with 1100 titles on my shelves, I should know. - Dan Glimne

Rating:
Summary: Why it looks out of date.
Review: Although this book was published in 1999, it was started in 1991 and completed in 1996. This explains why it contains no mention of any games published in the nineties.

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Resorce.
Review: David Parlet should be commended for his clarity and organization. The History of Board Games is an amazing resorce for anyone who is interested in the evolution, origin and history of games like chess, checkers, tafl, backgamon, fanorona, nyout, seega, alquerque, nine mans morris and many many other games.

Rating:
Summary: Great new book on games!
Review: David Parlett has writen a magnificent book on the history of board games world wide. The book is well organized, clearly written and complete. It takes it's place along side the great work on games and game collecting, and is a "must have" for any game lover. It is hard to imagine a work more thoroughly or more loving prepared and it is clear that Mr. Parlett is one of the foremost experts on this subject. Each chapter is devoted to a subset of game type, there are dozens of charts ranging from "probability curves for binary lots" (two sided dice) to the "quantity of letters in Scrabble." 26 different Chess variants are presented with diagrams of the pieces and their boards, as well as board games from cultures ranging from the Aztecs to the Zuni and everyone in between. The only disappointment in this otherwise outstanding work is the lack of a complete bibliography on game study. But the book is meticulously footnoted and sources are listed at the end of each chapter. I have already made several of the games that Mr. Parlett had described in his book, to the enjoyment of my family and friends. This is not an "How To" book the strictest sense, but an invaluable tool for anyone interested in the subject of board games and their history.