{"product_id":"9781324051022","title":"Seven Games: A Human History","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e Editors’ Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Beguiling, mesmerizing, and utterly charming.\" —Stefan Fatsis, author of \u003cem\u003eWord Freak\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA group biography of seven enduring and beloved games, and the story of why—and how—we play them.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCheckers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In \u003cem\u003eSeven Games\u003c\/em\u003e, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoeder 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout, 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, \u003cem\u003eSeven Games\u003c\/em\u003e is a story of obsession, psychology, history, and how play makes us human.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Norton, W. W. \u0026 Company, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42370787311677,"sku":"9781324051022","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781324051022_p0.jpg?v=1771567867","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9781324051022","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}