Seven games : a human history / Oliver Roeder.

By:

Roeder, Oliver

Publisher: New York, N.Y. : W.W. Norton & Company, [2022]Edition: First editionDescription: 306 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781324003779

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

GV1312 .R643 2022

Contents:

Prologue -- Introduction -- Checkers -- Chess -- Go -- Backgammon -- Poker -- Scrabble -- Bridge -- Epilogue.

Summary: "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. 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.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Shelving location	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	NMC Library	Stacks	GV1312 .R643 2022 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		33039001501120

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Previous	GV1233 .P37 1990 The Oxford guide to card games /	GV1250.2 .K66 K6 2020 The biggest bluff : how I learned to pay attention, master the odds, and win /	GV1312 .D66 2017 It's all a game : the history of board games from Monopoly to settlers of Catan /	GV1312 .R643 2022 Seven games : a human history /	GV1438 .C85 2020 Chess rivals of the 19th century : with 300 annotated games /	GV1439 .M87 C76 2012 The queen of Katwe : a story of life, chess, and one extraordinary girl's dream of becoming a grandmaster /	GV1445 .H63 Chess traps, pitfalls, and swindles /	Next

Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-296) and index.

Prologue -- Introduction -- Checkers -- Chess -- Go -- Backgammon -- Poker -- Scrabble -- Bridge -- Epilogue.

"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. 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.