This was a nice little book that surveys 8,000 years of table top gaming from Ancient Egyptian Senet and Indian Snakes and Ladders, right up to the advent of role-playing games (such as D & D), fantasy, and the hybrid games of today. Livingstone chronicles the history of table top gaming through the use and discovery of certain materials ( wood and stone, paper and print, cardboard, plastic, etc.) as well as various game mechanics.


Overall, a great introduction to the history of board games.
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Full of the history of games, and actually kind of interesting.

I am not a winter person at all. I find a book, a cup of tea and a comfy chair is a great way to stay cozy. The other thing we do at our house is regularly play games - card games, dice games, board games and more. So, Board Games in 100 Moves: 8000 Years of Play definitely caught my eye!

There's a great introduction from Ian Livingstone on the history and importance of games and how games and culture are interwoven. Right at the front of the book is a timeline of the 100 games that are featured in this book, each with a colour image.

The first entry is 3100 BCE! Did you know Backgammon is 500 CE and Chess is 600 CE!? I was fascinated to see how long many of the games have been in existence. And how the rules for each are available. Hands up if you had marathon Monopoly games with your family and friends. Invented in 1935. I still have my childhood set. Scrabble - 1938 - and again, I play it regularly still. Oh, so many more faves and memories - Clue, Candy Land, Yahtzee and the list goes on.

The book has been divided into categories based on the materials used to make the game - Wood and Stone, Paper and Print, Cardboard, Plastic, Imagination and The Future. Within those chapters you'll find details on other games and how they came to be. Mousetrap? Twister?

Board Games in 100 Moves makes for fascinating reading. It's well written and researched. Livingstone makes his living in the game industry, so although is it factual, Livingstone's personal thoughts and biases do pop up.

I appreciated that actual images of the games - boards, boxes etc. were included. The book is well made and sturdy. This is a fun book to browse. ( )