Bibliograph

Seven games, a human history, Oliver Roeder

Type

Label

Seven games, a human history, Oliver Roeder

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-296) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Seven games

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1291396703

Responsibility statement

Oliver Roeder

Sub title

a human history

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

Table Of Contents

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

Classification

Creator