Eric Martin
Canada
Kitchener
Ontario
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(This little review appeared first at http://deathofmonopoly.blogspot.com.)
There are many books on the market that contain games but most just have the standards: card games, chess, checkers, etc. However, in the late 60's, prolific game designer Sid Sackson put out a book called 'A Gamut of Games'. Sackson is the inventor of, amongst others, the brilliant Acquire and is the father of modern boardgaming in my mind.
'Gamut' is a treasure trove, let me tell you. 38 original and fascinating games selected from his various gaming groups, 22 of which he invented himself. The book includes his classic abstract Focus before it was published and Soucie's brilliant Lines of Action (a personal favourite). As well, there is a precursor to Das Super-Blatt playable with a deck of cards and a game, Property, which plays a bit like Monopoly and Acquire's love-child.
Added to all this is a fascinating amount of game lore and some discussion as to how the games were developed. This is gold for someone like myself who is interested in one day producing and publishing his own game. Check it out if you can find it, if only because you'll get at least 20 great games for under $15. Sid, you are missed...
(Oh yeah, and some say Sid owned over 18,000 different board games. Awesome.)
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Huzonfirst
United States
Manassas
Virginia
San Antonio, OKC, Miami, and Boston..who will win out?
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This is easily the greatest book ever written about boardgames. A lot of the games are really good, but just as great are the little insights and introductions Sackson wrote. They're quite entertaining and give you just a tiny glimpse into the mind of a world-class designer. I first got this book 40 years ago and can't imagine being without it.
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Donald Cleary
United States
Bellingham
Washington
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I've been hoping to find this in a local used bookstore, but no such luck. Doesn't anyone want to sell their copy for under $10?
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Joe Huber
Westborough
Massachusetts
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Larry Levy wrote: This is easily the greatest book ever written about boardgames.
Interesting assertion, Larry.
Gamut of Games is definitely a must-read, and a brilliant tome. But the very greatest?
Maybe - I'll grant you that it's the greatest of its type, but I, for one, found The Game Makers by Philip Orbanes to be a better read. It certainly doesn't present rules for games, as Gamut of Games does, but there's an incredible amount of history in there, well presented.
For reviewing a wide variety of games - both mass market and those from smaller publishers - it's hard to beat A Player's Guide to Table Games by John Jackson. It's dated - but so is A Gamut of Games - in what games it covers, but there's far more depth of coverage than in Sackson's work.
I think that overall I have to go with The Game Makers, followed by A Gamut of Games, then A Player's Guide. They're all excellent in their own way, though.
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Edward Jamer
Canada
Fredericton
NB
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Opinions will vary because it really depends on what you want to take from a book about games, but I agree that A Gamut of Games is probably the single best collection of games you can possibly get. It has the rules and ideas for many different game, most of which are still worth playing. The little asides and introductions from Sackson only add value to this tremendous package.
My other personal favorite book is New Rules for Classic Games. I haven't taken as many ideas from it into my gaming sessions, but the discussion about how and why you might add new rules is very interesting. Great for tinkerers, anyone who has a weak spot for house rules and variants, or those people who just want some extra mileage out of old games lying around the house.
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Huzonfirst
United States
Manassas
Virginia
San Antonio, OKC, Miami, and Boston..who will win out?
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I've read The Game Makers, Joe, and it was pretty good, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as AGoG. I actually prefer another Orbanes book, "Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game - And How it Got That Way" to The Game Makers. And Schmittberger's New Rules for Classic Games is also excellent. But Gamut is the one that stands out for me. Part of that is that I read it at an impressionable age (13), at a time when there was NO literature on games outside of Hoyle. But I also think it's the best known gaming book there is and the most influential. That, combined with its quality, makes it an easy choice, both personally and, IMO, for the gaming world at large.
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Joe Huber
Westborough
Massachusetts
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Oh, I enjoy Orbanes book on Monopoly as well - but it doesn't stand out for me the way The Game Makers does.
Ah, well - I understand the conclusion of AGoG; I just found the assertion interesting; it's easy to defend, even though I personally reach a different conclusion.
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Tomello Visello
United States
Reston
Virginia
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e9martin wrote: The book includes his classic abstract Focus before it was published May I quibble? Gamut of Games - copyright 1969
The Whitman publication of Focus shows both 1965 and 1963 on the rules sheet (BGG entry currently declares 1964).
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Tomello Visello
United States
Reston
Virginia
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BigD145 wrote: I've been hoping to find this in a local used bookstore, but no such luck. Doesn't anyone want to sell their copy for under $10? I took a mere moment to search an internet site just now and found copies near that price.
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Edward Jamer
Canada
Fredericton
NB
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TVis wrote: BigD145 wrote: I've been hoping to find this in a local used bookstore, but no such luck. Doesn't anyone want to sell their copy for under $10? I took a mere moment to search an internet site just now and found copies near that price.
Same here - for example, www.abebooks.com has several copies for under $15 delivered. This is especially interesting when you see that Troll and Toad is (at the time of writing) buying the book for almost $26 according to the add above.
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Was George Orwell an Optimist?
United States
Corvallis
Oregon
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huber wrote: Gamut of Games is definitely a must-read, and a brilliant tome. But the very greatest?
Definitely subjective, but I might agree it is the best.The other one I'd rank in the same class is H.G. Wells' Little Wars. That and the superb series by Donald Featherstone had a lot to do with my love for wargames.
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