Seven Main Games in Human History: Checkers, Chess, Go, Backgammon, Scrabble, Poker, Bridge

The book discusses seven games: checkers, which are often viewed as a children's game that veils their mesmerizing depth; chess — a classic and widely popular military-strategic game; go — a refined and complex Eastern game of territory; backgammon —... the best and most ruthless game that uses dice; poker — the most popular card game in our age; scrabble — a classic word game; bridge — the pinnacle of strategic card games. Each of them has its own unique character. The author seeks answers to two key questions: “What is a game?” and “Why do we play?”. He describes the history of the emergence of games, narrates about outstanding players and specific matches, and shows how the advent of computers has changed the nature of play.