Seven Games: A Human History

This book is authored by Oliver Roeder and examines seven games that fascinate millions worldwide: checkers, backgammon, chess, Go, poker, Scrabble, and bridge. The volume charts their origins and historical importance, the arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable.

The content introduces thrilling competitors such as evangelical minister Marion Tinsley, who across forty years lost only three games of checkers, and Shusai, the Master, the last Go champion of imperial Japan. The book delves into the history and lore of each game, from backgammon boards in ancient Egypt to the Indian origins of chess. The aim is to explore why games, seemingly trivial pastimes, have endured and thrived at the apex of human experience.