From party games to legacy games, setting up to hosting a crowd, tabletop game expert Erik Arneson gives you the strategies you need to host an epic game night. Break out the chips and grab a drink! With enthusiasm for tabletop games at an all-time high and exciting new board games and card games hitting Kickstarter every week, game night is more popular than ever. But there’s more to the perfect game night than choosing between classics like Scrabble and Catan or introducing friends and family to games like Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Codenames. Tabletop gaming expert and experienced game night host Erik Arneson is here to help. Organizing his advice by group size, Arneson walks you through everything from selecting the right venue and snacks to managing a game library and bad attitudes, answering questions like: -How can I make the most of a small space? -Am I explaining the rules right? -What should I do if guests show up late? -How do I keep my dog from eating the pieces? -Do I have to invite Sean? Marrying the practicality of Emily Post with curated lists of games perfect for every occasion, Arneson’s humorous, down-to-earth approach will help readers everywhere navigate these fun and rewarding gatherings. Ideal for novice hosts and seasoned players alike, How to Host a Game Night is the perfect book for anyone wanting to up the ante on their hosting game.

Wall Street Journal bestseller! For anyone who wants to be heard at work, earn that overdue promotion, or win more clients, deals, and projects, the bestselling author of Captivate, Vanessa Van Edwards, shares her advanced guide to improving professional relationships through the power of cues. What makes someone charismatic? Why do some captivate a room, while others have trouble managing a small meeting? What makes some ideas spread, while other good ones fall by the wayside? If you have ever been interrupted in meetings, overlooked for career opportunities or had your ideas ignored, your cues may be the problem – and the solution. Cues – the tiny signals we send to others 24/7 through our body language, facial expressions, word choice, and vocal inflection – have a massive impact on how we, and our ideas, come across. Our cues can either enhance our message or undermine it. In this entertaining and accessible guide to the hidden language of cues, Vanessa Van Edwards teaches you how to convey power, trust, leadership, likeability, and charisma in every interaction. You’ll learn: • Which body language cues assert, “I’m a leader, and here’s why you should join me.” • Which vocal cues make you sound more confident • Which verbal cues to use in your résumé, branding, and emails to increase trust (and generate excitement about interacting with you.) • Which visual cues you are sending in your profile pictures, clothing, and professional brand. Whether you're pitching an investment, negotiating a job offer, or having a tough conversation with a colleague, cues can help you improve your relationships, express empathy, and create meaningful connections with lasting impact. This is an indispensable guide for entrepreneurs, team leaders, young professionals, and anyone who wants to be more influential.

A debut middle grade novel about throwing things out -- and letting people in. Family Game Night tackles a tough issue with a light, accessible touch and writing that sparkles with heart. Annabelle has a secret . . . a secret so big she won't allow friends within five miles of her home. Her mom collects things. Their house is overflowing with stuff. It gives Annabelle's sister nightmares, her brother spends as much time as he can at friends' houses, and her dad buries himself in his work.So when a stack of newspapers falls on Annabelle's sister, it sparks a catastrophic fight between their parents--one that might tear them all apart--and Annabelle starts to think that things at home finally need to change. Is it possible for her to clean up the family's mess? Or are they really, truly broken?Mary E. Lambert's moving and heart-breakingly funny debut novel about the things we hold dear--and the things we let go--will resonate with anyone whose life has ever felt just a little too messy.

Don't Be a Beardy Gamer "A very funny and useful read on its own, but it also makes a great gift for that sore loser in your life." --The New York Times "An indispensable, laugh-out-loud guide to the pitfalls and pleasures of gaming." ~Graham McNeill, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels author; former Games Workshop designer "For anyone looking to be a part of one of the greatest communities in the world!" ~Brittanie Boe, editor of GameWire "A warm, insightful guide for exploring one of geek culture's oldest realms." ~Aaron Dembski-Bowden, author of New York Times bestselling book The Horus Heresy: The First Heretic Whether you're new to the world of tabletop games or a veteran gamer, The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming is your go-to game-night etiquette guide. Expert gamer Teri Litorco, of the gaming site Geek and Sundry, helps you to get along as you play and make the most out of your time with your gamer group. Packed with insider advice and etiquette tips, this essential guide includes advice on everything from sharing crib sheets and meeples to avoiding drama and poor sportsmanship at the game table. With 100 gaming etiquette rules, The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming provides you and your group with all you need for a fun and respectful game night--without rage-quitters, bad losers, terrible winners, and Incredible Sulks!

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening. "Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."—Louise Penny "As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. . . . A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."—David Baldacci on The Long Call On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat. Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow. As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

An accessible guide to understanding and using Spoonflower to design your own fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap. Designing fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap used to be the stuff of dreams. Only a few select creatives got to do it, and it required formal training and significant financial investment. But times have changed, and today anyone with a computer, Internet connection, and idea can upload a file and order their own fabric or paper, printed affordably one yard or more at a time. At the forefront of this revolutionary DIY movement is Spoonflower, a North Carolina startup that produces designs for hundreds of thousands of users worldwide—twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week to keep up with demand. With step-by-step tutorials and projects that span a wide spectrum of skills, The Spoonflower Handbook is written for both new and experienced users of this print-on-demand technology. Covering everything from equipment to software to working with photos, scans, repeats, vector files, and more, it is an essential guide to a booming new creative outlet.

"Hosts of all kinds, this is a must-read!" --Chris Anderson, owner and curator of TED From the host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart, an exciting new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together—at home, at work, in our communities, and beyond. In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play. Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn't, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings--conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp--and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of exciting ideas with real-world applications. The Art of Gathering will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue--and how you host and attend them.