The book traces the history of the Game of the Goose from its medieval roots and celebrates its continuing cultural legacy as the chief model for race games played with dice in the modern era.

"Numerous illustrations in color and black and white. Preface by former Grolier Club president William H. Helfand and introductory essays by Adrian Seville, followed by a catalogue of 71 games on show at the Club, February 24-May 14, 2016. Includes bibliography and index. "The Royal Game of the Goose" dates from medieval times. It is the simplest of games: throw the dice to race to the end of the spiral track. No choice of move, no demonstration of skill. Yet this game has spawned thousands of variants, has influenced early American board games, and is still going strong in Europe. The exhibition, based on Adrian Seville's collection in London, brings together 70 of these remarkable games. They are not primarily aimed at children, though some are educational, including the finely-printed games for the aristocratic cadets of 17th and 18th century France. Others are definitely for adults, including a polemical game on a religious heresy that still has power to shock by its imagery. Here too are games for politics, advertising - and just sheer family fun. One group of Goose Games shows how America was viewed from across the pond, including a 17th century game that depicts unique images of Native Americans. And, at the end of the 19th century, Jules Verne published a novel which describes a fantastical Goose Game in which the players travel across America to win a legacy from a Chicago millionaire. The final section invites you to try your luck in progressing from Errand Boy to "respected Banker and a good citizen." -- description from Oak Knoll Books.

Taking into account the destructive powers of globalization, Making Worlds considers the interconnectedness of the world in the early modern period. This collection examines the interdisciplinary phenomenon of making worlds, with essays from scholars of history, literary studies, theatre and performance, art history, and anthropology. The volume advances questions about the history of globalization by focusing on how the expansion of global transit offered possibilities for interactions that included the testing of local identities through inventive experimentation with new and various forms of culture. Case studies show how the imposition of European economic, religious, political, and military models on other parts of the world unleashed unprecedented forces of invention as institutionalized powers came up against the creativity of peoples, cultural practices, materials, and techniques of making. In doing so, Making Worlds offers an important rethinking of how early globalization inconsistently generated ongoing dynamics of making, unmaking, and remaking worlds.

A striking analysis of popular board games’ roots in imperialist reasoning—and why the future of play depends on reckoning with it. Board games conjure up images of innocuously enriching entertainment: family game nights, childhood pastimes, cooperative board games centered around resource management and strategic play. Yet in Playing Oppression, Mary Flanagan and Mikael Jakobsson apply the incisive frameworks of postcolonial theory to a broad historical survey of board games to show how these seemingly benign entertainments reinforce the logic of imperialism. Through this lens, the commercialized version of Snakes and Ladders takes shape as the British Empire’s distortion of Gyan Chaupar (an Indian game of spiritual knowledge), and early twentieth-century “trading games” that fêted French colonialism are exposed for how they conveniently sanitized its brutality while also relying on crudely racist imagery. These games’ most explicitly abhorrent features may no longer be visible, but their legacy still lingers in the contemporary Eurogame tendency to exalt (and incentivize) cycles of exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination. An essential addition to any player’s bookshelf, Playing Oppression deftly analyzes this insidious violence and proposes a path forward with board games that challenge colonialist thinking and embrace a much broader cultural imagination.

This is the first serious book wholly devoted to games based on maps. The authors are experts in their respective fields: board games, playing cards and dissected puzzles. They bring an informed historical approach to the development and diffusion of these games up to about the beginning of the twentieth century, including games from Western Europe and America in all their intriguing variety. This book is an essential reference source for those wishing to research this neglected area, while those new to the field will be pleasantly surprised at the interesting and unusual maps that these games exploit.

Discover and Delight in Old-Fashioned Board Games from the Past Discover the world of old-fashioned board games from Wall Street Journal acclaimed Adrian Seville, an international expert on the cultural history of printed board games. The golden age of board games. Explore the world of vintage board games in this lavishly illustrated book that traces their evolution and cultural significance. From geography and moral lessons to just fun, discover the diverse array of old-fashioned board games from a bygone era. Step back in time. Delve into a bygone era of gaming with this remarkable illustrated board game book. It showcases the exquisite artistry and ingenuity of these games, which covered themes ranging from educational to gambling to simply pure entertainment. Learn all about the moral board games that aimed to instill proper behavior or immerse yourself in the excitement of lottery board games, all while gaining insights into the cultural influences that shaped these games. The Book of Vintage Board Games offers a glimpse into where games started in Europe and the emergence of board games in America. Inside explore: The history of geography board games and more Distant lands through war or journey board games A treasure trove of beautifully designed boards each reflecting its unique historical context If you enjoyed board game books such as Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, Oxford History of Board Games, or Seven Games: A Human History, then you will love Adrian Seville’s The Book of Vintage Board Games.

This open access book focuses on how and why digital games and gambling are increasingly intertwined and asks “does this matter?” Looking at how “loot boxes” became the poster child for the convergence of gambling and gaming, Wardle traces how we got here. She argues that the intersection between gambling and gaming cultures has a long lineage, one that can be traced back throughout the 20th century but also incorporates more recent trends like the poker boom of the 1990s, the development of social media gambling products and the development of skin betting markets. Underpinned by changing technology, which facilitated new ways to bet, trade and play, the intersection between gaming and gambling cultures and products has accelerated within the last decade – and shows little signs of stopping. Wardle explores what this means for our understanding of risk, how gaming and gambling entities use each other for commercial advantage, and crucially explores what young people think of this, before making recommendations for action.