If I could read this over again for a first time I would. Riveting and keeps you sucked in the whole time. Absolutely love this authors writing. I will be looking for more from her.

Donovan explores board games from ancient Egypt (senet) and Ur (the royal game of Ur) up to the biggies of the 21st century (Pandemic, Catan, and Ticket to Ride). He describes some less than ethical dealings by the big US game companies, but seems to downplay them. Trying to play nice, maybe? His chapter on Monopoly portrays the execs of Parker Brothers as being unfortunately duped instead of deliberately squashing The Landlord Game and its creator, Elizabeth Magie. It’s All a Game even touches on Google’s AlphaGo defeat of a (human) grand master go player, one of the big steps in AI development.

Mary Kenney is a video game developer writing to encourage girls and women to bring their talents to her industry. She addresses Gamergate and her own experience with misogyny in gaming early on. The women included go back to Mabel Addis Mergardt who designed a game for an IBM educational program in 1963. Kenney’s message is clear: women have been integral to the video game industry from day 1. The only thing I dislike about this book is the order. The short bios seem arranged in whatever order Kenney thought of the women to include. Maybe chronologically would have made more sense.

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

I will for sure read this book again. I received it as a birthday gift because of my love of hockey smut and was completely engulfed while reading. Sleep was lost but pages needed to be read.

This book had my sons begging for the next volume! Shipping took forever, but was definitely worth the wait. Both of my sons enjoyed this volume and look forward to the next.

Love the book great storyline

If I could read this over again for a first time I would. Riveting and keeps you sucked in the whole time. Absolutely love this authors writing. I will be looking for more from her.

An intimate charity auction on a secluded estate. A storm. A murder. It’s straight out of a Christie novel — or the multiplayer game, Murderscape, designed by Addie. Addie is her grandmother’s plus one to the party. There’s something odd with her grandmother, beyond the murder, but Addie is living her Nancy Drew dream chasing clues and interviewing suspects. This Is Not a Game is fun fluff at times, annoying fluff at others. I’m pretty sure the author has never lost electricity due to a storm. She definitely overestimates how much one candle can light up a large room in a blackout.

I forgot how sad this book was and happy at the same time so many memories glad I choose for my classic book