This book is meant to be played. A person who plays with mathematics is like a bird who enjoys flying. The ability to think mathematically is a gift only humans have. Don't leave this gift of evolution unwrapped. Take it out. Play with it.

I prefer games that require only pencil and paper, although some require a little more... (You don't even need real dice; just type "roll the dice" into your browser.)

You'll find a selection of timeless games that require logic, strategy, and spatial thinking. They are divided into five categories: "Geometric Games," "Number Games," "Combinatory Games," "Risk Games," and "Information Games."

The author explains the origins of each game, shows how it reveals human abilities, describes similar and related games, and invites the reader to try and explore them.

This book is a survey of the kind of fun that only humans know: games, or fun that involves rules. For this book, I have selected games where simple, elegant rules are the key to sophisticated and tricky fun.