Thirty-nine essays explore the vast diversity of video game history and culture across all the world's continents. Video games have become a global industry, and their history spans dozens of national industries where foreign imports compete with domestic productions, legitimate industry contends with piracy, and national identity faces the global marketplace. This volume describes video game history and culture across every continent, with essays covering areas as disparate and far-flung as Argentina and Thailand, Hungary and Indonesia, Iran and Ireland. Most of the essays are written by natives of the countries they discuss, many of them game designers and founders of game companies, offering distinctively firsthand perspectives. Some of these national histories appear for the first time in English, and some for the first time in any language. Readers will learn, for example, about the rapid growth of mobile games in Africa; how a meat-packing company held the rights to import the Atari VCS 2600 into Mexico; and how the Indonesian MMORPG Nusantara Online reflects that country's cultural history and folklore. Every country or region's unique conditions provide the context that shapes its national industry; for example, the long history of computer science in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, the problems of piracy in China, the PC Bangs of South Korea, or the Dutch industry's emphasis on serious games. As these essays demonstrate, local innovation and diversification thrive alongside productions and corporations with global aspirations. Africa • Arab World • Argentina • Australia • Austria • Brazil • Canada • China • Colombia • Czech Republic • Finland • France • Germany • Hong Kong • Hungary • India • Indonesia • Iran • Ireland • Italy • Japan • Mexico • The Netherlands • New Zealand • Peru • Poland • Portugal • Russia • Scandinavia • Singapore • South Korea • Spain • Switzerland • Thailand • Turkey • United Kingdom • United States of America • Uruguay • Venezuela

Describes the games that children play in different countries of the world, including the Excited Burro in Cuba and dreidel in Israel.

A leading inventor and collector of games, Sid Sackson is also an expert on game history. For this highly entertaining volume, the self-proclaimed "game addict" has selected over 60 popular games from around the world. A brief but fascinating introductory chapter to the history of card playing is followed by a valuable glossary of terms associated with this popular pastime. Additional chapters supply instructions, detailed illustrations, and an abundance of clear examples for playing such intriguing diversions as Sampen, Kowah, Kabu, Cha Kau Tsz' and Khanhoo from Asia; Skat, Blackjack, Old Maid, Fan Tan, Eights, Klondike, La Belle Loucie, Accordion, and Hearts from Europe; Whist, Blackout, Cribbage, Spoil Five, and Casino from the British Isles; Pif Paf, Samba, Bolivia, and Canasta from Latin America; and Poker, Pinochle, Contract Bridge, Rummy, and Oklahoma Gin from the United States. Most games can be played by children or adults with a common deck of 52 playing cards (a few will need additional cards from a second deck).

Discover countries, cultures, and traditions in this new series! Every day, all around the world, kids go to school, eat lunch and play games... And yet, these universal experiences, can look very different between different countries. These books will take our readers on a trip around the globe to celebrate diverse cultures and traditions, and will show us how different (and how similar) we all are!

Tells how to play more than one hundred games that are played by children throughout the world, ranging from board games and jacks to jumping and hand games.

It may seem obvious to adults, but many young readers don't yet know that all cultures have the same kinds of activities. We all cook, we all entertain ourselves, we all wear things, we all transport ourselves, we all sleep, and much more. This important book allows readers to journey around the world and cultivate an early interest in the global community they belong to by understanding how people from elsewhere contribute their time, skills, and effort to their work. Full-color photography enhances comprehension on every spread.

Thirty-nine essays explore the vast diversity of video game history and culture across all the world's continents. Video games have become a global industry, and their history spans dozens of national industries where foreign imports compete with domestic productions, legitimate industry contends with piracy, and national identity faces the global marketplace. This volume describes video game history and culture across every continent, with essays covering areas as disparate and far-flung as Argentina and Thailand, Hungary and Indonesia, Iran and Ireland. Most of the essays are written by natives of the countries they discuss, many of them game designers and founders of game companies, offering distinctively firsthand perspectives. Some of these national histories appear for the first time in English, and some for the first time in any language. Readers will learn, for example, about the rapid growth of mobile games in Africa; how a meat-packing company held the rights to import the Atari VCS 2600 into Mexico; and how the Indonesian MMORPG Nusantara Online reflects that country's cultural history and folklore. Every country or region's unique conditions provide the context that shapes its national industry; for example, the long history of computer science in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, the problems of piracy in China, the PC Bangs of South Korea, or the Dutch industry's emphasis on serious games. As these essays demonstrate, local innovation and diversification thrive alongside productions and corporations with global aspirations. Africa • Arab World • Argentina • Australia • Austria • Brazil • Canada • China • Colombia • Czech Republic • Finland • France • Germany • Hong Kong • Hungary • India • Indonesia • Iran • Ireland • Italy • Japan • Mexico • The Netherlands • New Zealand • Peru • Poland • Portugal • Russia • Scandinavia • Singapore • South Korea • Spain • Switzerland • Thailand • Turkey • United Kingdom • United States of America • Uruguay • Venezuela

With hundreds of books dedicated to conventional sports and activities, this encyclopedia on the weirdest and wackiest games offers a fresh and entertaining read for any audience. Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: From Buzkashi to Zorbing focuses on what many would consider abnormal activities from across the globe. Spanning subjects that include individual games, team sports, games for men and women, and contests involving animal competitors, there is something for every reader. Whether researching a particular country or region's traditions or wanting an interesting read for pleasure, this book offers an array of uses and benefits. Though the book focuses on games and sporting activities, the examination of these topics gives readers insight into unfamiliar places and peoples through their recreation—an essential part of the human experience that occurs in all cultures. Such activities are not only embedded in everyday life but also indelibly interconnected with social customs, war, politics, commerce, education, and national identity, making the whimsical topic of the book an appealing gateway to insightful, highly relevant information.

Describes various games played by children in countries around the world, describing the places where the games are played and the directions and equipment needed for each game.

A “fun” and “unexpected” (The Economist) global tour of the world’s greatest games and the mathematics that underlies them Where should you move first in Connect 4? What is the best property in Monopoly? And how can pi help you win rock paper scissors? Spanning millennia, oceans and continents, countries and cultures, Around the World in Eighty Games gleefully explores how mathematics and games have always been deeply intertwined. Renowned mathematician Marcus du Sautoy investigates how games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world, how understanding math can help us play games better, and how both math and games are integral to human psychology and culture. For as long as there have been people, there have been games, and for nearly as long, we have been exploring and discovering mathematics. A grand adventure, Around the World in Eighty Games teaches us not just how games are won, but how they, and their math, shape who we are.