"But Mom, it's just a game." Meet Jasper! A young boy who is totally absorbed with playing video games... "With my game controller in my hands, I'm the boss of my whole world! I can be who I want and do as I please. I can get the highest score. I get all the chances that I need. If I make a mistake it's ok. Everyone thinks I'm 'it on a stick!' And the bad stuff all goes away." Video game addiction is on the rise, but it can be prevented. This creative story book teaches both kids and adults how to switch out their game controller for a "life controller." Video gaming is becoming a part of our culture, and we must be strategic in creating a healthy gaming balance.

A group biography of seven enduring and beloved games, and the story of why—and how—we play them. Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable. Roeder introduces thrilling competitors, such as evangelical minister Marion Tinsley, who across forty years lost only three games of checkers; Shusai, the Master, the last Go champion of imperial Japan, defending tradition against “modern rationalism”; and an IBM engineer who created a backgammon program so capable at self-learning that NASA used it on the space shuttle. He delves into the history and lore of each game: backgammon boards in ancient Egypt, the Indian origins of chess, how certain shells from a particular beach in Japan make the finest white Go stones. Beyond the cultural and personal stories, Roeder explores why games, seemingly trivial pastimes, speak so deeply to the human soul. He introduces an early philosopher of games, the aptly named Bernard Suits, and visits an Oxford cosmologist who has perfected a computer that can effectively play bridge, a game as complicated as human language itself. Throughout, Roeder tells the compelling story of how humans, pursuing scientific glory and competitive advantage, have invented AI programs better than any human player, and what that means for the games—and for us. Funny, fascinating, and profound, Seven Games is a story of obsession, psychology, history, and how play makes us human.

A soccer team learns that sports should be played not only to win, but to have fun.

Jesse Rigsby hates video games—and for good reason. You see, a video game character is trying to kill him. After getting sucked in the new game Full Blast with his friend Eric, Jesse starts to see the appeal of vaporizing man-size praying mantis while cruising around by jet pack. But pretty soon, a mysterious figure begins following Eric and Jesse, and they discover they can't leave the game. If they don't figure out what's going on fast, they'll be trapped for good! With black-and-white illustrations throughout and a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter, this is a great series for kids who think they don’t like to read!

America's national pastime has been marked from its inception by bitter struggles between owners and players over profit, power, and prestige. In this book, the first installment of a highly readable, comprehensive labor history of baseball, Robert Burk d

“[A] timely book . . . a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history.” —The Wall Street Journal Board games have been with us even longer than the written word. But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification? In It’s All a Game, Tristan Donovan, British journalist and author of Replay: The History of Video Games, opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games—from chess to Monopoly to Risk and more—have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations. “Splendid . . . A quick and breezy read, it doesn’t just tell the fascinating stories of the (often struggling) individuals who created our favorite games. It also manages to convey the entire sweep of board game history, from the earliest forms of checkers to modern-day surprise hits like Settlers of Catan.” —Mashable “Artfully weaves together culture, business, and ways games impact society.” —Booklist “A fascinating and insightful discussion not only of games past, but the socioeconomic and historical factors that contributed to their popularity.” —Chicago Review of Books

In place of a 3rd printing of his original book, Youth, Sports, & Self-Esteem: A Guide for Parents, Dr. Darrell Burnett, a published authority on parenting, decided to revise his popular book, adding some sportsmanship checklists, and changing the title to It's Just a Game! to reflect the importance of keeping youth sports in the proper perspective. While discussing the psychology of youth sports, Dr. Burnett not only points out how sports can strengthen a child's self-esteem, he offers specific practical positive parenting guidelines to help make it happen. Topics include: •The four cornerstones of self-esteem •12 guidelines for promoting children's self-esteem through youth sports •Case examples, photos, cartoons, references •Skill, behavior, and sportsmanship checklists •A Parent Attitude & Behavior Checklist for youth sports •A list of 86 Ways To Say "Very Good!" The book's theme is straightforward: kids have enough pressure in life, and youth sports should not add to it. Youth sports can and should promote self-esteem, offering every youngster an opportunity to enjoy the simple fun of participating in sports, while learning skills, feeling good, and building positive childhood memories. Dr. Burnett's book gives parents a blueprint for building those memories.

Meet the people that kindle the flame of baseball as Americas pastime in Its Just a Game.

This book contains some of the funniest comments ever made about golf, as well as some wonderfully clever golf cartoons. There's a smile on every page. This book contains some of the funniest comments ever made about golf by Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Harvey Penick, Bob Hope, Buddy Hackett, Lewis Grizzard, Gerald Ford, and others. You'll also find wonderfully clever cartoons. There's a smile on every page. Sample Quotes: "I know I'm getting better at golf because I'm hitting fewer spectators." --Gerald Ford "It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course." --Hank Aaron