For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India. This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today.

450 indoor and outdoor games for pre-school to middle-school-age kids arranged by age group.

From the editors of Games magazine, their cleverest, quirkiest, orneriest, most playful and beguiling brain twisters.

“Life is more fun if you play games.” ― Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald This compendium brings together a selection of the very best games. There are parlour games, travel games, trivia games, riddles, puzzles and more. Traditional family favourites feature alongside an array of newly created games. The centrepieces of this collection are the six games: Descriptionary, Just a Minute, Lost for Words, Ultimate Charades, Quick Draw, and Trivial Disputes. In total, these six games alone include 1350 game cards (one e-reader page each). Most of the cards offer multiple gameplay options, so you can return to them again and again. These games require no set-up time, and can be instantly enjoyed with friends or family wherever you are. At Elsinore Books we pride ourselves on creating beautiful e-books, and devote great attention to formatting, and ease of navigation. This book contains a cleanly-styled contents page that permits easy movement between games. Each game occupies its own chapter, so you can move between games by pressing a single button on your e-reader. You can view a full listing of the games inside by clicking on the preview of this book and viewing the contents page. Some of the collection highlights are outlined below: Speaking Games Descriptionary: Players aim to describe as many words as possible in a 30-second time limit. 300 game cards are included. Each card has five words, one in each of the following categories: Places, Objects, Nature, Adjectives, and Random. Just a Minute: The popular game where players have to speak on a given topic for one minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation. 250 games cards are included. On each card players will find three topics to choose from. Lost For Words: Players face two challenges in this game: 1) To describe a given word without using any of the forbidden words listed beneath it 2) To describe a given word using no more than three words (and sometimes using only one word!) 300 game cards are included, and two challenges appear on every card. Acting and Character Games Ultimate Charades: Ultimate charades brings together elements of three games: classic charades, reverse charades, and adverbs. It’s a great game for families to enjoy together. You’ll find 200 cards here, each offering a choice of three options. Players will act out the titles of films, books, songs, and TV programmes, as well as proverbs, actions, famous people, and fictional characters. Pen and Paper Games Quick Draw: A sketch-off, where artists from each team race to depict words and phrases. There are 400 drawing challenges, spread across five categories: People and Animals, Things, Creative Works, Idioms, and Challenges. Travel and Trivia Games Trivial Disputes: A general knowledge listing quiz that can be played in teams or with everyone out for themselves. Among the things players must put in order: buildings by size, animals by weight, cars by top speed, films by box-office profits. There are 100 Cards, divided into ten games. Riddles and Puzzles. Five complete chapters from The Great Book of Riddles, also by Elsinore Books, are included in this compendium. You’ll have 50 of the finest riddles, puzzles and brainteasers to make your way through. There are classical logic puzzles, lateral thinking puzzles, mathematical brain teasers, word ladders, ditloids, and illustrated coins, cups, and toothpicks puzzles Here is one of the riddles you’ll find inside: The king’s two bodyguards developed an ingenious method for assuring the king’s safety. With the king standing between them, they would face in opposite directions; one looking to the west and the other to the east, but at the same time, and without the use of any reflective surfaces, they would both be able to observe the king clearly. How was this possible?

Join videogame industry veteran Michael Thornton Wyman on a series of detailed, behind-the-scenes tours with the teams that have made some of the most popular and critically acclaimed videogames of the modern era. Drawing on insider's perspectives from a wide variety of teams, learn about the creation of a tiny, independent game project (World of Goo), casual game classics (Diner Dash, Bejeweled Twist), the world's most popular social game (FarmVille) as well as the world's most popular MMORPG (World of Warcraft), PC titles (Half Life 2) to AAA console games (Madden NFL 10), and modern-day masterpieces (Little Big Planet, Rock Band, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves). Hear directly from the creators about how these games were made, and learn from their stories from the trenches of videogames production. This book is an excellent resource for those working directly on game design or production, for those aspiring to work in the field, or for anyone who has wondered how the world's greatest videogames get made.

It is our pleasure to present The Great Book of Trivia: 1000 Questions and Answers to Engage all Minds. We’ve brought together a host of fresh and intriguing questions that will test the limits of your knowledge across a huge range of subjects. The book is divided into 5 parts: Part 1 presents 400 challenging general knowledge questions, divided into 40 rounds. Part 2 introduces the “specialist rounds” at three levels of difficulty: medium, challenging and fiendish. Here you’ll find questions on geography, history, sport, science and nature, literature, art and architecture, and movies and TV. There are 200 questions in 20 rounds. Part 3 brings a lighter touch with 20 “bonus round” quizzes (200 questions in total), where you’ll be asked to spot connections, identify years from a series of clues, recognize famous monuments, and sort out lists of famous people, places and things. Part 4 contains 20 “family fun” quizzes (200 questions in total) that will be especially enjoyable for younger minds. There are straightforward general knowledge questions, alongside rhyming and alphabet quizzes. As a special bonus, the complete Elsinore Books Guess the Initial Quiz is included as the 5th part of this book. Here you’ll find 200 guess the initial challenges, also known as “ditloids”. At Elsinore Books we pride ourselves on creating beautiful e-books, and devote great attention to formatting, and ease of navigation. This book contains a cleanly-styled contents page that permits easy movement between quizzes. Each quiz occupies its own chapter, so you can move between quizzes by pressing a single button on your e-reader. You can access the answers to each quiz by following the links at the top and bottom of the question page. On the answer pages you’ll find each question rewritten and followed by its answer in bold. You can view a full listing of the games inside by clicking on the preview of this book and viewing the contents page. Some of the collection highlights are outlined below: General Knowledge Round 1 1. What colour are the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? 2. The Qudrilatero Della Moda is an upscale fashion district in which city? 3. Which land mammal has the largest eyes? 4. How many planets in our solar system have exactly one moon? 5. How many dice “pips” are there in total on the Domino’s Pizza logo? Movies and TV: Medium 1. Which city does Rocky Balboa come from? 2. Who directed the films Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave? 3. Who is the protagonist of the TV series Mad Men? 4. Which country produced the TV dramas Borgen, and The Killing? 5. Which city is home to the “Cinecittà” film studio? Trivial Disputes 1 1. Order the following animals by weight, from Heaviest to Lightest: Blue Whale, Bengal Tiger, Elephant Seal, Manta Ray 2. Order the following constructions by height, from Tallest to Smallest: Great Pyramid at Giza, Burj Khalifa, Shanghai Tower, One World Trade Centre 3. Order the following countries by population, from Most populous to Least populous: India, China, Indonesia, USA, Brazil 4. Order the following languages by number of first-tongue speakers, from Most to Least: Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, English 5. Order the following organs by weight, from Heaviest to Lightest: Brain, Heart, Skin, Pancreas, Thyroid Family Fun Quiz 1 1. What fruit is dried to produce raisins? 2. What kind of weapon was wielded by the Norse God Thor? 3. Which animal appears first in the Oxford English Dictionary? 4. Which fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson tells the story of a young swan?

These new and classic games, each with a noncompetitive twist, are sure to get children up and moving while developing their cognitive, social/emotional, and physical skills. Includes outside games, musical games, circle games, concept games, and cooperative games.

This book brings together the knowledge and perspectives of numerous past and present games industry leaders and practitioners to form a clear picture of how leadership operates in a game development studio. It identifies the ways in which things are changing or can change for the better in the games industry and provides a set of tools for the reader to use in their own professional practice. Embark on a journey with this book to understand how great leaders help make great games. These leaders embrace change through a broad set of skills intended to empower and nurture the teams they find themselves responsible for. Through the lens of three fantasy roleplaying classes – the Warrior, the Bard, and the Cleric – readers will understand the wide variety of skills and considerations involved in leading game developers well. This book will be of great interest to anybody curious about or currently working in games development.

In this fun and informative YA Non-fiction title, Dustin Hansen, author of Game On!, a self-confessed video game addict with over 20-years experience in the gaming industry, examines the storytelling skills shown in some of the most beloved and moving games of all time. We all know that video games are fun, but can a video game make you cry? Can it tell you a powerful love story? Can a video game make you think differently about war? About the environment? About the choices you make? Whether it's playing through blockbuster-esque adventures (Uncharted, God of War, The Last of Us), diving deep into hidden bits of story and lore (Red Dead Redemption II, Bioshock, Journey) or building relationships that change the fate of the world itself (Persona 5, Undertale), video games are bringing stories to life in ways that are immediate, interactive and immersive. Focusing on some of the best, most memorable, experiences in gaming, The Greatest Stories Ever Played, examines the relationship between gaming and storytelling in a new way.

William Greenhorn, who lost his dad at 11, narrates a thrilling pennant race and considers baseball history in this universe where baseball was always integrated. The final weekend's games are a whirlwind of twists and turns which leave him wondering if he could be called on and what might result. A doubleheader that may decided the season features 2 extra-inning games filled with excitement.