As a big fan of tabletop gaming, I was very interested in this book, but the poignant reflection on what games symbolize in our culture and mean to us as a people, surprised me. I really enjoyed each author's take on different elements of table top culture, even when I had not played or maybe even heard of some of the games. If you are a board game fan, I think you will find this an interesting read.

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Well written, clear explanations of what board games used to be, what they are now, why that are popular and becoming more so, and what role they have currently (written on 5May, 2020, week 9 of isolation in King county, Washington state, US). The ability to play communal games remotely is becoming much more important for physical distancing, while remaining socially connected. A great book!

This is a really neat book— great concept and super-interesting. Will recommend to friends, really enjoyed.

A fun and surprising book of essays about games, gaming culture and how our gaming selves interact within the culture itself. It's a fascinating look at the history of boardgames and RPGs, and has a little bit for everyone, covering classics through to new-wave Kickstarter games and beyond. As noted in the intro, it's a dip-in kinda book, too -- the reader can pick and choose which essays to read. Still, a nice narrative flow remains. The essays made me want to go out and explore the history of games and gaming even further. Its brightly-coloured and eye-catching front cover fits well on the Pop Culture shelf.

A board gaming expert and a novice come together to discuss the exploding phenomenon of tabletop games. From RPGs to complex strategy games to the oft-maligned Monopoly, the authors dissect the psychology of games to find out why their popularity is increasing. This narrowly focused title will be enjoyed by current tabletop gamers with an interest in the games mentioned. Most other readers might like one or two of the essays, but are unlikely to enjoy the whole book. An avid tabletop gamer myself, I still found myself skipping ahead to the chapters that included games of interest to me, and only browsing the other chapters. Recommended to academics studying gamers, or intellectual gamers who are interested in the psychology of any game, regardless of whether they are familiar with it or not.

The two authors of this book clearly have great affection and affinity for board games of various ilks. Each chapter is an essay devoted to a particular game or theme--we learn that one author believes Scattergories is evil, and the other author thinks serious Scrabble players take the fun out of the game by memorizing obscure, useful-only-for-Scrabble words. Will appeal to readers who enjoy board games, pop culture, nostalgia, or sociology.

Nonfiction | Adult
Holy heck, I love board games! I have a whole shelf of them, packed with childhood favourites like Pay Day, Masterpiece, and Milles Bornes, along with a couple of newer (to me) ones like Firefly (based on the cult TV favourite), Scopa, an Italian card game, and a cool mix of cribbage and Scrabble called Kings Crib. I don’t play as much as I would like, since I’m completed deluded into thinking I have free time that somehow disappears every week thanks to paid and volunteer work, dog walks, and sewing. Oh well. Maybe this winter. Anyway, I was delighted to discover this title on my NetGalley feed, and finally found some time to read it through. It’s essentially a discussion of popular games, both good and bad in the authors’ view, from Pandemic to Monopoly to Dungeons & Dragons and more.
More importantly, they talk about the role play and gaming can have in our lives – bringing groups together, learning to cooperate or compete depending on the game, developing imagination and leadership skills, gaining an appreciation for cultural difference, and more. Both extremely well versed in current and classic games, they offer their thoughts on Monopoly’s unofficial but popular “stupid No Parking rule”, the idiotic set of rules that means you can play Scrabble well without knowing a single definition, the ubiquitous sexism issues that thrive in North American gaming culture, and more. They both admit to struggling to understand why people would rather play a simple but poorly designed game like Scattergories over complicated imaginative and cooperative Eurogames like Greenland. I liked learning about the different games, and look forward to getting my hands on a couple of them. My thanks to Sutherland House publishers for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this title: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47132506

Enjoyable and quick read. I liked the subject matter and found it very relatable as most of us have played games.

While this book might be more likely to lure in readers who are already into board games, it has a wider appeal. I tend to think the target audience is anyone who has taken enjoyment on occasion in at least a few common games (Monopoly and Scrabble, for example), who is perhaps interested in learning more about the games they know, as well as a some they don’t, and seeing how aspects of them can relate to life.
I myself am fond of board games, including a few less common ones, but wouldn’t call myself a diehard board gamer (I’ve never played Catan, for example). I quite enjoyed this book. It wasn’t elitestly niche, nor was it overly entry-level. And the writing style of the two authors was casual, yet informative. Also, whether I agreed with what I was reading (“The Stupid Free Parking Rule”) or didn’t (the criticism of Scrabble and Cards Against Humanity), it was all well written, enjoyable to read, and filled with valid points.
The epilogue - a back and forth conversation between the two authors - is a nice wrap-up to things, adding additional thoughts which wouldn’t have fit as well in the individual chapters. All-in-all this was an enjoyable book, which could have gone longer and still held my attention.
I received a free advanced reading copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is that review.

Your Move by Jonathan Kay and Joan Moriarity, 180 pages. NON-FICTION, LGBTQIA+
Sutherland House, 2019. $18.
Language: R (8 swears, 3 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Jonathan and Joan are both passionate about board games. They have written and compiled a collection of independent essays about different lessons that we learn about society, history, economy, ourselves, and more from the games we play.
I found about half of the fifteen essays to be dry and difficult to read, but I enjoyed the others. Chapters 3 and 12 were my favorites because they discussed games that I loved growing up. While I am not as avid of a board-gamer as the authors of these essays, reading the last couple chapters about their favorite games makes me want to try new board games -- maybe I can still find a game that calls to me. The mature content rating is for mentions of rape and sexual abuse.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Your Move is about how board games relate to real life. Throughout the book, both authors give their opinions about different board games and how they believe they relate to real life and they also talk about the history of a few board games. I really like playing board games, which is why I requested this book. I really enjoyed reading it.

This is a pretty niche topic, but the two authors find interesting ways to explore human society and psychology through the lens of board games. I realized that I am guilty of several of the issues mentioned--trying so hard not to look foolish that all playfulness or fun is lost, and being reluctant to try new games rather than old favorites because of steep learning curves. The authors' takes on various famous games like Monopoly and Scrabble often diverge, so the book overall is more thought-provoking than definitive on many topics.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sutherland House for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. We love board games, and it's interesting, here at home to see what the kids like versus our old standbys. This is a book written by two men that are very clearly gamers, in the board game sense. This gives them insight, but it also makes it a good read for a casual gamer and also for the more advanced. If you enjoy board games, I recommend this book.

This was an interesting book about the cultural impact that board games have. They are keep are brains active and are great for social get-togethers. I highly recommend this, as I learned so many new facts reading this!

"All tabletop games provide players with a path to self-improvement, so long as you are alive to the lessons of the game board."
I liked this book a lot! I didn't know what to expect when I started reading it, but it was such a revelation! Even though I was not familiar with all the board games described, it was an easy read, as the authors gave enough details about each one. And I enjoyed the broad spectrum of the descriptions; one can easily select a starting board game, if not already a fan. "Tabletop gaming is a thousand hobbies" indeed, as there are so many types and themes out there!
I love board games. And Scrabble is one of them. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a rave review in this book. I see it more as a relaxation game than a competing one. Scrabble taught me many words and it gave me numerous opportunities to open the dictionary. But the explanations are thorough and I understand them and respect the author's opinion. I still feel this book is a five-star one.
After finishing it, I will try at least one new board game. Now I only have to decide if it's Pandemic or Greenland.
Thank you to Net Galley and Sutherland House for providing me with an e-book copy in exchange for my honest review!

I received an electronic ARC from Sutherland House through NetGalley.
The two authors take readers thr0ugh a series of essays and commentary on the world of board games. They do address some of the standards - Monopoly, Scrabble, Scattergories, etc., but move beyond to other games as well. Interesting theories on how board games reflect life and what people seek when playing.
This is a niche market book but those who don't play will enjoy a look into this mindset.

The authors are a journalist and the owner of a game shop, and they know board games! This is a series of essays on game play, game strategy, the psychology and sociology of games, and a bit of history about board games.

I enjoyed this book, but it is definitely for a niche audience. Yes, there are essays about Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Scrabble, but most of the text is about games and playing the games that would only be know to "hard core" board game players. Nonetheless, there are some very thought-provoking facts and comments contained here. I'm only a casual player and only have tangental knowledge of many of the games mentioned other than the "mainstream" ones, but I found the authors commentary on the social, political, and economic aspects of board games fascinating. If this is an interest of yours, you NEED to read this book. If you are just a casual player, you will find the chapter on Monopoly (and the craxy Free Parking non-rule), or the one on how stupid Scrabble is, or how Scattegories can break up families interesting. Otherwise, you might find the more esoteric chapters a bit tedious.

There’s more to games than family game night! In the world of tabletop games there are many new and exciting games to discover. This book takes a look at games, with each pithy chapter “unboxing” a specific game or type of game. The authors write with an easy-going style as they dissect games most of us have played, such as Scrabble and Monopoly, and party games like Scattegories and Cards Against Humanity. We learn more about role playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons, and tactical wargames.

My favorite chapter was about The Game of Life and author Joan Moriarity (the authors alternate chapters, like taking turns in a game!) really does bring this game to life. The Game of Life was my second favorite game when I was a kid, playing with my neighborhood friends on our front porch. The history of the game is wonderful. The Checkered Game of Life was produced by Milton Bradley in 1860 and was a winner from the start. This was a track-based game like Snakes & Ladders, but it introduced the concept of choice. The original game was set-up like a checkerboard, with small drawings, but what I remember is the new version in 1960, with its plastic hills, bridges buildings and the best- the cars with the pink and blue people! The original purpose of the game, to edify and teach values and virtues, was re-focused more on wealth and success. Whatever- as kids we loved watching our pink and blue family grow and I’m sure we thought real life would be about the same.

The authors examine game playing behavior and show us why they immerse themselves in role playing game worlds and tactical wargames. Both authors encourage us to find our own groups and our own games. They also recommend more diversity in game design. I enjoyed reading this fast-paced book and its take on games, relationships and modern life.
Oh, and if The Game of Life was my second favorite game, what was my first? The Barbie Game!! Getting my prom dress, date and going to the prom- I loved it!!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Sutherland House for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

First, I'm not sure what the intended audience for this book is. It isn't me (a deeply invested board gamer). The book reads like it's trying to capitalize on the broadening interest in board games... but also seems to have very little insight or depth. That said, it didn't hold my attention past chapter five.

Second, Chapter 2 introduces designer and publisher Phil Eklund to illustrate a change in the kinds of games that have driven board game design innovation in the last thirty years. I was surprised by this, to say the least, because Eklund is one of the most notoriously racist game designers currently active and the only one of which I know who attaches his racism to many of his games in the forms of essays and rule book commentary. To then subsequently quote Eklund reflecting on an early design as 'more or less a racist concept' because it involved human beings fighting science fiction alien races in space is almost unfathomable, as it effectively hides Eklund's very real, very current hostility toward and insistence on the inferiority of non-white, non-Western human beings. I couldn't stomach reading Kay's chapters further, particularly not his deeper reflection on Eklund's psuedo-scientific alt-history 'Greenland' in which he takes another opportunity to reflect on the superiority of (often anachronistic) proto-Western ideals.

In short, alternately boring and disturbing.