Do you play games? In a different time did you play games? If so, then this book is for you! In Across the Board, Tim Clare talks about what makes board games or table games so universal and yet so unique.

Tim Clare starts off by defining what a game is. He then sets out a list of the sort of games he will discuss -chess, Monopoly, Game of Life, card games such as poker or Uno, and role-playing games such as dungeons & Dragons. And yes, he does delve into philosophy at times.

In fourteen chapters, Clare covers a wide swath of game types. "Dicing with Death" opens with several cases of folks in Sweden rolling dice to see who would live and who would die. The rest of the chapter talks about the long history of dice games. Another chapter - "To Ur is Human" - deals with the various games Sir Leonard Woolley found when excavating a tomb at Ur in Iraq in the 1920s. The rules for the game were discovered in the 1980s by Dr. Irving Finkel. Buddha and his ant-gaming sermon gets mentioned in regard to dice games. In the "Goose Gets Stuffed" Clare discusses how games seem to go in cycles through out history when the comparison of medieval Stuff the Goose being very similar in concept to the ancient Egyptian Mehen game. There is an obligatory chapter on Monopoly which delves into the sordid history of the game and chapters on card games of all types. One of those card games has the players hunting for lines of Japanese poetry. Then there is Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon card games. There is a chapter on Mancala - the bean game which is played in Africa and across the Pacific Ocean. Of course chess, checkers, and the like are covered. Then there are the role-playing chapters, both those done with a board and the live action variety. In the final chapter, Clare lets the reader in on his secret - he wrote Across the Board to figure out why he loves playing and collecting games.

So if you enjoy games, or just enjoy finding out the history of something, pick up Across the Board and find find out what makes you human! You will enjoy the trip!

My thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Press for an advance copy of this book that look at not just the history to tabletop games but the reasons why we play them, and the benefits, both mental and social that come from rolling a die.

In my family there was an event that became known as "The Great Battleship" incident. There ar different versions of this tale, but the one that my family has come to agree with is that once while playing Battleship, the tabletop game, with my younger brother I might have lost the game. And lost my cool, tossing the games, using words my father used in the garage, but not in the house. The pegs used to show hits and misses appeared in my Mom's vaccum for years, according to her telling of the tale. That's how serious I took my games, and I played a lot of them. I gave them up for reasons I guess, but noticed in the last 15 years that they have made a comeback. Not just Dungeons and Dragons, but other games, Lovecraft based tales, expansive board games, even simple one player card games. I might have thought was putting away childish things, but games are far more important than I thought they were. The teach basic skills, morals, critical thinking, and even more bring people together, even when the world does its best to keep them apart. Never have I wanted to roll some dice more than after reading this book. Across the Board: How Games Make Us Human by Tim Clare is not just a history of board games, but why people are drawn to them, why they play them, and how important they still are, no matter what age.

The book looks at the past, to a time when people hadn't really mastered a language, but still shaped something like dice, made some game tokens and played a game. Clare looks at these early games, and discusses how people with different upbringings, different ways of looking at the world, all loved to have some dice and a board to move things on. Clare looks at how people viewed games, not just as entertainment for the masses, but of ways to teach lessons, to hone skills at looking at the big picture of the board, not just the little parts where one's tokens might lie. Clare goes into the history of games as in the Game of Life, that drew on games from the past, and how a new American business was made from this. Role playing games and their history are talked about and even Twitch channels, watching people play games, while not even involved show that people love the idea of gaming, even when they have no stakes. Clare talks much about his own interest in games, and passing it on to his family, while discussing the role of games with thinkers, players and others.

I really enjoyed this book, though outside of video games it has been awhile since I played anything in a group like this. Clare is a very good writer, able to share history both of the era and of the games discussed, along with personal reminisces that resound with the reader. Clare did a lot of research, and discussed games with a variety of people, people that Clare sometimes disagrees with, but does raise a lot of interesting questions. I learned alot about something that once meant a lot, to me, and found myself thinking of this book well after I finished.

A book that belongs on a shelf loaded with rule books for various games, even better center stage surrounded by cardboard boxes full of games. Game players will like the history, and love the fact the Clare is one of us, or them I should say, with a respect and understanding of why games mean so much. There is a lot of history to learn, and a lot of games to play. I actually went and found my old dice bag after reading this, so for that I have to thank Clare. This is the first book I have read by Clare, but look forward to more. And some good gaming sessions.

I found this one to be really interesting, especially with my husband who works for the United States Playing Card company and his vast knowledge of table top games and playing cards. I am so thankful to the publisher, Tim Clare, and Netgalley, for granting me advanced access to this read before it hits shelves on May 6, 2025.

so sweet :') made me homesick and miss my dad
I wouldn't say this is a nonfiction that has ~universal~ appeal—I would think you'll already need to love board games in order to fully appreciate this one. If you're a person whose eyes glaze over when someone is explaining rules, this will probably be a tough one to get through at points.
Fortunately, I love board games and found this incredibly interesting and wholesome

I love a good microhistory! This one was funny and engaging, and I’m glad I picked it up. Clare gives a little history and current game info with lots of interesting tidbits along the way.

Quotes abound in this book. Often to the point of weighing the read down. Felt like the multitude of quotes was the priority of the author and the surrounding text were fillers.

With that said, I did like learning of a game’s origins and the controversy as to who deserves credit. Until this book, I hadn’t considered games can transcend different cultures and time periods.

#AcrosstheBoard #NetGalley

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Abrams Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, such a good idea. I fell in love with the cover and the board game pun, but fell even harder for the book. I am a board game lover, but not necessarily an obsessive enthusiast. I was worried this book would be too detailed or not relatable to me. But this book put words to feelings I’ve had playing board games. The descriptions of why humans play games were so intriguing, and I knew maybe 5% of the facts and stories beforehand. I kept stopping reading to tell my husband a cool fact about dice or some of the first games. A fascinating book on a topic that everyone can connect with.