Game Studies Books

I just started homeschooling a 5yo, and was looking for a way to teach math in an informal way. This book is exactly what I have been looking for. I can use real objects(cars, trains, blocks) for lessons instead of using 20 different types of manipulatives that other books recommend.

As a grandfather of small children, I consider this book the most valuable production I have seen. The helps offered to parents for use in creating an understanding of mathematics are valid eucationally and well presented.

I love this series. The last two books, Brown and Black Belt are more challenging.

This is an excellent book for those of you who have mastered Kakuro and want a little challenge, without having to think too hard. These puzzles can be solved without guessing or very much notes. If you want a really good challenge, go for the Black Belt Kakuro puzzles.

I love this book! It gets at the heart of American values without being preachy. The ideas are very accessable to young kids. Our family is having a ball with this.

I've always wondered how to teach about the USA in a meaningful way to my first graders. Now I've got this outstanding guide. Activities are "cute" without being shallow. It's got history, geography, American symbols, principles and values. What a great resource!

Chris Ward is becoming one of my favorite chess authors....he is challenging, but remains humble and down to earth. Here, he lays out a series of chess puzzles, in a multiple choice format. His wording is trickier than the puzzles themselves, and makes you pay close attention. This is the type of book that tests your knowledge, and so what I am doing is this: I am taking all the tests, and recording the results. (pencil only). In 6 months, I will pick up the book again, and hopefully, will have seen an increase in chess strength. If not....well, I won't entertain that thought. My only complaint about Ward is that I cannot find enough books authored by him. Chris, if you read this: GET BUSY! I would love to see him annotate great games, with his comments directed towards the under 1800 folks! How about it?

I am definitely in the under 1800 crowd, by hundreds of points. So a lot of this was over my head. But it was always enjoyable and (of course) challenging. Best of all, the concepts of each solution were explained, including the cases where the conventional rule of thumb did NOT apply, and why. Since I wasn't even aware of some of these "rules", it was very instructive.

Don't believe negative reviews you read of this book from stuff-shirt blowhards (like Taylor Kingston at chesscafe.com). This is an unbelievably entertaining book that is filled with rich chess games and tremendous enthusiasm. Yes, Motwani does proceed on the premise that every chess player has some kid in him. He does not take himself too seriously, but it is obvious that he is filled with wonder over life on earth, and especially of chess! I predict that his books will all be treasured classics someday. I think you should grab them while you can. I did!

This book tries to cover chess from many angles. Particularly, I like the way the topics are covered, in an engaging, narrative style that stimulates and gave me a real feeling of having Paul himself beside me, going through mastergames with me.

The deep annotations, insightful suggestions and orginal analysis all points to a well planned and thought out book.

Openings are also covered in a limited but in-depth manner. Along the way, Paul will suggest various alternatives, especially the less obvious and not-so-popular moves that are equally playable and yet present more practical problems for the one seated opposite you.

Get this book. Its a gem that any serious learning chess player should not do without.

If there is one flaw that I see in this book, it's that I can't find a way to integrate every game in this book. I love games and I love this book!

The activities in this book are suited for every education level, from an introduction to breastfeeding in a CBE series to a lactation counsellor program. There are ice-breakers, games to explore breastfeeding biases, and games to help you learn the chemistry, biology and physiology of breastfeeding.

The best thing of all - this book is timeless. While some information may require updating over time, the games will hold their own. If you teach breastfeeding in any capacity, you'll find this book helpful.

In the "Coach's Notebook: Games and Strategies for Lactation Education", Linda J. Smith has gathered games and advice for presenting breastfeeding classes. This is a source of inspiration and an aid for breastfeeding instructors. This book is a tool to use to help design and deliver professional-style presentations that are spiced up with games and activities in lieu of a straightforward lecture.

Smith feels that using games and activities adds an element of fun to the learning experience, increases the learners' attention span, and aids with the retention of the presented information. Smith has combined auditory, kinesthetic, and visual elements to appeal to the three different learning modalities.

Chapter one contains basic presentation skills combined with Smith's tips based on her many years of experience as an instructor and as a Lactation Consultant. Smith covers the structure, flow, and appropriate timing of each component of the presentation. (This information is pretty standard. If you already have read or learned the components of presentation skills this will be repetitious for you. If you have no training in presentation skills, this is useful information for you.) Discussion about the use of breastfeeding props, and the pro's and con's of using audio-visual equipment are included.

The challenge of deciding what to present is acknowledged as a common stumbling block. With all we know about breastfeeding, it can be hard to decide how to limit content to fit within a certain time frame. Smith provides good tips about how to pare down everything we want to present.

In Chapter Two, Smith provides five icebreaker activities to choose from. Later chapters contain six games for use with the general public and fourteen games for presenting specific topics or concepts in depth (such as to health care professionals or lay breastfeeding counselors who already know about breastfeeding). The last chapter contains ten games for any audience that contains "neat and nifty ideas from master teachers from around the world" which "convey the uniqueness of BF in creative and effective ways".

All of the games and activities in the book are well organized and easy to understand. Key information is easily scanned on the first page: the goal, the best audience for the game, the amount of time required to play, and how to play. Details such as trivia facts with source citations are included. Almost every game is complete and requires no research on the part of the presenter. However, thought must go into the planning of the presentation and some prep work with game pieces, game cards, etc. may need to be prepared ahead of time. Smith also recommends a practice run-through before the actual presentation.

Some examples of the activities are: learning the composition of breastmilk, really hearing what a mother is trying to communicate with sample statements, figuring out if a medication is compatible with breastfeeding, and how to evaluate research studies about breastfeeding. Games for the general public include a handful related to emotions such as exploring negative feeling related to feeding choices or past guilt about not breastfeeding. There is a breastfeeding trivia game complete with questions and answers. For games where the attendees discuss opinions or emotions, Smith includes the typical answers and details to elaborate on them. The games are categorized into trivia type games, multiple choice questions, and fill in the blank questions. Some games require the players to use breastfeeding references to look up answers and come to conclusions.

This book can save loads of prep time by giving all that is needed to play these creative and informative teaching games. Smith's years of experience in the field of lactation are obvious.

The only complaint one may have is that for the price, the reader may have wished for more presentations for different audiences. Meaning if you only want presentations for the general public you may wish there were more or if you only want presentations for breastfeeding counselors you may wish there were more. What is here is of high quality and very detailed, and still will save you loads of prep time.

Ms. Saltveit's book challenges its readers to think of new and creative ways to engage children and stimulate their learning throught the use of computers. She shows us that there are interactive activities that stretch children's imagination and creativity much further than a mere game could ever do.

Ms. Saltveit's work is the most practical and fun approach to computer education that I have discovered. Although not intended as a teacher's aid, I actually like it just as much as "Hit Enter", which was designed for teachers. Both books have been a big hit at our school (Marymount, Paris). The books erase any feeling that computers are too intimidating or complex. I'm looking forward to her next work.

I highly recommend this book and ask you to help me bring it to the attention of our law makers and legal authorities. This is an important book for our times, in my humble opinion, about the ironic reality that some of our laws create rational motives to commit crime in spite of any well meaning intention to the contrary. In essence, Sieberg contributes to the development of a field of social research which shows the way towards a more cooperative society, which is exactly what one Princeton University philosopher, Peter Singer, recently called for in his book, _A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation_ (see pg. 47).

Sieberg is full of surprises. She ignores the emotional and moral aspects of a few select current issues, and goes straight to the rational self interested calculations of the hypothetical individual who is considering whether to be content to earn the going legal wage (perhaps slave wages), or to commit a potentially much more profitable crime. That list of current issues includes mandatory prison sentencing, the three strikes and you're out laws, the privatization of prisons, prostitution, drugs, gangs, and gun control. On the basis of this analysis she makes a few suggestions as to what may be better and more rational legal policy; for example, regarding prison sentencing and alternative means of punishing criminals, she concludes with the following:

"This analysis indicates that a hybrid policy of imprisoning violent criminals and imposing alternative sentences on nonviolent criminals would be superior in terms of fulfilling society's goals. The maintenance of the prisons for violent offenders would provide protection of the public, both by incapacitation of those who are violent and by deterring others from the use of violence. Alternative sentencing [such as community service and repaying the victim with the earnings] could yield an improvement over the current system in terms of retribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence - but only if done seriously and carefully. Importantly, this more positive form of sentencing [as opposed to imprisonment], involving some form of repayment, reduces the individual and social cost of crime."
--page 33.

This book appears to be an expansion of work the author began as a student of Donald Saari, who is currently perhaps the world's leading mathematician in the field of social choice theory. My personal interest in this book stems from reading Saari's latest book, _Decisions and Elections_ (Cambridge University Press, 2001), where he briefly describes the nature of some of Sieberg's results, and explains how those results are related to the unintended loss of crucial but available information or action, and how that screws up decision making processes and public policies.

Using the tools of theoretical economics and decision theory with some basic algebra and calculus, Sieberg helps us look at the decision making process of those who consider whether to commit this crime or that, or no crime at all. We see the world through the eyes of the rational criminal, or potential criminal, and are surprised to see how some laws actually create incentives for increased crime. Beginning with the famous "Prisoner's Dilemma," an important abstract model of decision making, Sieberg formalizes the rational strategic thinking of criminals and potential criminals, and shows how they may calculate the probable costs and benefits of their various legal and illegal options.

Consider the case of marijuana sales or prostitution, where Sieberg notes that both the buyer and seller are committing a crime. What happens if one of them is ripped off by the other? They don't have legal recourse, of course, given that they prefer to avoid imprisonment, public humiliation or a fine. Sieberg shows how this sort of situation arises throughout the underground economic world, and this creates a force which tends to create and grow criminal gangs, pimps, etc., to which they may turn for justice. It is widely recognized that the mafia in the US is largely a child of the underground economy which was created by the prohibition of alcohol. We were soon forced to recognize our mistake in that case, but we apparently haven't fully learned our lesson yet. According to Sieberg's analysis, the current prohibition of drugs and prostitution fosters a similar crime laden underground economy.

There is room for criticism, of course. The author takes issue after issue, and argues that a consequence of prohibiting that product or activity will likely be to foster a black market. This may be true, it seems to me, but aren't there cases where there is no better alternative to prohibiting it? How about the case of human slavery, or the sale of the flesh of chimpanzees and other nonhuman great apes in gourmet restaurants? What is the difference between slavery and alcohol, which makes one (apparently) immune to the black market argument, but not the other? Isn't there a similar argument that the prohibition of slavery or chimpanzee dinners creates a black market incentive? I suppose that the difference is that there are some extenuating circumstances that need to taken into account, whatever they may be, which clearly tip the scale in favor of the prohibition of slavery or chimpanzee steaks, but not alcohol. I suspect that the relevant differences lie in the "victimless crime nature of prostitution, drugs and alcohol, on the one hand, and in the overridingly strong interest of vulnerable individuals, on the other hand, against being legally categorized and treated as mere property. That is, I suppose the essential difference is in the relative strength of the interests of the victim and the offender, which relates back to Saari's book and his analysis of (1998 Nobel Laureate) Amartya Sen's important theorem that individual and societal rights are incompatible.

I highly recommend this book and ask you to help me bring it to the attention of our law makers and legal authorities. This is an important book for our times, in my humble opinion. It is about the ironic reality that some of our laws create rational motives to commit crime, in spite of any well meaning intention to reduce crime. In essence, Sieberg contributes to the development of a field of social research which shows the way towards a more cooperative society, which is exactly what one Princeton University philosopher, Peter Singer, recently called for in his book, _A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation_ (see pg. 47).

Sieberg is full of surprises. She ignores the emotional and moral aspects of a few select c urrent issues, and goes straight to the rational self interested calculations of the hypothetical individual who is considering whether to be content to earn the going legal wage (perhaps slave wages), or to commit a potentially much more profitable crime. That list of current issues includes mandatory prison sentencing, the three strikes and you're out laws, the privatization of prisons, prostitution, drugs, gangs, and gun control. On the basis of this analysis she makes a few suggestions as to what may be better and more rational legal policy; for example, regarding prison sentencing and alternative means of punishing criminals, she concludes with the following:

This analysis indicates that a hybrid policy of imprisoning violent criminals and imposing alternative sentences on nonviolent criminals would be superior in terms of fulfilling society's goals. The maintenance of the prisons for violent offenders would provide protection of the public, both by incapacitation of those who are violent and by deterring others from the use of violence. Alternative sentencing such as community service and repaying the victim with the earnings could yield an improvement over the current system in terms of retribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence - but only if done seriously and carefully. Importantly, this more positive form of sentencing [as opposed to imprisonment], involving some form of repayment, reduces the individual and social cost of crime.--page 33.

This book appears to be an expansion of work the author began as a student of Donald Saari, who is currently perhaps the world's leading mathematician in the field of social choice theory. My personal interest in this book stems from reading Saari's latest book, _Decisions and Elections_ (Cambridge University Press, 2001), where he briefly describes the nature of some of Sieberg's results, and explains how those results are related to the unintended loss of crucial but available information or action, and how that screws up decision making processes and public policies - the main theme of Saari's book.

Using the tools of theoretical economics and decision theory, Sieberg helps us look at the decision making process of those who consider whether to commit this crime or that, or no crime at all. We see the world through the eyes of the rational criminal, or potential criminal, and are surprised to see how some laws actually create incentives for increased crime. Beginning with the famous Prisoner's Dilemma, an important abstract model of decision making, Sieberg formalizes the rational strategic thinking of criminals and potential criminals, and shows how they may calculate the probable costs and benefits of their various legal and illegal options.

Consider the case of marijuana sales or prostitution, where both the buyer and seller are committing a crime. What happens if one of them is ripped off by the other? They don't have legal recourse, of course, given that they prefer to avoid imprisonment, public humiliation or a fine. This sort of situation arises throughout the underground economic world, and this creates a force which tends to create and grow criminal gangs, pimps, etc., to which they may turn for justice. It is widely recognized that the mafia in the US is largely a child of the underground economy which was created by the prohibition of alcohol. We were soon forced to recognize our mistake in that case, but we haven't fully learned our lesson yet. The current prohibition of drugs and prostitution fosters a similar crime laden underground economy, but those bad policies remain with us to this day.

There is room for criticism, of course. The author takes issue after issue, and argues that a consequence of prohibiting that product or activity will likely be to foster a black market. This may be true, it seems to me, but aren't there cases where there is no better alternative to prohibiting it? How about the case of human slavery, or the sale of the flesh of chimpanzees and other nonhuman great apes in gourmet restaurants? What is the difference between slavery and alcohol, which makes one (apparently) immune to the black market argument, but not the other? Isn't there a similar argument that the prohibition of slavery or chimpanzee dinners creates a black market incentive? I suppose that the difference is that there are some extenuating circumstances that need to taken into account, whatever they may be, which clearly tip the scale in favor of the prohibition of slavery or chimpanzee steaks, but not alcohol. I suspect that the relevant differences lie in the "victimless crime nature of prostitution, drugs and alcohol, on the one hand, and in the overridingly strong interest of vulnerable individuals, on the other hand, against being legally categorized and treated as mere property. That is, I suppose the essential difference is in the relative strength of the interests of the victim and the offender, which relates back to Saari's book and his analysis of Amartya Sen's Theorem regarding the conflict between individual and societal rights.

Trip Payne's "Crosswords for Kids" kept my fourth-grader engrossed for days. The difficulty level was perfect for him -- the puzzles were challenging and interesting, but he could do them mostly by himself. He specifically wanted to do crosswords, like his parents, and not word searches or mazes. This book has only crosswords -- 40 puzzles, each averaging around 90 clues. I've only found one or two other books that rivaled it, and I hope Mr. Payne continues to fill the need for this kind of book.

After helping me with my puzzles on simple clues such as, City in Iowa, my daughter wanted to be able to do her own crossword puzzles. This book is the answer. She says, "They are fun, and they educate you." I would highly recommend this for anyone with a budding crossworder.

This is a excellent book. I recommend it. The endgame study is very important in chess excellence!!!

This book is a goldmine of artistic endgame studies by various authors, including Kasparyan himself. Each one of the 2545 items is packed with chess logic and valuable insights on how to force your adversary to lose material. Many positions that the average player would be happy to bring to a draw are presented as winning, with stunning manoeuvres leading to the unexpected capture of one or more of the opponent's pieces. The content is very well organized, so that you can look up specific scenarios according to which pieces are involved (for example, two knights trap bishop, rook and bishop trap rook, and so on). A real find.