Game Studies Books

As a homeschooling mom, I took one look at the copy I got from the library and decided I had to have this book in my collection. Its a great resource. Very creative and unique. Saves me from having to hunt up fun hands on activities for the countries we are studying. I am not an artsy craftsy kind of person and usually find that stuff a waste of time. So something must be really good for me to take notice of. I think theres alot of value to this book. Its a resource to supplement what you are teaching.

The Global Art book barely mentions an Iraqi and Iranian piece of art however it chooses to limit the children's scope from Islamic art. I view this as another biased piece of work that is keen on dividing the world rather than a simple tool for educating children about the world or so called "GLOBAL ART".

I enjoy all of MaryAnn F. Kohl's books, and this one is a little different than her others as it has a bit more in the way of finished products, though they are all arrived at by discovering and creating. Still, this book works well for those older kids who want a little more "fact" in their art. My favorite chapter revolves around Asian projects, in particular those from Japan.

Thanks for the help! My kids love to be fascinated, as do all kids, and this book makes it easy. I love how the chapters are organized by continents, and how the projects are not so much copying crafts from different countries, but actually incorporate history and inventions and all kinds of things from different countries into simple, easy to do art projects. The chapter on Antarctica is a kick! It's all projects about snow and ice and white paint. My kids love it! Works for all ages, too, from preschool through about age twelve I would think.

A very resourful book. The authors misspell Colombia.

This book helped me with my classes. It's been great to find a book with such good games and ideas to make students understand grammar without bored classes. Excelent way of learning! Fun and interesting.

"Grammar Games" is a must for transforming deadly dull grammar lessons into creative and fun activities. Each activity lists the grammar structure involved, level, preparation, materials and timing. A big bonus is that the Table of Contents lists the grammar point as well as the name of the activity--far too many other resources only give you the name of the activity, which makes it impossible to find anything easily. A great resource!

Provides various activities that teach many aspects of English as well as grammar points using communicative methodology. These activities are creative and helpful. What is so useful is that these activities can be modified/altered to suit your class level. Some of the expressions and topics are a little strange and not really suitable to use in class for young learners who are at beginning level. But of course you can alter them. I have been able to make up many of my own lesson ideas from this book, written by ESL teaching veterans. "Grammar Games" is very helpful. I also recommend "More Grammar Games" which is a part-two, or addition to this book.

This book was recommended to me by a professsor who had used it with her Middle School ESL kids. After having it a week, I have to say it is fabulous. I had been looking for ways to teach grammar to my junior high kids, without tedious explanations of grammatical rules, worksheets or diagramming. The day after I received it, I was able to start the kids on a game where they could internalize grammatical rules, and demonstrate what they already understood about the deep structure of English. The only preparation required was writing a sentence on the board, and they were involved for twenty minutes. The only reservation I have in recommending this book is that it is British, and intended for adult learners. I have had to adapt some of the language to make it easier for my kids to understand.

Grammar Games contains fifty-six language learning activities divided into five sections; competitive games, collaborative sentence-making games, awareness activities, grammar through drama, and miscellany. About one fifth of the games deal directly with grammatical accuracy by exposing students to correct or incorrect sentences, with a caveat from the author urging us to accept that students who are highly focused will not imprint the wrong sentences that the theories of Skinner or Krashen may suggest. I can't say for sure whether incorrect grammar will be unconsciously learned or not, but it is clear that not everyone will be interested in these kind of activities anyway. I was therefore pleased that the rest of the book covered material that would appeal to many different types of learner, not just the analytically inclined. Grammar Games has a distinctly British, slightly seventies, and somewhat eccentric feel to it. We can learn by being physically active, or by being silent and reflective. There are board games and gambling games. You can vote for the best, play snap, take part in an auction, or do back-writing. You can even brainstorm why two people would want to exchange socks on a train - not everyone's cup of tea, perhaps. I enjoyed reading Grammar Games because most of the activities looked interesting and highly original, and that there were many that I would like to try out with my students, someday. For the EFL teacher searching for new ideas on how to teach grammar while having fun, whether you are experienced or novice, I recommend that you take a look at Mario Rinvolucri's Grammar Games.

I have learned some sign language from a Native elder and this book is on track with most of what I learned.

This works well for sorting out the more detailed written descriptions in WP Clark's book. The drawings give a good basic visual to the signs & provide a very nice introductory vocabulary.

This book basically has some vocabulary for indian "signs". I am not sure if the real indians even use any of these signs. The old drawings were kind of neat and reminded me of an old schoolbook.

I have had this book laying around for ages. I have taken it for granted really. But when I think about how well it is written and clearly laid out, with an additional picture writing section at the end of the book, it makes me wonder why I don't take better care of it. I'm amazed it's still in print and CHEAP! Great for kids but also a nice intro for adults as well. Boy Scouts could use this as part of their achievement training. One big plus is the photographs and anecdotes of William Tomkins and his friends, the Lakota. You can't lose with this book.

I have had this book laying around for ages. I have taken it for granted really. But when I think about how well it is written and clearly laid out, with an additional picture writing section at the end of the book, it makes me wonder why I don't take better care of it. I'm amazed it's still in print and CHEAP! Great for kids but also a nice intro for adults as well. Boy Scouts could use this as part of their achievement training. One big plus is the photographs and anecdotes of William Tomkins and his friends, the Lakota. You can't lose with this book.

...when I finally finished Longo's second cranium crushing crossword book (CCC2 as I would call this Mensa Crosswords book), today, was.......

"Now what am I going to do with the rest of my life?"

What I mean by this is: This was simply the very best crossword book I have ever (almost) completed!

Lemme explain:

Most chronic solvers like myself consider themselves connoisseurs to justify their massive fun and time investment. We also think it somehow "sharpens" our brains or prevents or postpones early Alzheimer changes. Very good chance it does. While this book may not be proven to increase IQ points in double blind controlled studies, it most certainly slows down the IQ point loss we young 60-year old whippersnappers can often experience.

If you are one of those many people I know who feel their IQ is much higher than what it is in reality, and are buying this book to prove it....fuhgedaboutit! You will meet with massive defeat! The book is grizzly, grueling, painful, thorny, every step of the way. I found it to be measurably harder than CCC1, Longo's first book, and it took me a bit longer to solve CCC2 than CCC1. I would like to think the reason for this is not because I turned 60 last month, but because it really is harder chiefly because Longo was the first pioneering cruciverbalist to say bye-bye to restraining American symmetry and do things, all difficult for him and you, to make things MUCH more interesting and tough.

Bye-bye American symmetry, and good riddance. We will never miss you!

I promise you that if you are a masochistic habanero chewer and like to burn off your nose hairs with lighter fluid just to prove how macho you are, this book is for you. It rocks. The 2 very unique things about Mensa Crosswords is that:

#1: Every crossword will be completely different from any other one you have ever solved. Every puzzle will have MANY words and phrases you have never seen before.

#2: Every puzzle will have at least one or two hall-of-fame clues which you will recall for many days or months and chuckle when you think about them.

But make no mistake---Longo will boldly keep his reputation as America's #1 wholesome constructor, and king of smooth, seamless entries.

The main drawback of the book will be, that, after you are finished, and probably are also bloody, fried, comatose, perhaps angry, but knowing you have permanently doubled your IQ (which in my case is now up to 140), you will say:

"Now what am I going to do with the rest of my life?"

Respectively submitted,

Popeye

It's frustrating to buy a book and find that the puzzles have already been published in different books with different covers.

This is the third look for these puzzles that I am aware of.

these puzzles are indeed challenging. they are filled with pointless trivia and contain no humor. there are equally difficult puzzles that entertain and amuse as one goes about solving. these have no charm

Delivers as described, large swaths of white squares, many answers stacked and traversing the entire width or height of the diagram. Takes a long time to figure out, but when you do (aha!), the letters fill in quickly due to the long answers cascading together. The clues are clever and contemporary, referencing the latest events and popular culture. If you like the Saturday NY Times puzzles, this book is for you, because these puzzles are even harder.

Also, half the puzzles do not follow the traditional symmetry of grid design. Personally, I didn't mind at all.

A thoughtful touch is the book design: spiral bound pages, stiff covers, bright white paper make for convenient solving. The solution pages are bound so that the appropriate answer appears directly under the puzzle you're attempting -- another nice touch.

Many "tough" crossword compilations fall in the medium-to-hard category, not nearly challenging enough for those of us who love to torture ourselves by staring at arcane clues, trying to figure out what the puzzler was thinking ... of course, the joy of the "aha" moment more than compensates for the torture. The Mensa Crosswords, I'm happy to say, live up to the "cranium-crushing" description. (I finished them, but I admit to peeking at the answers on a few occasions!) I hope Mr. Longo will favor us with a Volume 2 soon.

Sure, this book isn't a thick, hard-back tome complete with leather binding, but it packs some pretty amazing effects into its pages. Though some of the tricks might sound pretty simple, the effects can be quite astonishing, especially if you work up a good patter (comical or spooky). One thing I find very helpful about this book is that Robert includes his estimated level of presentation difficulty along with its overall impact for each demonstration. Plus, he mentions right off if a partner or any level of set-up is required. Buy this book and get your nose into it. It's a whimsical, easy read with some real gems to add to your repertoire.

This is the "War & Peace" of Mind Reading! Robert Mandelberg takes you through the basic steps of mind reading with an uncanny brilliance and a great sense of humor.
He will make you feel like the new Kreskin!

This is the "War & Peace" of Mind Reading! Robert Mandelberg takes you through the basic steps of mind reading with an uncanny brilliance and a great sense of humor.
He will make you feel like the new Kreskin!

This book is extremely elementary. Nothing you can't figure out without a little thought. I've got to think the other reviewers are friends of the author, because I can't see how they can possibly think this book is that great.

I have read through the many pages of countless magic books only to find myself frustrated with the lack of high impact, hard-to-figure-out tricks. This book, however, was different. A few minutes after reading the first couple of pages I decided to try what I just learned of some of my friends. I blew them away, and they told me I should quit my job and start performing in Las Vegas. If you were to buy this quality of material in a magic store, it would cost around $50. This is a 'must have' for anyone interested in astounding their friends or family.

While I appreciate the sentiment behind Taylor's urge to explain the specifics of virtual worlds to the possibly uninitiated reader (e.g. explaining what mobs are, what buffs are, what leveling is, etc.), I was quite thrown by the dissonance between such writing, which takes up the first 60 pages, and is interspersed throughout the rest of the book, and the *extremely* jargon-riddled approach to otherwise fascinating issues. This combination left me alternately bored and irritated (maybe this is just a pet peeve when it comes to words like problematize, constitute, complicate, etc.).

Needlessly vague, abstract, and technical language aside, I think Taylor brings up very interesting points: about women gamers, about game-content ownership, about emergent game-culture, about the effects of game structure on that game-culture, and many others. Taylor summarizes her arguments when she writes "My call then is for nondichotomous models." This idea rears its head repeatedly in her explorations of distinctions such as game/social, real/virtual, play/work, user/producer, consumer/citizen, and in her broad argument that there are a variety of different activities that constitute "play."

The one distinction I think she gets wrong is the one between the real world and the virtual world. She questions other scholars who worry about the potentially deleterious effects of the 'real world' on the 'virtual world,' calling into question the separation between the two. I don't think other scholars believe in a hard line between the two; I think they make a good point by recognizing that, for instance, if bill-boards for Wal-Mart start popping up in fantasy realms, this is going to ruin the atmosphere and the game. Taylor, at times, stays at too abstract a level of engagement to see these points.

Otherwise, an interesting book, though I would hardly call it "ethnographic" as other reviewers have. Yes she played Everquest, but the book is not really about her experiences. For an ethonographic work check out Julian Dibbell's Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot.

TL Taylor is a brilliant woman, and the thoughtfulness and scientific rigor of her research shine through in this book.

For those who wonder what on earth online gaming is about, Taylor furnishes an education. He covers the history of how it sprang from the MUDs [Multi User Dungeons] and MOOs [MUDs with object orientation] of the 80s. When those were of necessity primarily text based. Then, in the 90s, with the advent of the Web and faster bandwidth and more powerful personal computers, multiuser online games emerged. Notably EverQuest, which is well documented here. Other games are also mentioned.

Taylor himself took part as a player in one of these. Partly of his own recreational interest. But also as background research for this book. He shows that these games became virtual worlds. Where players could build up their personas and environments. Even to the extent of trading these assets in the real world. Some players took these on as "jobs", building up characters that they would subsequently sell on eBay. Amazing indeed.

Important issues are aired. Like what rights, if any, do players have to sell these personas? Much of the value in a persona arises out of the creativity of its owner. Much more than just the passive watching of a film. Or even of playing a twitch game like Quake, which is not really about character development. The book reaches no definitive conclusion. Which is a good assessment of how things stand now, anyways.

I would term the first few chapters of this book to be MMOs for dummies. They were fairly redundant filled with the basics of the genre. I realize that to a certain extent she had to write about this sort of stuff to ground the book for non-genre players, it went on for a little to long I think. If you took away the stuff that explained how the genre worked, this book may very well have been about 75 pages.

Once you got past this point, the book was fairly good. I especially like Taylor's insight into the ownership rights in online games as I think this subject is currently of major concern to players. The women in MMO section was also fairly good, but again fairly redundant at the same time.

I would like to point out that Taylor is a woman and not a man as a previous reviewer implies. A point she makes quite clear early in the book, and a point which I do think offers a fresh perspective on the genre considering much of what has already been written has come from a male-centric point of view.

Overall, the read is pretty good. I think it would work best for those who are not familiar with online gaming, and maybe even someone who hasn't yet started really reading material on the culture of online gaming. As someone who has both been an MMO gamer for over a decade and someone who has read a number of theories and books on the genre I didn't really feel that this book brought much new to the table which was too bad.

In her book on the MMO gaming world, Taylor brings an ethnographic approach to the game Everquest. Through interviews and personal experience, she gives an insight into the gaming world that portrays it for the rich, complex, social world that it is. A gamer herself, Taylor does an excellent job shining new light on the "frowned upon" gaming world. She also goes beyond the gaming world to show how things are connected through the internet and "in real life" to things within the game.

As far as this being too "basic" in covering the genre - this wasn't aimed to be a book only for advanced gamers. For those of the academic world, who have no experience whatsoever with games, the chapters provide sufficient information about the games to allow understanding. The summary/analysis is as comprehensive as it is rich. There are parts that she could have gone further and I do hope she does write a second book (although she does have articles on this topic as well).

All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic book for academics (or just interested people) who want an ethnographic approach to the gaming world that treats it not as a deviant, subersive "alternate" reality. Gamers and academics alike can appreciate it. Think Jenkins' Textual Poachers (written about the fan world) for gamers.

I sincerely hope this is the tip of the iceberg for this serious academic research into the community, social aspects of MMOs.

I got this book to help me explain checkers to my daughter. It has been a great help in explaining the moves and significantly better than the other three books I acquired. The attached checker board was a big help. The book is easy to read and follow. I wish I could have had this book when I started playing checkers!

This book is fun, witty, and entertaining, and certainly will get you interested in playing serious checkers. But it won't help you very much.

The book mainly deals in a disorganized way with mid-game tactics and end-game situations. Interesting traps and shots are presented, along with problems that are too hard for most beginners. That's all there is; just a little about openings, for instance. I kept reading and rereading this book thinking there has to be more here, but I have yet to find it.

Read the book if you only wish to have your appetite stimulated, and then do your real study from a more complete book such as Reinfeld.

I am a regular at the MSN gaming zone (usually playing in rated room 1 or kings a competitive room) and before buying this book I had around a 1550-1600 rating which is not good at all. So I thought I would try reading a book and see what it would do to my game. A MAJOR improvement occured in my game after reading this book. My rating is now hundreds of points higher than before. I have beaten some of the best players and my recent statistics are 16 wins and 3 losses. Where would I be without this book? I dont think my rating would of moved a notch. This is clear to understand and I am buying it for my checker buddys. The board it includes with the 32 numbers is not only great for recording your games you play...but its great for mail play! I got 100 times more out of this book than what I payed. Thank you Mr.Pike...you really improved my game.

Pike's book provides strategy's for the serious checker player, however, he omits opening strategies. Still, there is a lot of interesting information about the history of the game provided by Pike.

I got this book the second day I started playing checkers. I am now a serious checkers player and can improve my rating about 50 points in one day! This book was really helpful to a player like me and I would suggest it to a friend.

I ordered this thinking that it contained the LSAT questions, their setups, and their answers. I guess I didn't read the description well enough, because it really has only the setups for each problem. I wasn't too upset about the lack of actual problems--the majority of those can be found in the 10 LSAT (10 More and The Next 10, I think) books--but I was really disappointed that they didn't have explanations for every answer like in the Logic Games Bible. Overall, the individual setups are much shorter (about 1 page/game) than in the LGB (several pages/game). There were explanations for some answers, but not for all of them. For someone like me, who's not exactly a whiz at Logic Games, though, it's worthwhile. Basically, I love the LGB and think a mediocre supplement is better than no supplement at all.

Good luck on the LSAT!

I bought this book about a month ago to help me understand some of the past games. The fact is I thought the book's set-ups were quite inadequate. Each set-up only contained a few sentences. In addition, the solution to some of the questions aren't even included with the set-ups, which coincidentally were always the ones I had problem solving. So while the book is better that nothing, don't expect to understand all the games given in the time period by just reading this book.

If you use the PowerScore Logic Games Bible. This book is perfect for checking your work on prep tests and testing out the techniques learned from the games bible.

If you use the Powerscore Logic Games Bible, this book is a must-have companion.

This book was an excellent way to practice everything I learned in the Logic Games Bible. I highly recommend it!

Pronunciation Games displays the typical British sense of humor in "Sound Pictures" when it uses a picture of a vulture in a cage above the refrigerator. In some of the word games and mazes, the British RP dialect sans final /r/ is seen in words such as 'car,' 'bear,' and 'dear.' There are various games to play from beginning levels to the more advanced. In addition, this book is reproducible. If you want to teach RP or pick up a British accent while having some fun, this is the book for you. However, a few of the games and word pictures can be used for teaching GA or American English.

The book is not bad as an additional resource in the classroom. There tends to be an over use of the phonetic alphabet which can make the games more an academic exercise, rather than a fun way to learn pronunciation. Other than that, there a numerous other activities which help students put the correct stress on a word. The stress activities are very good.

This book has made the teaching, and learning, of pronunciation a joy. It has changed both my own and my students' attitude towards pronunciation lessons.

I was surprised when I received this book to find that the pronunciation taught by these games is RP (Received Pronunciation) or British English. Though some of the games deal with intonation, word stress, etc., and can be used for teaching American English, be aware that many of these games will not be useful for teaching American English pronunciation.
However, if you are teaching British English pronunciation, this book could be a nice resource.

"Pronunication Games" is a book designed for Elementary to Intermediate students, and presents a number of activities targetting various facets of phonology. These include stress, intonation, connected speech and the like.

The games range from the bog-simple to quite complex affairs. I have found students quite enjoy them and they offer a good range of activity types.

While I would not rely entirely on this book, it does provide a good variety of games that students will mostly enjoy and have fun with.

Spectrum has completely redone this series of books, cutting the number of questions by what seems like half! They have also included questions where the student must write essays, etc. I only wanted multiple choice questions and felt like I wasted my money on this book:( I won't make that mistake in the future!

I was looking for a comprehensive test preparation book for my 3rd-grader and I found a gem! This book takes testing apart step-by-step, clearly explaining what topics show up on standardized tests, how to approach each of those topics, and provides fantastic tips on how to find answers even when you may be unfamiliar with the topic at hand.

I am certain that this book is going to prove invaluable in preparing my child for standardized testing. One of the best buys this year!

This was a very helpful test review book. I meant to order the CRCT one by the same company, but apparently in my haste I must have grabbed the wrong one. This one was excellent too, just not as CRCT specific. We give the CRCT test every spring..

My son used this book with "Standardized Test Practice for 3rd Grade" by Charles J. Shields and has done very well in the SAT test.

A high quality workbook in the spectrum series. It organizes 3rd grade math and reading in progressive topics and gives drills on each of them in standard test format. Very comprehensive. The content is similar to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Well designed problems and questions. Easy to follow test skills are introduced for the first timers as well.

If your child has never experienced a standard test. This is the book to start with. It will definitely help your 3rd grader grasp the fundamentals. My son finished this thin book in 4 weeks. To keep up the practice, we also use a Houston community web site beestar.org. It provides free daily math exercises in standard test format. My son does very well there thanks to the solid skills he learned from this book. I highly recommend it.