Games Books

The cards were in perfect condition upon arrival.
The packing was nice and tight so as not to dent the cards.
I am more than completely satisfied!!!!

My Universal Waite cards had seen better days. In spite of my desire to start fresh with some new imagery I was drawn to the Radiant Rider - Waite. I get a wonderful light feeling from this deck. My clients are drawn to the artwork. Connecting with a deck is very important to the intuitive process!

This deck is beautiful! I love the color! It stays true to the original Rider-Waite Deck and is VERY eye appealing. It comes with a small set of instructions inside the deck (more of a pamphlet than a booklet and definitely not a book). The pamphlet would be somewhat helpful to someone starting off, but I would suggest getting a "how to" tarot book to companion for beginers. There is good detail for those that read intuitively, but for those that wish to stretch beyond the traditional... you may want to go for another set of cards. This deck is great for both those just starting out or for those that have been practicing for years. This is definitely added among one of my favorite tarot decks.

FAR superior to the Universal Waite or the "regular" RWS deck. Colors are BEAUTIFUL, VIBRANT and ENGAGING. If you're going to buy a traditional deck, THIS IS IT, look no further!!

I got the Rider Waite and the Universal version. that was my fav cause it looked better to the eyes. I was not sure if I should buy the Radiant version cause I got 2 RW decks why would i need another? But I said to myself I am going to buy it, to see what it looks like, cause I love to see new versions of the RW deck. I must say the Radiant RW is amazing! The colors are bold and clear its refreashing. I am happy I bought it, If you are starting on Tarot Buy The Radiant or Universal versions they are the best.

I really think they are stretching to come up with more "Essential" books for Star Wars, but nonetheless, this is still a good book full of all the information you knew, know, wanted and didn't want to know about the lovable robotic droids of the Star Wars movies and books. Star Wars fans won't be disappointed, however there is not much here for the non-Star Wars fan, as they probably won't even know what their reading about (or if they did, they wouldn't care). I recommend this to all Star Wars fans.

In the immortal words of Darth Vader..."Impressive. Most impressive." I found this book to be not only an excellent resource but also a great read. It touches on every major detail of the droids that it mentions...which is quite a bit. You can read about anything from C-3P0's internal computer to the technical details of the medical droid. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to scratch the surface of Star Wars and dig a little deeper.

I have all of the Essential Guides and have been pleased with all of them to one degree or another. The Essential Guide to Droids, however, is one of the better ones. The author and artists have done their homework in researching the novels, but for all their work-there are some really silly designs in here, usually written into novels or whatever, because the author thought it would be cute, but only comes across as annoying or dumb (the C2-R4 comes to mind). Other designs have not been well thought out-the M38 Explorer droid is too tall, it seems logical that if you want an automated robot for planetary surveys, then something with a lower center of gravity would be a much better design. I would recommend that everyone ignore the fact that Anakin made C-3PO and keep his manufacturer as Cybot Galactica, since that is a little more believable. As always The Essential Guide to Droids would make an ideal addition to the Star Wars role playing table as well, and it has a good spread of robots from domestic, industrial to combat and medical droids. A solid effort with great art work and well written.

This is where I go to get information on Droids. You never seem to get really good description of the droids so this is where reccomend that you go and if you can't find out what you need to know the I would reccomend th Star Wars Encyclopedia.

The Essential Guide to Droids is better than the rest of the EG series thus far. It has good pictures and relatively informative schematic drawings of each of the droids, with better art than has been seen yet in a Guide. It also has the obligatory listing and brief description of all the major droid manufacturors in known. Another helpful feature is that it lists the droids according to their function, rather than in the standard alphabetical order, a la EG to Weapons. But the author goes beyond simply describing each droid and its function. He created background lore about the droids, and their developers. He doesn't make each droid individual, but rather trases entire product lines, for example, he goes from the R1 to the end of the R- series, creating the whole product line development, etc... What he doesn't do is spend the entire allotted text space for each droid simply relating the adventures it has had. This is a very helpful, informative, and readable SW book, and I'm glad I bought it.

this has to be the best book to have on any bedside tale for anyone with an interest in big game hunting and rifles, it is very informative and will go a long way in helping you to choose your next rifle should you be planning a hunt. I have decided on a 416 rigby bolt action rifle which gets more than its fair share of good reviews and hope this book will help in the planning of your next safari.

Craig obviously really knows how to hunt and must have done heaps of it

The best look at modern rifles and today's African scene there is.

I could not put it down, and read it cover to cover in one night. After that it became a reference. The endless detail on calibers, cartridges and loads may put off some but it helped me choose a gun, gave me cartridge selection ideas and got me involved in a South African safari. It is a reference book that reads like a novel.

This is the complete work on the hunting rifle in Africa, period. This and Boddington's "American Hunting Rifles" make a two volume masterwork that completely covers the modern hunting rifle in all its forms. This book is unique in that it includes a fascinating poll of modern African professional hunters, what they use, what they want their clients to use, etc. etc. Fascinating statistics. Essential reading for Africa. Also essential in its own way is John Taylor's "African Rifles and Cartridges", and you need to read both.

The premise for this book is articulated beautifully via words borrowed from Isaac Newton: 'If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.' Finally, there is a resource for the business community that will help us all to see ourselves, and our real business dilemmas/solutions more clearly. Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer have done a masterful job, distilling information and presenting the golden nuggets of wisdom gained through our collective experience. A immediate must-read and resource to have on hand!

If your industry is haunted by excess capacity, slack demand, and disruptive technological advances, this book is a must read.

Dickie and Trailer's ability to find, extract, and assemble entrepreneurial innovation in sales and marketing helped me identify why some players, both big and small, have achieved sales growth in a difficult environment.

A great book to take on the road.

This book contains refreshing, real-life experiences from some top industry pros. The subjective, first-person testimonials are ultra-effective at driving some of the theory around sales management and CRM home for both the novice and experienced reader. Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer highlight these experiences without being heavy-handed. A must for your sales and marketing library!

This book is "simply" a collection of 39 interviews of executives with an introduction by the authors (they are also interviewees #38 and #39). There is little in the way of analysis or even commentary. But the firsthand perspectives from these accomplished executives make it a fascinating read.

I was disappointed by the light coverage of marketing-specific topics--most of the content deals with sales and CRM. Also, the authors did not provide an index which is annoying--particularly given the nature of the content.

Here is a partial list of the 39 executives interviewed:
Jeffery Schaper, GE
Jerry Ungerman, Check Point Systems
Robert Savage, Savage & Assoc.
John Williams, StorageTek
Sam Reese, Miller Heiman
Benson Shapiro, Harvard
Tanya Candia, Sigaba
Bernie Goldberg, Direct Marketing Publishers
Ralph Young, Microsoft
Alan Warms, Participate Systems
Gary Lutz, Wells Fargo
Joseph Batista, HP
Rick Cobb, Intraspect Software
Keith Raffel, Upshot
David Grove, Corporate Express
...

I keep dipping into this book - it's a brilliant, eclectic collection of the thoughts and ideas of a bunch of sales and marketing people who are at the cutting edge of selling today - doing it now,wrestling with the problems of selling in a downturn. The format's unusual - direct reporting of what these people think is important - in no particular topic order. The authors don't claim to present "universal truth" but everyone should find some good ideas thatthey can use and if you are looking for a an answer to a specific problem you can browse the index for a synopsis of each contribution. The authors want us to come away with a dozen ideas to explore in our business. Jim Dickie's and Barry Trailer's own contributions are packed with insight; these two pieces alone are worth the price of the book.

When you finish this book, you will discover additional questions about yourself and others.. but besides the questions you will have answers ,on the why you or your friends or significant other acts the way they do. very thoughtful is this book. besides once you have been cube'd you can cube others!

This is a wonderful book. It is extremely accurate. I highly recommend it. Once you cube someone, you are given an inside look at who they are, and why they act the way they do. It is also a wonderful look inside yourself. I highly recommend this book.

I have benefited greatly from "Secret of the Cube"- I like to cube new friends, it really helps me to communicate and understand people better- very helpful! This book is also good for understanding youself too, and personal improvement.

This game is so much fun! You learn things about people that you never knew... heck, you learn things maybe *they* didn't even know. My friend introduced me to it and ever since then, I've "Cubed" everyone I know. It's lots of fun to do with new friends as well.

I have read and collected quite a library of psychology and esoterical books on many subjects and approaches involving personal/spiritual development and exploration. This book is one of the few that I've encountered that is extremely accurate, no matter who you use it with. It contains great insight, in a straight-forward way, into yourself, life and relationships. It is very thorough in it's approach, yet still leaves room for personal interpretation - a must in my own book. For though another may help guide us, we ourselves always contain the true keys. And this book even contains references and examples of others who have played the game, including named celebrities, and impressions of interpretations from others. Very helpful for referencing the games you will encounter yourself after reading this book.

Every person I've ever used this book with has absolutely loved the game and has found it immeasurably helpful. We've even had disucssion groups and all-night philosophical pursuits after playing the game. It's hard to tire of it. And it still leaves room for continued exploration into the world of visualization, personal reflection and development; an ancient art - that is yet still very alive and meaningful.

I have seen this book listed and recommended even by spiritualists, though it is marketed as a psychology book and has also been listed on recommended lists from a more scientific approach.

I personally recommend this book for anyone. Rare would be the personality who would not enjoy this book, as the game and its exploration is so intriguing. I first purchased this book on a whim, not entirely knowing what it was about - and have NEVER ever regretted it.

Thanks much to Annie and Slobodan for writing this book!
Best of luck to all and enjoy the Cube!

Gave this to my 7-year-old for Christmas and her signing ability has simply taken off. Easy to read. Great pictures demonstrating the signs. Nicely organized so that kids can practice groups of related signs.

I wish I had this book 5 years ago with my oldest child. Signing is so easy to learn from this book. The colors are vibrant, the pictures of the kids signing are large enough to actually see, and the categories are relevant to kids(school, home, feelings, favorite foods, animals, etc).!! I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old, who is learning to sign.

I am mom to a toddler, aunt to a 12 yr old girl and 8 yr old boy, and reading tutor to three kids ages 6, 11, and 15. We all love learning from this book. Heller's Baby Fingers Teaching Your Baby to Sign board books for babies and toddlers have also been great for my toddler.

I love this book. It is a great begining sign language book. I bought it so my 19 month old daughter and I could learn together. The combination of the photos and the descriptions of how to make the signs helps even a beginner pick it up.

The photographs in this book are much easier to follow that the drawings that I've seen in other books. This one also has more signs than other kids books because it's about sign language, not deafness. Best of all, it has a grammer section for ASL that is better than I've seen in ANY signing book, children's or adult's. An excellent choice!

This book wasn't at all what I thought it would be, but I loved it. I finished it within a day.

Don't buy this book if you are expecting someone to tell you the steps involved in making an RPG. There are many better books for that. S&C doesn't tell you how to make a game. It tells you how to THINK when making a game. It also goes quite in-depth about what it's like to be in the role of a game designer.

So the two scenarios in which this book would be most useful are:

1. You have a game already designed in your head and just want to make it more fun or more professional.

2. You are considering whether you want to become a game designer as a career.

If you fit one of these two, buy this book right away. If not, it might still be worth a look. It's interesting, well-written, and you may just learn a thing or two.

First and foremost I have to say this book is very well written and easy to read. The only real mistakes I noticed were with release dates on some of the games in a timeline.

The concepts covered in this book will help not only individuals trying their hand at designing RPGs, but other games as well. The information is also presented in an interesting and entertaining way to keep the reader doing just that, reading.

Having recently entered the video game industry, I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to get a start in the industy or anyone just curious about game design in general.

I really don't know where to begin in thoroughly recommending this book. If you have any interest in designing RPG games (or any game at all, for that matter) this is the best book for your bank. Neal Hallford lays it all right out in front. From story design to gameplay mechanics to writing your pitch documents, this book will show you the most important stages of game development. More importantly, this book is down to earth and easily digestible. The chapters and subsections were written in a very clear and concise manner. I've seen other game design books that failed to educate or even entertain.

Neal Hallford writes this book not only from the point of view of a veteran game designer (Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeon Siege, and others), but also from the point of view of a GAMER. It is from that point of view that really makes this title stand out. You can tell how much he enjoys his work, and his excitement for the focus medium (RPGs) is infectious as you read. He really helps you to craft a world in your own mind (and helps you think `outside of the box' as you design). Each chapter is complete with a handful of exercises to help the budding game designer expand the way in which they think about games

This title is also rife with interesting tidbits and trivia about past games and game development. Neal Hallford never forgets that, even though this is a billion-dollars-a-year industry, we make GAMES. Even though the process should be taken seriously, you should work very hard at both doing it well, and having fun while you do it. The process itself is, in fact, one of the strongest aspects of this title. Neal takes you through every step of the process including writing your design document (the game designer's bible, as it were). He points out critical features, and common oversights. Again, he does all of this in a way that is very easy to understand.

Finally, the appendix to this title is a treasure trove itself. Included in the back of the book are interviews with some of the top game developers in the business. And while many other books have included `fluff' interviews with game designers, this book actually focuses on the critical topic: game design. You learn about how different game designers work, how they approach certain problems, and where they get their inspiration. In addition to these interviews, you can also find sample design documents, descriptions of levels, and charts for gameplay mechanics.

I don't recommend this book. I demand that you buy it. If you have even a passing interest in game design, this book was written for you. Professionals should own it. This is even a great resource for mod authors who are looking for help in creating their own worlds within other game titles. You won't be sorry.

Neal and Jana Hallford, Swords and Circuitry (Prima, 2001)

A word to prospective buyers: Swords and Circuitry is not a book about coding games. If that's what you're looking for, Prima has a number of other titles you can go to. This one's about designing games, and there's nary a line of code to be found.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, this book does have a lot to offer both for those who plan to specialize in game design and those who are running (or trying to run) one-man shops. The Hallfords offer a good deal of advice regarding the whole process of game design, from defining what it is (and having others interviewed by Neal Hallford do so as well) to details of design documents, proposals, etc. The benefits for the aspiring game designer are obvious; to the one-man shop, reading this may help clarify some things that will help when programming time comes, or shed a different light on things that may not have been thought of in quite that way. Definitely worth checking out, but know what you're getting. *** ½

This book provides a clear outlook of how to design an RPG though I wish there was a reference book to go with it. It even could be used as a text book for a class. It does everything it says. Includes other designers perspectives to broaden your perspective on design including designers from Might & Magic, Neverwinter, Star-Trek, and a few others.

I was a little disappointed. THis book doesn't keep my almost-two-year olds attention as well as I thought. He prefers his Sandra Boyton books much better. I do love the colorful pictures though. Maybe in a year or so he'll be more interested.

I love this book. It's a great "find-the-hidden-things" kind of book that kids love, and it teaches vocabulary in a fun way. Kids can learn the names of many different kinds of animals, as well as the descriptive words that illustrate them (e.g. who has horns, who is backward, who is sleeping, etc.) Finding the hidden descriptors is not super obvious even to adults, so it also teaches them to look closely at details when finding things.

I recommend this book to anyone with young kids - the kids love it and it's a great teaching tool as well!

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Awesome, awesome book. Great for memory skill building, great for noticing detail, fun for interacting together. This is a book we all look forward to at our house! Love, love it. Wish there were more books like it. Love the illustrations too, and the clean modern design. Just awesome, you won't regret buying this one- the sooner the better!

Always looking for new and imaginitive books for my 2-year-old. Was pleased to find this one. The "guessing games" get more difficult as you turn the page, with fewer clues as to the animal's species being revealed. Eventually the child must call upon memory recollection to guess the animals. Wonderfully challenging for a preschooler, or any child learning their animals.

An excellent book that gives the reader a fantastic insight into what makes Lou tick and how to succeed in both sport and life. Filled with humour it is easy to reaad and very informative.

Lou Holtz, currently the head football coach at the University of South Carolina, has written one of the best, and most enjoyable leadership books I have ever read. His game plan for success was largely told through his gridiron experiences, but this plan is about much more than just football-it is a proven, common-sense guide for succeeding in the game of life.

What makes Holtz's life and leadership insights so compelling and believable are his dynamic life experiences and his incredible list of accomplishments: parents were divorced; fiance' broke off their engagement, but they later married and remain so after 40 years; only coach to lead 4 different programs to top-20 finishes and 6 different programs to bowl games (William and Mary, N.C. State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, South Carolina); 23 of 32 college teams he coached have received bowl bids, with 18 top-25 finishes, 8 top-10 finishes, and one undefeated national championship; 3rd winningest active coach and 7th place all-time with 243 victories; wife's heroic battle with throat cancer; fired or let go as assistant coach more than once; polled as the best motivational speaker in the country two years in a row, and his motivational video "Do Right!" is the all-time best-seller; guest speaker at most Fortune 500 companies; and was invited to the Oval Office by four different presidents.

Holtz's game plan consists of ten steps. Each step is explored in detail in its own chapter. The colorful, real-world stories and humorous anecdotes Holtz used to present the steps' lessons perfectly complemented his conversational writing style. The final chapter is considered the "end-zone" of success-where you can be if you have the courage, desire, and character to apply the lessons described within the plan's steps.

The book is jammed full of common-sense, spiritual, philosophical, and motivational life and leadership perspectives. The most memorable passages for me as a father, leader, and follower were Holtz's thoughts about discipline:

"For me, a disciplinarian is someone who requires that people understand the consequences of their decisions. You use discipline to reinforce choices. Our athletes and my children knew that if they chose to misbehave, they were also choosing to pay the consequences...In each case, I never punished anyone; the offenders chose the punishment themselves by their actions."

He illustrated his commitment to being a disciplinarian by describing the circumstances that led to him suspending his top three Arkansas players before the 1977 Orange Bowl (against Oklahoma), and to suspending two of his best players before his top-ranked Notre Dame team played the second-ranked University of Southern California in 1988:

"[They] recklessly violated our Do Right rule, which governs personal conduct...These were not bad guys; they simply made a bad decision...I didn't want the keys to our offense to miss our biggest game of the year, but when they decided to break our rules, they also decided to miss the game. Now I had to support that choice."

Holtz is a master motivator and a proven true winner in football and life. My highest recommendation for this book is best captured by Holtz himself when he wrote, "As you know, the only things that will change you from where you are today to where you want to be five years from now are the books you read and the people you meet." I hope I someday get a chance to meet Lou Holtz and thank him for his outstanding book on life and leadership.

If you are looking for pure Lou Holtz motivation, you will not be disappointed. There are no "silver bullets" here, but the book will do a good job of reinforcing some great principles for creating a successful team or organization.

I happened to notice this book one day when I took my daughter to the library. A friend of mine is a personal acquaintance of Lou's so I decided to see what 'Ol Lou is all about for myself.

This is a book of (mostly humorous) stories that makes it a fun, easy read. At the same time, each story has powerful success principles and truths embedded within.

If you want to see powerful leadership in action, this is a great book.

If you want to get more from your interactions and relationships with people in every area of your life, this is a great book.

If you find yourself doubting your abilities and potential, this is a great book.

If you want to be able to learn from someone who started out as a nobody with nothing and ended up as somebody who had something, this is a great book.

If you weren't fortunate enough to have a parent or adult-figure who taught you how to win at the game of life, then I heartily recommend this book to help fill in that void.

If you don't see yourself in the preceding statements, or, if you have read all the success books and you are looking for something brand-new that you have never heard of before, then this probably isn't the book for you.

When you read the reviews here, you'd think this guy could walk on water, but this book is long on motivation and short on application. Now, if you want something that will blow the concepts and information in this book right out of the water and, at the same time, get rid of the "Big Daddy" syndrome which this book fosters too, read SUCCESS CYBERNETICS by Uell S. Andersen - a book that's never been out of print since it first appeared in 1966! SUCCESS CYBERNETICS is available from amazon.com too, go see the reviews and get it. Forget the "Raw Raw Raw, Sis Boom Bah" approach that this one contains.

I've been developping applications and amateur games for a few years using C++... I bought this book along with the Director Bible... And guess what? I made a shoot'em up game in a couple of days - with the help of my brother (graphic designer - thanks for your beautiful sprites, dud! ;) )... Director + Lingo are the best way for quick games... and this book just show me how!!!
Thanks!

Gary has done the Lingo community an amazing service. With code and logic examples that illustrate nearly every variety of game you can create to be played on a computer, this book is an incredible resource.

The examples in this book made it possible to deliver a game-rich CD project with an incredibly tight timeline.

Thanks Gary!

I have a programming background and am learning Director to make professional CD products. Gary has taught me how to do this with his Using Director 8.5 book and this Advanced Lingo for Games book. He writes very well, doesn't treat you like an idiot, and is very practical. Well done Gary and I recommend this book to all people who really want to make interactive games using Director.

I am a Lingo programmer for 4 years and this book helped me advance to the next level in Lingo Programming. Using this book helped me to understand writing my own 'behaviors' and took my understanding of 'lists' to a higher level. I owe alot of my success to this book.

Rich
Multimedia Programmer
Motorola

I've been writing Lingo for some time now, and I probably own upwards of 15 books on the subject. Of all of those books, the two that I find the most helpful every step of the way are undoubtedly Gary's most recent 2 books (this one and "Director 8.5 Special Edition"). Lots of Lingo authors know Director inside and out, but what sets Gary's books on the subject apart is his colorful writing style and an uncanny ability to break down ultra-complex scripts into palatable bite-sized chunks that even a newbie will understand. Highly recommended!