The books have been piling up, so I've got a few to chat about this time. When I saw the Board Games by Desi Scarpone in the book store, I could hardly pass it up. This imaginatively named volume aims to be a reference guide to the approximate values of games, as well as providing a visual stroll down memory lane. It is chock full of color photographs of 1475 different board games dating from 1940 through the 1980s. The game's name, publisher, date, and value appear beside every photo. The author sometimes includes other info such as advertising tag lines or very brief gameplay comments. Often, Scarpone shows the evolution of games over time. Eight different editions of Pit are depicted, for example, and six editions of Clue (curiously, none of them more recent than 1963). He even devotes an entire chapter to Monopoly.
Unfortunately, Scarpone places far too much emphasis on box covers and not nearly enough on contents. The vast majority of photos show nothing of what the inside of the game looks like, and thus offers little insight into how games might play. The values listed for games are also questionable. Avalon Hill's Dune, for example, is valued at $10. I've never seen one that cheap— copies have sold on Internet for $60 or higher.
The joy of this book isn't in its value as a price guide, but rather as a jog to long-forgotten memories. Flipping through its pages sparked fond recollections of games from my youth, games such as Aurora's Flip-it Jackpot (1973), Milton Bradley's Bash (1965), or Marx' Frenzy (oh, the hours I spent with that game!).
Although I would dearly like to have seen more of the games themselves rather than just their boxes, Board Games (ISBN 0-88740-725-0, Schiffer, (610) 593-1777) really is a treasure.
Taking a different approach to the photo-retrospective is Rockport Publishers' Game Graphics. Where Board Games crams up to 15 game photos on a single page, this book often grants a double-page spread to a single photo. Considering that Rockport's niche appears to be books on graphic design, this is hardly surprising.
Game Graphics is nothing more than a showcase for games which, according to some arcane and unspoken criteria, were deemed by the editors to have superlative or significant design elements. These games are displayed in lavish photographs, most taken especially for this volume. Unlike Scarpone's book, Game Graphics usually doesn't just show us the box cover. The contests are attractively laid out, providing a much better impression of the game. Sometimes a brief summary of the game's objective is also provided. The editors list the game's company and any designers, artists, illustrators, photographers, etc. involved in the game's production. Sadly, they do not provide contact information. If any of these games strike your fancy, ordering them will involve some sleuthing.
Alas, less than half the book is devoted to "adult" games and puzzles, the remainder focusing on computer, video, electronic, and kiddie games. Game Graphics (ISBN 1-56496-079-X, Rockport, (508) 546-9590) is an attractive package, but may be of limited interest to any but hard-core collectors and game designers.
Sid Sackson's latest book, Card Games Around the World, is Dover's newest Sackson reprint (is that an oxymoron?). As the name suggests, the book presents a collection of card games gathered from all across the globe, all described in Sackson's easily-understood style.
This 146 page volume provides a fair mix of obscure games you've never heard of and games you've seen before. The latter sums up chapters 4, 5 and 7, dedicated to games from Europe, the British Isles, and the United States. The chapters covering Asian, Latin American, and other European games are less familiar and more interesting because of it. A few bonus games, including a couple of Sackson inventions, appear at the end.
With a title like Card Games Around the World, I expected a comprehensive book on the order of David Parlett's Oxford Dictionary of Card Games. Instead it's rather thin, including fewer games than Parlett's volume. With compendium books, two things matter— how many games, and how well they are presented. Sackson fares better in the second category, but in my opinion the first one is the more important.
Card Games Around the World (ISBN 0-486-28100-0, $4.95, Dover Publications Inc., 31 E. 2nd St., Mineola NY, 11501) is not a must-have like A Gamut of Games, offering little you can't find elsewhere. Unless you're a Sackson completist or find other card game books too obtuse, you'll probably be disappointed.