Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games Paperback – August 30, 2012

Fantastic book. Truly a book that had to be written. Excellent scholarly approach to the current revolution in tabletop gaming culture.

If you're the least bit interested in "Eurogames", then there is a lot to love and a lot to learn from this book. If you're interested in the psychology of play and the culture of gamers, then the last third of this book would be great to dig in to. I'm very interested in boardgames and gaming in general and the first half of this book covers (briefly) the history of boardgames and spends a healthy amount of time on the development and arrival of Eurogames. From this history, I've got a new list of games to check out and from the thorough research, great notes and bibliography at the end of the book, much more reading to do.The last third of the book is a great look at the culture of gamers, why they do what they do in a game, what they look for in a game, how they play together. I was very intrigued by the section on self-handicapping and the reasons for doing so.While most of the book is very dry and "textbook", as a player I feel like I have a new set of eyes, or at least a vocabulary to apply during my next design or gaming session.

The book starts off well an excellent theory of why Eurogames are the way they are and a nice section of the analysis of common mechanics but the book drifts off topic about halfway through where it feels like the author is attempting to fill space the the results if a survey about how players play games and how they feel about concepts like cheating and king making. Missing from the book is a list/summery of influential/important Eurogames. This information is in the book but must be sifted through from many references and chapter notes. This book does contain one of the best bibliographies to learn readers to more books on the topic. Worth reading, but a tad disappointing.

Great book about boardgames.

This is an interesting look at the world of eurogaming, from the games to the gamers. A bit on the dry side, which isn't surprising given that it originated as a doctoral dissertation. But lots of interesting stuff for game afficionados. This will not teach you how to design a game -- at least it's not intended for that purpose. But if you are a eurogamer, or you want to understand your family/friends who are eurogamers, this will go a long way. I am a eurogamer myself, and I really enjoyed reading more about one of my favorite hobbies.

Great essay on the origins and development of the Euro-style board games.

An informative window into the topic of Euro games.

Posits credible theories as to the cultural background & memetic forces behind the emergence of Eurogames/German-style board-games, where they're finding other audiences and why those other audiences are embracing them.A bit erudite at times, but when you put the book down, you'll be able to explain to friends and acquaintances why Settlers of Catan isn't Monopoly-on-an-Island and why games like Catan can be played amicably with the Family on Thanksgiving (have you ever tried to play Risk or Monopoly at a Family get-together after there are a couple empty beer-cased piled up?)