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Around the World in Eighty Games

From Tarot to Tic-Tac-Toe, Catan to Chutes and Ladders, a Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the World's Greatest Games

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Around the World in Eighty Games

Auteur(s): Marcus du Sautoy
Narrateur(s): Mark Elstob
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À propos de cet audio

“A delightful global tour of how humans think and play, led by one of our finest mathematical storytellers.” — Ben Orlin, author of Math Games with Bad Drawings

Where should you move first in Connect 4? What is the best property in Monopoly? And how can pi help you win rock paper scissors?

Spanning millennia, oceans and continents, countries and cultures, Around the World in Eighty Games gleefully explores how mathematics and games have always been deeply intertwined. Renowned mathematician Marcus du Sautoy investigates how games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world, how understanding math can help us play games better, and how both math and games are integral to human psychology and culture.

For as long as there have been people, there have been games, and for nearly as long, we have been exploring and discovering mathematics. A grand adventure, Around the World in Eighty Games teaches us not just how games are won, but how they, and their math, shape who we are.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Marcus du Sautoy (P)2023 Basic Books Mathématique Jeu

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Ce que les critiques en disent

"Marcus du Sautoy’s brilliantly clear and captivating prose manages to bring to life the drama of so many different games. With the lightest of touches du Sautoy manages persuasively to show how games are both narratives that speak about us and structures whose ideas underlie everything in our known universe. And on top of it, the book serves as an absolutely indispensable compendium. Rainy weekends in Cornwall will now be welcomed." —Stephen Fry, actor

"Maths is fun? Who knew? Certainly not me when I was growing up, but I think I’d have got on differently had I been handed a copy of Marcus du Sautoy’s book." —Prospect Magazine

“An engrossing tour… delivered in refreshingly simple and consistently entertaining terms.” —Kirkus (Starred)
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Whether you are obsessed with games, or simply looking for a stroll through memory lane, there is something for everyone in Around the World in Eighty Games. Themes include the psychology of games, card games, math games, and more, along with the future of games.

Even if not all the games listed might be immediately familiar to you, many games have been globally adapted with different names.

For example, in the South Pacific, game 39, named "Cluedo," is the game I know as Clue. I was surprised to learn that the game that had me accusing Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the ballroom of murder could have had 324 possible solutions (9 rooms × 6 suspects × 6 weapons). I'm glad they simplified it!

This is a great example of the trivia packed into du Sautoy's book.

One caution: you have to be aware of the "off-kilter" chapter naming if listening on Audible. The audiobook narration matches, as best I can tell, the Kindle version—but the audiobook chapter labels are unique and do not line up with anything else.

For example, at the start of Chapter 5, you'll hear the narrator say, "Chapter 3 India." It's insane. To make it worse, the audiobook PDF accompaniment uses the Kindle chapter numbers. It's like resolving the numbering is a game unto itself.

With this in mind, ignore the chapter numbers and focus on the game numbers (1–80), which appear to stay consistent across all formats. It's easy to find 14. Snakes and Ladders in the PDF just by knowing it's 14. That's all you need.

Tip: To view a complete list of all 80 games, go to pages 29–32 in the PDF accompaniment.

To make this less painful—so you can focus on the games themselves—I've created this Listening Guide.

Listening Guide (Regional Edition – Highlights)
Du Sautoy begins in the Middle East, tracing how early civilizations balanced luck and pattern through dice and Backgammon. He moves across the Arabian Sea, asking what counts as a game at all—from animal play to language and imagination.

In India, play meets philosophy: Snakes and Ladders becomes karma, chess a symbol of cosmic order, and even children's games echo spiritual ideas.

The South China Sea and China chapters dive into the mathematics of fairness and strategy, from Nim and the Prisoner's Dilemma to Go and Mah-jong.

Through the East China Sea and Japan, card games become mirrors of society and art, from Whist and Bridge to Hanafuda and Pokémon.

Later, the journey turns westward: the North Pacific and Australasia explore creativity and connection, while the South Pacific treats games as art—Cluedo, The Player of Games, and even Mozart's dice compositions.

Finally, through the Americas, Europe, and the North Sea, du Sautoy examines how innovation, capitalism, logic, and artificial intelligence shape how we play. By the Endgame, every form of play reflects the same truth: games are how we learn to think, take risks, and stay curious.

It was Colonel Mustard with the candlestick!

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Awesome book that combines love of board games and mathematics. Thanks Numberphile for the suggestion ;)

Great book

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