Review of "It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Great summary of selected impactful (and top selling) games through time. Each chapter focuses on a game or game type, from ancient to chess to late 19th century roll-and-move to modern day. Each provided history, anecdotes, and information in just the right amounts.
I enjoyed the sections on Life, Clue, and Pandemic, and already knew many of the others. The later sections document the recent resurgence of board games, and the last chapter the start of “Spiel des Jahres” - game of the year.
While it didn't delve beyond Kriegspiel in the wargame section, I have another title to read which goes into a lot more detail. In summary, this book covers board game history (and origins) really well, and is recommended for anyone with interest.