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‘The Game Changers’ by Tim Clare is as much a love letter as a history of tabletop games. Written with humour and interesting tangents, Clare covers some of the most popular games (Monopoly and Pokémon) and most enduring (chess and mancala). It reads as a series of essays that can be read through in a couple of days (as I did) or as something you can pick up and read a standalone chapter at a time.

Clare manages to convey his passion for tabletop games and their importance in facilitating community, creating safe spaces (particularly for neurodivergent gamers) and in potentially managing stress and loneliness. Clare also tactfully discusses how tabletop games can cross language and cultural barriers.

I loved reading about the Japanese game of Karuta which blends poetry with rapid responses and was deeply moved learning about the importance of mancala to the people enslaved and transported from Africa to the Caribbean.

The moments that shined for me were where, Clare, following the archeological artefacts associated with various games, brings our distant ancestors alive with their shared playfulness and humanity. Clare also shows us his own vulnerable humanity when he shares his own experiences engaging in games from a twelve year old chess whizz Ukrainian refugee now living in Ireland, his nearly decade old dungeons and dragons group and his own father.

I love gaming and have been gaming on and off since the mid-70s (chess) and have recently returned to playing solo board games and as part of this I’ve always loved a good book about games and the history of games.

In this book Tim looks at various games from the oldest to some of the newest and looks at how each has been part of society and influenced other game development travelling the world to show the universality of the need to game.

He also looks at how games influence people and groups and how people interact in these groups and it is this honest look at the sociological importance of games both at a group and individual level that really appealed to me about this book.

Full of humour and information this is a brilliant read from start to finish and I loved every moment of it.

Tim also ends with a very personal revelation that he hints at throughout the book so it came as no big surprise but shows a great deal of honesty and integrity.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really interesting books. The history or games and the history of the author too really. Good to see some of my favourites in there although I would have liked more chapters on the popular games these days.

An absolute must for anyone who has ever loved a boardgame (or thrown the dice across the room in frustration). The Game Changers is a whistestop tour through the history of gaming in all its forms - dice, cards, boardgames. Full of fascinating facts and engagingly written, it's impossible to put down and Tim Clare's natural charm and humour make this a truly enjoyable read - this reader stifled a giggle at the inevitability of the dreaded Monopoly chapter. Above all, there is great affection for gaming which shines through and makes this an irresistible read.