
The Game Changers
How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too
$25.03
- Paperback
256 pages
- Release Date
25 November 2025
Summary
Why is playing games a universal human instinct? Why did the same games evolve across wildly different civilisations? And how can those games make your life happier, healthier and more fulfilled?
In this entertaining and thought-provoking look at games through the ages, Tim Clare explores the legal highs of a good dice roll, the thrills of a predatory race game and the tactile pleasures of the games that age with us through our lives to discover how, through play, we become fully ours…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781837260935 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1837260931 |
| Author: | Tim Clare |
| Publisher: | Canongate Books |
| Imprint: | Canongate Books |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 256 |
| Release Date: | 25 November 2025 |
| Weight: | 180g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 129mm x 15mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
Brilliant and hilarious. The best book on games I’ve read in years – G.T. KARBER, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of MURDLE
A deep, poetic dive into game-playing and its role in human society and mental health. Table-top games are examined and celebrated, from dice to Monopoly to Pokémon – JANICE HALLETT, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE APPEAL
Tim Clare, taking on the role of author and games master, plays his pieces well in The Game Changers…an engaging exploration – CAROLINE EDEN
Let me tell you, this book is a love letter. It’s infectious – IVAN BRETT from THE TRAITORS
Tim Clare is a fabulous tour guide through the history of table games … Rich with enticing origin stories [The Game Changers] has a phenomenally broad scope … Exceptional – TOM BREWSTER, Shut Up & Sit Down
A warm, enthusiastic survey of games … filled with personal anecdotes and almost romantic scenes of gameplay among friends and family members * * Spectator * *
Digs into all sorts of unexpected corners and startling histories, always coming back to the real physical and emotional experiences of play. It’s an absolute delight to read, charming and chatty, overflowing with insight into why we love games, and beautifully researched, with anecdotes ranging from the familiar to the forgotten and everywhere in between – HOLLY GRAMAZIO
A delightful love letter to tabletop games and the joy of play, from ancient times to today, with plenty of poignant, heartfelt turns. Bask in it! – MATT FORBECK, New York Times-bestselling author of MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA
It is refreshing and exciting reading a book on games that looks at the history of games in such a expansive and inclusive manner. I loved this book, and think it should be used in schools. So many of our books on games focus on how to make good games, or play well - few are about what games mean to humans and their culture – RICHARD GARFIELD, creator of ‘Magic: The Gathering’
Praise for Coward: Fascinating, thought-provoking, vulnerable and generous – CATHY RENTZENBRINK
About The Author
Tim Clare
Tim Clare is an award-winning writer, poet and creative-writing podcaster. He is the author of We Can’t All Be Astronauts and Coward, and the novels The Honours and The Ice House. He has performed his work at festivals and clubs across the world, on BBC TV and radio. Tim has also written for the Guardian, Times, Independent and Big Issue, and presents the creative-writing podcast Death Of 1,000 Cuts.
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