Why video games need feminism and feminism needs video games."You play like a girl" it's meant to be an insult, accusing a player of subpar, un-fun playing. If you're a girl, and you grow up, do you "play like a woman"--whatever that means? In this provocative and enlightening book, Shira Chess urges us to play like feminists. Furthermore, she urges us to play video games like feminists. Playing like a feminist is empowering and disruptive; it exceeds the boundaries of gender yet still advocates for gender equality. Playing like a feminist offers a new way to think about how humans play --and also a new way to think about how feminists do their feministing. Chess argues that feminism need video games as much as video games need feminism. Video games, Chess tells us, are primed for change. Roughly half of all players identify as female, and Gamergate galvanized many of gaming's disenfranchised voices. Games themselves are in need of a creative platform-expanding, metaphysical explosion; feminism can make games better. Chess reflects on the importance of play, and playful protest, and how feminist video games can help us rethink the ways that we tell stories. She proposes "Women's Gaming Circles"--which would function like book clubs for gaming--as a way for feminists to take back play. (An appendix offers a blueprint for organizing a gaming circle.) Play and games can be powerful. Chess's goal is for all of us--regardless of gender orientation, ethnicity, ability, social class, or stance toward feminism--to spend more time playing as a tool of radical disruption.

From the most common Chinese traditions to the most arcane, this text contains over forty different Mahjong variants with detailed explanations and hand illustrations to appeal to beginners and masters alike. Ever wondered what else these beautiful tiles can do? Also included are games like Meow Meow Mahjong, Sap Tim Pun, Ten Phases, fortune telling and more. Tom Sloper of Sloperama Productions writes "Scott Miller has amassed an impressive amount of information about a great many mah-jongg variants. This is a work that all scholars and researchers of mah-jongg and games will need to add to their libraries. It's a valuable resource that's sure to add some branches to the family tree of mah-jongg."

In the past forty years we have seen huge technological leaps: computers, the Internet, and mobile phones, among many other fantastic things. The human nature to play and the need to be challenged mingled with these technologies, and videogames were the result. A whole generation has grown up with videogames; to them, holding a joystick is as natural as holding as pencil. Videogames have survived economic setbacks, refusing to be destroyed by a fickle market, always managing to evolve into something new to capture the imagination and find some way to take over lives and homes. Sonic, Mario, PlayStationa these terms are now part of the cultural lexicon. It isn't uncommon to find a console lurking under televisions but at the same time, this newly emerged media has come under attack by those looking to find a cause for society's ills. Part rock 'n' roll, part multibillion dollar industry, videogaming is the fastest growing media in modern culture. Clearly, it is here to stay. The Pocket Essential Videogaming contains: a complete history of videogames; cultural essays on branding, popular culture, violence and female gamers; and reviews of over 120 of the most important videogames of the past thirty years.

This GM's Campaign Guide & Bestiary contains essential tools for the game master, from reference tables to monsters. The game master's tools provide game mechanics quick reference, optional rules applications, and random generation of game elements such as weather, moon phase, and storm affects for adventures on paper or on the fly. The various NPC's, locations, and monsters are fully specked out in easy to read table format for instant game use. Many new possibilities for player characters, both species and vocation, are added and fully annotated in the bestiary section for easy use in character creation.

Invaluable guide offers detailed descriptions, drawings of masting, rigging and major fittings of American clippers and packets. Also includes wealth of details on deck furniture of various types of vessels from different periods. 279 line drawings.

Wargames through the Ages was first published to fill a gap in literature of the hobby of wargaming. It was a one volume summary of ancient and medieval warfare. After many years of research and writing on the subject of wargaming, Donald Featherstone provided, under one cover, all the information that a wargamer required to build up armies in the ancient and medieval period. Each period of warfare was considered and details given of the soldiers themselves, their dress, arms and equipment, leaders, tactics and their style of fighting. The major wars and battles were listed, so that further information could be obtained by reading other accounts of these conflicts and the biographies of those leaders. Each section details techniques and style of fighting of the various nations and armies and other suggestions how they could best be simulated on the table-top battlefield. Superb drawings of the soldiers in their various battle uniforms add much to the attractiveness of this book.

Welcome to second edition QUERP, the game of Quick Easy Role Playing. Featured in the book are: All the rules you need to play: Advice for Gamesmasters; A special solo adventure; A group adventure designed for beginners. Perfect for first-time role players or those looking for a quick 'pick-up' game without any complicated rules to learn, QUERP provides a complete system suitable for anyone of any age. The game mechanic uses 2d6 to resolve each outcome (The QUERP Game System)

Prepare to learn about a four-player tile game of winning hands, lucky tiles, sacred discards, glory, and woe. Are you up to the challenge? "A must have. I warmly welcome this milestone work which will be an invaluable help for beginners and advanced players alike." -Tina Christensen, President of the European Mahjong Association. Mahjong-the most popular game in the world. This is the game that legends adorn, of scholars, and treasures, where dragons are borne. With winds that blow and fortunes that flow, it's here through it all, our good fortune will call. "A wonderful journey through both the rules and the spirit of riichi mahjong." -David Bresnick, President of the United States Professional Mahjong League. "The best book about mahjong I have ever read" -Martin Divis, European Riichi Mahjong Champion 2013-2016.

Soft robotics is an emerging field that approaches robots in new ways, enabling them to operate in environments that are unstructured or unstable and to perform tasks that require delicacy and malleability. It's all about engineering with soft materials -- silicone, cloth, balloons, flexible plastics -- and combining them in different ways to come up with novel, approachable, and surprising solutions to interesting problems. This book introduces soft-robotics concepts to students, inventors, and makers with easy-to-understand explanations and hands-on DIY projects. The projects use a wide range of tools and techniques -- including microcontrollers, 3D printing, laser cutting, mold making, casting, and heat sealing -- to create intriguing soft robots and devices. It is tinkering at its finest! World's first DIY project book on soft robotics Written by designers working on the forefront of the field Approaches projects from simple introductions to more complex designs that build on what you know Explore robotics using novel materials and techniques you can apply to challenges far outside of robotics Soft robotics DIY projects that are relatively affordable, accessible and achievable. Explore and build creations from the brand new emerging field of robotics Provides context on the field of soft robotics alongside hands-on learning Teaches skills frequently overlooked Projects that are aesthetically appealing and novel Foreword by Chris Atkeson, whose research directly inspired the design of Big Hero 6's Baymax

Phil Dunn, founder of the Naval Wargaming Society and author, presents his World War II era campaign rules. This book documents the rules for one of the classic wargaming campaigns of early British Wargaming. Phil Dunn created global wargames using simple rules to allow players to run large scale world wars. Each player prioritises their production between naval, air and land forces and then decides on which units to build. Straightforward rules are used to control movement on the maps and arbitrate combat in the three domains of warfare. The battles can be resolved using dice rolls or, for critical battles, transferred to be fought out on the table top. The book also includes two smaller games which are eminently suitable for a solo wargamer; The Battle of Britain and Operation Sealion. This is Phil Dunn's third wargaming book. The History of Wargaming Project is edited by John Curry. It aims to present the very best wargaming books and rules to a modern audience.