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.

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 creator of the popular website and Instagram @psimadethis comes a how-to craft and creativity book for parents and kidsErica Domesek is a social media star and the original queen of DIY. P.S. We Made This follows in the footsteps of her first two books, offering creative and colorful at-home projects, but now invites the whole family to join in the fun! It encourages parents (and kids!) to step away from the screens and help their littles learn essential sensory, motor, developmental, and life skills. From self-expression and imaginative play to problem-solving, these projects keep kids entertained, curious, and growing. Each chapter has simple out-of-the-box crafts, recipes, and ideas to engage kids of all ages. This is the perfect book for encouraging your child's development and self-confidence, while also teaching them to have fun along the way.

Read Keri Smith's posts on the Penguin Blog
A curious, engaging, and creative rethinking of what a book can be, from the creator of "Wreck this Journal."
In this uniquely skewed look at the purpose and function of "a book," Keri Smith offers an illustrated guide that asks readers to creatively examine all the different ways This Is Not a Book can be used. With intriguing prompts, readers will discover that the book can be:
A secret message--"tear out a page, write a note on it for a stranger, and leave it in a public place."
A recording device--"have everyone you contact today write their name in the book."
An instrument--"create as many sounds as you can using the book, like flipping the pages fast or slapping the cover."
"This Is Not a Book" will engage readers by having them define everything a book can be by asking, "If it's not a book, what is it then?"--with a kaleidoscope of possible answers.

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.

Build a starship fleet to launch from your kitchen table! Follow the photos, step-by-step instructions, and comprehensive parts lists in this book to build dozens of galaxy-hopping spacecraft that can fit in the palm of your hand! Puzzle out how to build propulsion systems, heat shields, and solar collectors, or take a page from science fiction and make warp drives, self-healing hulls, and photon beams. Why bother to leave your house (or the planet) when you can explore the universe with the LEGOs you already own and your imagination. Your intergalactic journey starts in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6

A book of many puzzles mostly in the Sudoku family, many of which are Killer Sudoku. There are many hints as to how these puzzles are made. Also included Kakuro, Futoshiki, Hittori, Slitherlink and others. Try your hand at the original puzzles, as invented in the eighteenth century by the great Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler.

The goal of the books in this series (Attacking 101: Volume #nnn) is to provide detailed analysis of my own attack games played against lower rated players. The players are all rated in the range of 1000 to 1800 - the types of players you would frequently encounter at your local chess club, local tournaments, online, and at home. They make the same errors you regularly witness in your games but here you get to see a Chess Master dissect and exploit the moves, show why they are wrong, and how to punish the opponent's poor play.

Ready to go beyond the basics? Expand the limits of what’s possible with the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide Pocket Edition! This 272-page Pathfinder Second Edition rulebook contains exciting new rules options for player characters, adding even more depth of choice to your Pathfinder game! Inside you will find brand new ancestries, heritages, and four new classes: the shrewd investigator, the mysterious oracle, the daring swashbuckler, and the hex-slinging witch! The must-have Advanced Player’s Guide also includes exciting new options for all your favorite Core Rulebook classes and tons of new backgrounds, general feats, spells, items, and 40 flexible archetypes to customize your play experience even further! The Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide includes: • Four new classes: the investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, and witch! • Five new ancestries and five heritages for any ancestry: celestial aasimars, curious catfolk, hagspawned changelings, vampiric dhampirs, fate-touched duskwalkers, scaled kobolds, fierce orcs, fiendish tieflings, industrious ratfolk, and feathered tengu! • 40 new archetypes including multiclass archetypes for the four new classes, Pathfinder favorites like the cavalier, dragon disciple, shadowdancer, and vigilante, and brand-new archetypes like the familiar master and the shield-bearing iron wall! • New class options for all twelve classes from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook including champions of evil, genie and shadow sorcerers, zen archer monks, rogue masterminds, spellcasting rangers, and more! • Even more exciting new rules, from rare and unique backgrounds to investigative skill feats, from spells and rituals like reincarnate and create demiplane to new items including special wands with unusual effects and exciting potions worthy of a witch’s cauldron.

What is the big deal about improv?
It's fun. It strengthens our imagination, promotes self-confidence, increases spontaneity, promotes teamwork, and it's magic: it creates something out of nothing.
101 IMPROV GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS contains the basics: what improv is all about and how to do it, special instructions for how to teach improv to children, plus more advanced training on how to use your voice and body in ways you haven't thought of before. It has helpful hints for creating scenes and environments out of thin air. All this plus 101 games with simple instructions, from easy warm-up games to over-the-top crowd pleasers such as Fairy Tales, Bizarre Games, On Your Toes and Narrative Games.
This is the tenth in the Hunter House SmartFun activity books series, and the first one for adults as well as children. The book is a great resource for educators as well as for the professional actor or the layperson working with improv for fun. The book contains lively illustrations and is easy to use.
Improv is about creating something out of nothing, but a really good improviser can create something great out of nothing. This book shows you how.

In 1984, Roberta Williams of Sierra On-Line designed King's Quest, the world's first graphic adventure. A huge step beyond the text-oriented games that preceded it, the genre took the world by storm, and proved immensely popular with computers over the next decade. A combination of storytelling and puzzle solving, they provided the ability to explore a world and experience a narrative without the need for twitchy reflexes demanded of arcade games. This nearly comprehensive book includes reviews for over 250 games from the golden age of the graphic adventure genre, running from 1984 to roughly 2000, focusing on promiminent publishers such as: -LucasArts (Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Grim Fandango) -Sierra On-Line (King's Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Gabriel Knight) -Legend (Spellcasting, Eric the Unready, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon) -And several other popular and not-so-popular series and games (Zork, Myst, Broken Sword, The Longest Journey, Simon the Sorcerer, The Last Express, and dozens of others) -Also includes interviews with several adventure game developers, including Al Lowe (creator of Leisure Suit Larry), Corey Cole (creator of Quest for Glory), Bob Bates (founder of Legend Entertainment) and Josh Mandel (writer and designer for Sierra).