This history of role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons explains their evolution and gives complete definitions and descriptions for related game products. Arriving on the scene in 1973, such games caught on rapidly and spawned a thriving industry. These games are regularly played improvisations, with rules that allow for consistent resolution of action, in which heroic characters created by the players battle enemies or solve mysteries. Featuring essays by eighteen top industry designers, Heroic Worlds explains the evolution of role-playing games and their influence on other forms of entertainment. The art and jargon of game design, play, and collection are defined in detail.

Grandmaster and renowned chess coach Zenon Franco provides a training course designed to help all aspiring players to improve their chess. During each lesson, you are invited to play a 'game' in which you try to find the best moves at all the important moments. Points are awarded for selecting the best moves - and are deducted for selecting blunders! At the end of each lesson there is a points scale to indicate how well you have 'played'. This means you are able to accurately measure your progress as you work through the book. Readers are tested in all aspects of chess: attack, defence, counterattack, tactics, structures, strategy, endgames and so on. Following this interactive course of lessons is an ideal way to improve your game. *A structured course of chess training *Includes 40 deeply annotated exercise games *Ideal for both chess students and trainers

A historical supplement for Mythras. Welcome the birth of the Roman Republic, and follow it through to its murderous end, on a tumultuous ride through some of its most turbulent history.Mythic Rome encapsulates the dark and gritty past, allowing players to take part in the founding of Rome: as a bandit on the Tiber; to overthrow the tyrannical Seven Kings; conquer the rival Etruscan city states; watch the city be sacked by Gauls; battle Hannibal during the Punic Wars; take part in the malevolent Bacchanalian conspiracy; fight alongside Spartacus or against him; or choose sides during the civil war between Caesar and Pompey.This invaluable book contains rules for everything from political standing to chariot racing, along with comprehensive Roman careers and guides for the weapons, armour and combat styles of Rome's legions and her enemies. Also included are obscure supernatural creatures and new magic systems to reflect the way magic works from the perspective of the Romans themselves.Continuing the quality and historical depth of the Design Mechanism's Mythic series, Mythic Rome stands as one of the best historical roleplaying supplements of all time, describing in intricate detail every aspect of everyday Roman life. Indeed, this book is packed with quotations written during the last days of the Republic, revealing shocking details of Rome the eternal city... a shining pinnacle of civilisation built upon a grisly foundation of crime, superstition, war and treachery.Mythic Rome is not a stand-alone game. You will need the Mythras rules to make full use of the content.

OVER 15 MORE OF ROBLOX’S BEST GAMES INSIDE FOR YOU TO EXPLORE Discover everything you want to know about more of the greatest games on the Roblox platform, from all-time classic multi-player survival games to awesome new role-playing quests. Learn tips and tricks to impress your friends, discover secrets hidden in your favourite games and unearth epic new adventures to play together.

This book contains a dramatic and revealing translation of this ancient classic into English. The Chinese original is set side-by-side with the translation. Two things set this translation apart from all previous ones. First, archeological findings are used to uncover the meaning of passages obscured for thousands of years. Second, it preserves the flavor of the orignal in a poetic rendition. An introductory part of this book provides the historical and philosophical background to the I Ching. The story is told of the ancient Chinese civilization, pointing out events and figures mentioned in the I Ching. The undisguised face of the I Ching will appeal to the modern reader, who will read it in his or her own individual way, as poetry, as discoverer of self, or as soothsayer. It is in the grand tradition of the I Ching for different people to see different things. To Confucius, who was born in 550 B.C., it was a source of ethics.; To Leibnitz, the eighteenth-century inventor of calculus, it was the essence of binary mathematics.; To Jung Freud's rival in psychology, it was an explorer of the unconscious.; To some Wall Streeters, it predicts the stock market.; As a companion to this book, a computer software, Huang's I Ching offers computerized consultations of the I Ching. In the court of Zhou, they used to do this by counting stalks of the yarrow reed. Results of the court would indicate what passages to read. In later ages, yarrow-counting was replaced by coin-tossing, as a ritual closer to people's lifestyle. And now, the I Ching is ready for the future.

More than a decade has passed since IBM's Deep Blue computer stunned the world by defeating Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion at that time. "Beyond Deep Blue" tells the continuing story of the chess engine and its steady improvement. The book provides analysis of the games alongside a detailed examination of the remarkable technological progress made by the engines - asking which one is best, how good is it, and how much better can it get. Features: presents a total of 118 games, played by 17 different chess engines, collected together for the first time in a single reference; details the processor speeds, memory sizes, and the number of processors used by each chess engine; includes games from 10 World Computer Chess Championships, and three computer chess tournaments of the Internet Chess Club; covers the man-machine matches between Fritz and Kramnik, and Kasparov and Deep Junior; describes three historical matches between leading engines - Hydra vs. Shredder, Junior vs. Fritz, and Zappa vs. Rybka.

So you're good at the pub quiz ... you always have the right answer ... you're known for the depth and breadth of your knowledge ... well, why not put those skills to the test with Think You Know It All? Genius Edition. In this fiendish and at times infuriating book of general knowledge questions, you'll find a vast range of topics are covered, to give you a real challenge on subjects from maths to history, music to literature, cinema to sport. With all sorts of different types of question to keep you on your toes (and all the answers at the back for when you need them) this book will give you entertainment and be head-scratchingly annoying in equal measure ... ... But then that's the thing about knowledge: if you know the answer, it's easy!

AMAZING ILLUSTRATIONS: Explore Caroline Selme's intricately drawn underwater world, bursting with minute detail! ADDICTIVE GAMEPLAY: A matching game for the whole family with super-detailed underwater scenes that reward returning again and again. HOURS OF COZY FUN: Take a deep dive and learn to recognize fish from around the world - all from the comfort of home! PERFECT GIFT: Illustration-led, highly finished, 57-card unique matching game, for maximum gifting appeal. COLLECT THE SERIES: From the illustrator of Laurence King's Dinosaur Bingo, Jungle Bingo, I Saw It First! and Who's Hiding in the Jungle? Pick a card, any card! Now pick another. Between any animal and ocean card there will only ever be one animal that features on both. Can you be the first to find it? Featuring Caroline Selmes's delightful animal illustrations and undersea scenes, Who's Hiding in the Ocean? will have the whole family vying for victory!

Aelin Galathynius has given up her freedom for the sake of her people. Held captive by the Queen of the Fae and tortured for information, her only companions are a silent prisoner and her own mind. The image of her mother, her lover, her friends. The embers of her memory, and a voice, deep inside...

"You will not yield."

Embers of Memory: A Throne of Glass Game is a two-player co-operative card game set during the events of Kingdom of Ash, the epic climax to Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series. Working together, you must delve into the memories of the young queen and help her face her inner demons before she is overwhelmed. Be warned - each challenge you face is more complex than the last, testing the bond between you and your partner to its limit.

Players: 2
Ages: 14+
Playing Time: 45 minutes
Contents: 97 oversized cards, rulebook

The Mensa Riddles and Conundrums Pack explores some of the most fascinating areas of puzzling pleasure. As well as some really challenging lateral-thinking puzzles and brain-befuddling riddles, it contains a variety of ingenious games designed to challenge the most demanding mind. There are lateral-thinking problems of great cunning, ancient games from China and Siam, and a host of original puzzles that will stretch ingenuity to breaking point. It is rare to find such a diverse collection of puzzles and games in one place. They call for a wide variety of puzzling skills and will keep readers pleasurably engrossed for many, many hours! Contains more than 50 fiendishly difficult riddles and conundrums; double-sided game board with dice and counters; tangram set; pentominoes set; matchsticks; jailbreak game.

The rich history of Egypt has provided famous examples of board games played in antiquity. Each of these games provides evidence of contact between Egypt and its neighbours. From pre-dynastic rule to Arab and Ottoman invasions, Egypt's past is visible on game boards. This volume starts by introducing the reader to board games as well as instruments of chance and goes on to trace the history and distribution of ancient Egyptian games, looking particularly at how they show contact with other cultures and civilizations. Game practices, which were also part of Egyptian rituals and divination, travelled throughout the eastern Mediterranean. This book explores the role of Egypt in accepting and disseminating games during its long history. Over the last few years, the extent and the modes of contact have become better understood through museum and archival research projects as well as surveys of archaeological sites in Egypt and its surrounding regions. The results allow new insight into ancient Egypt's international relations and the role of board games research in understanding its extent. Written by three authors known internationally for their expertise on this topic, this will be the first volume on Ancient Egyptian games of its kind and a much-needed contribution to the field of both Egyptology and board games studies.

There are many tales of the Frozen City, and not all of them tell of battles between rival wizards. Often, the greatest adventures are those that pit a wizard and his trusty warband against the myriad perils found amidst the ruins of Felstad. This new supplement for Frostgrave presents rules for playing solo and cooperative games in which the focus shifts from the feuds of wizards to exploring the city, unlocking its mysteries... and surviving what is discovered. With guidelines for scaling game difficulty, dungeon crawls, monster generation, and more, as well as ten scenarios demonstrating these options, this volume offers players everything they need to venture alone - or with allies - into Frostgrave. Why should wizards fight amongst themselves? There is plenty of treasure for all and the Frozen City is enemy enough!

Three hundred ancient Egyptians - from gods and goddesses to pharaohs and sphynxes - populate the board of this game. Pull a counter from the box featuring one of the 300 characters in this game and be the first to spot that character on the board! Coming in a triangular box with a hexagonal board (designed to prevent players from being able to remember where certain characters are) this game features charming illustrations by Caroline Selmes. Simple to understand but addictive to play, this fun and challenging game will delight adults and children alike.

PLAY AND LEARN: learn Shakespeare as you play this new board game for all the family SCREEN-FREE FUN for 2-5 players aged 8 and up SOMETHING TO TREASURE: this is a quality product made to last, with bespoke illustration and sleek and stylish packaging EXPLORE THE ENTIRE SERIES: this game is part of our bestselling Shakespeare range illustrated by Adam Simpson, including The World of Shakespeare: 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle and Shakespeare Playing Cards Journey from Stratford to London in the footsteps of the world's best loved playwright, collect characters and race round London's theatres to put on as many plays as you can before other playwrights steal your ideas, burn down your theatres or spread the plague! In this fun family board game, you will absorb details of Elizabethan England as well as learn loads of references to Shakespeare's plays. The winner is the player whose plays take the most money at the box office, and the fastest in the race to fame and glory.