All top chess players agree that to keep your tactical muscles in shape it's imperative to continue training, and the easiest and most fun way to do this is by performing tactical exercises. Even solving a few puzzles for ten minutes each day can be of utmost benefit for the aspiring player. But where can one find the required number of suitable puzzles to satisfy this demand?
Look no further than "The Complete Chess Workout. "In this book, tactics expert Richard Palliser presents the reader with a massive 1500 puzzles, all checked for accuracy by the latest computer engines. There is something for players of all levels here: many basic tactics - forks, pins, skewers and checkmates - to appeal to beginners and improvers, and a considerable number of brain-teasers that will tax even the strongest of players. Palliser has meticulously collected puzzles from practical play in recent years - a large percentage of the exercises here will be completely new to most readers. All the important tactical themes are covered, while there are special sections on opening traps and endgames. Work your way through this book, and your opponents will soon be on the receiving end of your increased tactical powers!
*A comprehensive training manual for chess tactics
*Ideal for all levels of player
*All puzzles checked by computer engines

Few men are prominent chess players as well as esteemed chess writers. James Mason, in his lifetime, had the reputation of being both. This book chronicles Mason's early career in the United States, providing many details on his writings and annotations for The Spirit of the Times and The American Chess Journal, his participation in the Cafe Europa and Cafe International tournaments, his win in 1876's Fourth American Chess Congress, and his matches against chess greats like George H. Mackenzie, Eugene Delmar, Dion M. Martinez, Edward Alberoni, and Henry E. Bird. Mason's efforts to establish an American Chess Association and to arrange an international centennial congress in 1876 are also explored. In addition to the general index, the work also includes indexes of games, annotators, and openings.

Boost your Chess 2 continues Yusupovs Beyond the Basics series. The Fundamentals series shows players the basic ideas they should know, then the Beyond the Basics series sets off on the road to mastery. Yusupov guides the reader towards a higher level of chess understanding using carefully selected positions and advice. This new understanding is then tested by a series of puzzles.

The Frostgrave Folio is the complete collection of all previously released Frostgrave mini-ebook supplements in one printed volume. This includes Hunt for the Golem, a three-scenario campaign in which the warbands hunt down a rogue golem, Sellsword, which introduces rules for experience-gaining captains to help lead warbands, Dark Alchemy, which expands the rules for potions and potion brewing, and Arcane Locations which gives additional options for bases and base upgrades. The book also includes a completely new mini-supplement, The Ravages of Time. Collecting nearly two years' worth of Frostgrave material, this collection is a necessary addition to any wizard's library.

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov: Part III is the final volume in a major three-volume series made unique by the fact that it records the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time. Kasparov's series of historical volumes have received great critical and public acclaim for their rigorous analysis and comprehensive detail regarding the developments in chess that occurred both on and off the board. The first two volumes in this series saw Kasparov emerging as a huge talent, toppling his great rival Anatoly Karpov and then defending the World Championship title on three occasions. This third volume focuses on the final 12 years of Kasparov's career up until his retirement from full-time chess in 2005. This period witnessed three further World Championship matches: wins against Short (London 1993) and Anand (New York 1995) before the loss against Kramnik (London 2000) which finally ended Kasparov's 15-year tenure as world champion. This period also saw Kasparov achieve a colossal 2851 rating (1999), a record which stood until 2013. Despite loss of the World Championship, Kasparov continued to be ranked as the world number one and dominated the elite tournament circuit. He won the Linares super-tournament for four consecutive years (1999-2002) with the fourth of these victories in 2002 concluding an unprecedented run of ten straight wins in the world's elite events (Linares 4, Wijk aan Zee 3, Sarajevo 2 and Astana 1). The games in this volume feature many masterpieces of controlled aggression played against the world's absolute best.

Learn when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em with Card Night, a collection of 52 classic card games, including rules and strategies. Featuring step-by-step, illustrated instructions, and two indexes that organize each game by difficulty and number of players needed, Card Night includes directions for playing all the most popular card games, including Hearts and Bridge, Rummy and Go Fish. In addition to providing the rules of standard game play, Card Night also details the fascinating stories and peculiarities behind some of the world's most famous card decks, some of which were used as currency, tools for propaganda, and even as a means for sending coded messages. Offering one game for each week of the year, Card Night is the go-to companion for weekly game nights, long car rides, and rainy days spent at home. Wow your friends and family with your game playing prowess and keep them entertained with fascinating details from playing card history.

The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most popular and recognizable examples in videogames of what Tolkien referred to as mythopoeia, or myth-making. In his essay On Fairy Stories and a short poem entitled Mythopoeia, Tolkien makes the case that the fairy tale aesthetic is simply a more intimate version of the same principle underlying the great myths: the human desire to make meaning out of the world. By using mythopoeia as a touchstone concept, the essays in this volume explore how The Legend of Zelda series turns the avatar, through which the player interacts with the in-game world, into a player-character symbiote wherein the individual both enacts and observes the process of integrating worldbuilding with storytelling. Twelve essays explore Zelda's mythmaking from the standpoints of literary criticism, videogame theory, musicology, ecocriticism, pedagogy, and more.

Getting an electric shock every time you laugh out loud, or washing your mouth with soap every time you swear? Always sit on a strangers lap in public transport, or eat from your neighbours rubbish bin one day a week? In this game there is only one real rule: you HAVE to choose! Dilemmarama's absurd dilemmas have been moulded into a fun social card game that will not only make you laugh, but will also cause heated debates and duels. There are two game options to choose from. After all, everything in life is a dilemma. In one of the game options the aim is to become the Dilemmaestro by creating as-difficult-as-possible dilemmas for the other players. In the other option, you play in teams and try to guess what your teammates choose. This way you will really get to know your friends and family! The game consists of 60 parts of a dilemma, enough to create over 1,000 different dilemmas.

The game of chess was wildly popular in the Middle Ages, so much so that it became an important thought paradigm for thinkers and writers who utilized its vocabulary and imagery for commentaries on war, politics, love, and the social order. In this collection of essays, scholars investigate chess texts from numerous traditions - English, French, German, Latin, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, and Catalan - and argue that knowledge of chess is essential to understanding medieval culture. Such knowledge, however, cannot rely on the modern game, for today's rules were not developed until the late fifteenth century. Only through familiarity with earlier incarnations of the game can one fully appreciate the full import of chess to medieval society. The careful scholarship contained in this volume provides not only insight into the significance of chess in medieval European culture but also opens up avenues of inquiry for future work in this rich field.

Mermaids, sword fights, and adventures through Neverland are all fun and exciting-until you're staring down the mouth of a crocodile big enough to topple a castle. Journey into the world of Peter Pan and its mysterious inhabitants in Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting. EXPLORE THE ISLE OF MISCHIEF & MYSTERY Many have heard of the island of Neverland. Stories of pirates, mermaids and Peter Pan are told by parents around the world to send their children off to a happy, dreaming sleep. But, it's been a long time since the Darlings first flew to Neverland and a new story is about to be told. Your own. Take a journey into the world of Peter Pan and its mysterious inhabitants in Neverland: A Fantasy RPG Setting. The book is a feature-length hex crawl campaign, intended for sandbox exploration. Created by Andrew Kolb, you'll find endless adventure inside, lovingly adapted from the tales of Peter Pan and tailored for an older audience. Each hex is self-contained, brimming with lore from Peter Pan and the Darlings' escapades. It's time to tell your own stories of pirates, mermaids and children who can fly. For use with the fifth edition of the world's oldest role-playing game.

An expanded edition of the Origins Award-nominated Lion Rampant, featuring new rules, scenarios, and sample armies. Take to the battlefield as Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc or William Wallace - or forge your own legend - with Lion Rampant: Second Edition. From the Dark Ages to the Hundred Years' War, raids, skirmishes, and clashes between small retinues were a crucial part of warfare, and these dramatic small-scale battles are at the heart of this easy-to-learn but tactically rewarding wargame. Lion Rampant: Second Edition is a new, updated version of the hit Osprey Wargames series title, and retains the core gameplay while also incorporating a wealth of new rules and updates from several years' worth of player feedback and development. Whether they are looking to recreate historical encounters or tell their own stories, the varied scenarios, unit types, and sample retinue lists found in this volume provide everything players need to face each other in quick, exciting, and, above all, fun tabletop battles.

In this unique deduction game of honest misdirection you are all cryptozoologists, trying to be the first to discover definitive proof of a cryptid in the wilds of North America. Each player will be given a unique clue – one piece of crucial information about where the creature lives. When combined, the clues identify a single space on the map – the creature’s habitat.

Each player’s clue either states an area where the creature can be found or where it cannot be found, based on the terrain and structures on the board. During the game, you will ask each other questions with the aim of guessing each other’s clues. The first player to correctly use all of the clues to find the habitat wins the game!

No "Old Maids" here! This thoroughly modern twist on the classic card game has players of all ages racing to end up as the awesome Cat Lady. Match a cute collection of feline friends, like Fluffer Nutter, Aaron Purr, and Chip. The player with the Cat Lady card at the end wins! Easy to play and packed with gorgeous illustrations, this game is excellent for casual gamers and cat lovers alike. - For 2-6 players, all ages - Includes 52 cards, instructions for play

While many nations flocked to the side of the Allies, others joined forces with Germany as part of the Axis. This volume is the definitive guide to the armies of Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland. Refight the Winter War against the Soviets, hold back the British in North Africa, or help shore up the German offensives on the Eastern Front with this latest supplement for 'Bolt Action.'

Have nothing but a deck of cards? With this book you'll soon be dealing out playful poker, and four-ace tricks that will make everyone say: "How did you do that?" If you can shuffle a deck, you can perform "jacks be nimble," "about face," "number nonsense," and dozens more. Clear illustrations demonstrate how to execute each move precisely. A chart gauges the difficulty of each trick.

From the first edition: "Just the right combination of fascination and brio"--Chess Life; "a real browsers delight"--San Francisco Chronicle; "arguably the best chess writer on the American scene...opulent"--Washington Times; "a wonderfully readable book...fascinating"--Boston Herald; "enjoyable"--British Chess Magazine. "[The author] is one of the most accomplished American chess players as well as a prolific chess writer and journalist"--James Henri. The best, the worst, the shortest, the oddest, the longest, the most deceitful, the most memorable, the most brilliant, the dumbest--of players, games, matches, tournaments, books, ideas, etc. The lists are replete with background detail and exact facts--this second edition of Soltiss classic 1984 book is altogether an essential part of any chess collection and a browsers delight. The new edition contains 25 percent more lists, games, diagrams and annotations. The majority of lists from the first edition have been updated or expanded--or both.

This book gives a full account of modern Acol and of the whole range of defensive and competitive bidding. It is suitable for players up to a high standard but will readily be understood by less experienced players as each topic starts with the fundamentals. The play of the cards is covered in all important aspects, with an emphasis on mental approach and on principles of wide application. Deals are presented in a way that allows the reader to develop his thoughts and arrive at solutions. There are many hints of practical value that will stay in the mind.

Fire your imagination with these fun storytelling cards. Reviving the Victorian craze for 'myrioramas', the 20 picture cards can be placed in any order to create seamless scenes. Almost infinite combinations of cards provide endless storyscaping possibilities. Traverse an enchanted landscape as you build a perpetual panorama inhabited by fire-breathing dragons, magical unicorns and sinister shadow figures. With many games to play and millions of stories to tell, each turn of the card is a new adventure. Where will the story take you? There are over two quintillion storyscaping possibilities, and you can build a seamless panoramas stretching up to 170cm!

* Best-selling: A new product from best-selling photographer Gerrard Gethings, (Do You Look Like Your Dog, 2018)and best-selling author Greg Bailey, (Alright Darling, 2018) * Spot the similarities between the people and their drag personas - can you match the day-to-day faces with their fabulous constructed characters? * Celebrates the incredible transformation of drag with striking before/after photographs. celebrating inclusion within the Drag community * Boxed Gift featuring 25 artists in before and after looks across 50 cards, packaged within a stylish foiled box * Includes a booklet with text about each artist. Some currently featured in Ru-Paul's Drag Race. Featuring: Courtney Act Joe Black Lawrence Chaney Awhora Bimoni Crystal (UK Drag Race season 1 contestant) Minerael Waters Cybil War Cazelion Baby Lame Freida Slaves Lick Von Dyke Miss Jake Mocha Drag Queen Daisy Puller Tete Bang Vanity Milan Holestar Luke Skyla Kyran Thrax Ore-Ho Sigi Moonlight Taste My Caramelle Prinx Silver Pair up the queens and kings with their out-of-drag looks in this fabulous new card game. It is much harder than you think, as the transformation is so complete! 50 cards depict stunning before and after photos of the glamorous drag transformation, and texts by Greg Bailey of Alright Darling are included in the accompanying booklet to give an insight into the incredible character creations and the people behind the make-up. Play as a memory game with the cards face down for an added level of difficulty. Collect the most pairs to win! This is the perfect gift for fans of Drag Race.

Drawing on an eclectic range of primary and secondary sources Chaplin examines the development of darts in the context of English society in the early twentieth century. He reveals how darts was transformed during the interwar years to become one of the most popular recreations in England, not just amongst working class men and, to a lesser extent, working class women but even (to some extent) among the middle and upper classes. This book assesses the social, economic and cultural forces behind this transformation. This work also considers the growth of the darts manufacturing industry and assesses the overall effect the growing popularity of darts had on interwar society and popular culture, with particular reference to the changing culture and form of the English public house. This original study will be of interest to sports historians, social historians, business historians, sociologists and sports scientists. -- .

Bring some drama to your card table with 54 of the most influential TV stars and series creators, arranged into four suits: Hearts = Comedy, Clubs = Drama, Diamonds = Crime, Spades = Fantasy & Sci-fi Includes illustrations of all the big names, from George R. R. Martin and David Simon to Elisabeth Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker.

If you are aware of endgame patterns, you spot key moves quicker, analyse and calculate better, avoid making errors and memorise what you have studied more fully. Most of the patterns Jesus de la Villa presents in this new book are from the phase of the game just before a theoretical endgame turns up. Knowing these practical endgame fundamentals will enable you to fully reap the benefits of what you learned in De la Villas widely acclaimed classic 100 ENDGAMES YOU MUST KNOW. Studying patterns only makes sense if you are going to encounter them frequently. De la Villa presents those that have the greatest practical importance and explains and illustrates them with carefully selected examples. To show the patterns as clearly as possible, he mainly concentrates on positions in which both sides have just one piece. Presenting positions with more pieces risks blurring the picture and making motifs less straightforward. The fact that players think in patterns has an important side-effect: their endgame errors tend to repeat themselves. Thats why De la Villa has not just included examples from games of elite GMs but also of amateurs. Errors are always instructive and working with this book will seriously reduce the number of typical mistakes you are prone to make. The many practical exercises that De la Villa has selected will help you improve and retain what you have learned.