I'd like to get my buddy who is obsessed with board games (and video games to some extent) a cool book on the general subject.

One I found is About Jenga but I've read a couple of reviews that aren't exactly glowing. Interesting concept though; the book is about how the game came into existence.

I know there are many books about board game design and that could be cool, but looking for something maybe less technical and a little more about the cultural or business side - if that exists.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer!

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Posted by DieDaily

West of a white house

Member since Mar 2010

2644 posts

Posted on 12/10/14 at 4:08 pm to Rohan2Reed

I haven't read it myself, but you might check out:

The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers, from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit

As you mentioned, though, most books about board games seem to be about board game design and how to make your own game.

Furthermore, I think you are going to be hard-pressed to find a book that covers both board games and video games.

If you'd like a coffee table style book on video games, you might check these out:
The Art of Video Games
An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A detailed guide to the most important games; explores five decades of game evolution

Also, I've heard good things about this book which is about how video games can be used to better society.
Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

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Posted by Rohan2Reed

Member since Nov 2003

75674 posts

Posted on 12/10/14 at 8:41 pm to DieDaily

That's great, thanks man. Think I'm going to get him either Game Makers or Reality Is Broken. The latter I think seems especially poignant to him.

And thanks for the Amazon links in the post !