Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations

by Robert Charles Bell

Book Overview

There are many authoritative books on card games and chess, but only a handful on the dozens of other games known to mankind. This excellent handbook by R. C. Bell is a basic reference to board and table games from around the world, and one of the two or three finest books ever written on the subject. Originally published in two volumes in the 1960's, it is now available for the first time in a corrected, one-volume edition. Mr. Bell's encyclopedic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486238555
• ISBN13: 9780486238555
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Practical "how-to" guide

I have been looking for such a resource for use in my Latin classroom. Bell includes his references to primary sources for the ancient games and that is highly useful.

From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com

This is a great book, although I recommend it more for reference than for reading cover-to-cover. It's been around since 1960 and is certainly a classic in the genre. Among the games it covers are games that will be familiar to most players: Checkers, Chess, Pachisi (aka Parcheesi), Backgammon, and Cribbage. It also covers some that will be familiar to avid gamers: Mancala, Go, Shogi, Nine Men's Morris, Alquerque. Then there is the plethora of games and versions of games that most people have never heard of, either because they are only played in very specific areas of the world, or because they haven't been played in hundreds of years. All in all, if you can afford the relatively cheap price tag, this game will make a nice addition to your bookshelf. It's not necessarily essential, but it does make for a great reference work.

A bit old, but a good starting point.

Though printed in the 1960s, this book provides information for numerous board and table (meaning, for example, dice) games from around the world. Some history is given, where available, regarding the games and their evolution, but for the most part the focus is on how the games are (or were) played, and their variants.Most facinating about this work is the attention payed to games which appear to have died out. Naturally the rules for these games, if even known at all, tend to be incomplete and for anyone who wishes to reconstruct how the game was played will need to do so on their own. It should also be noted that not everyone's favorite rules are listed (for example, the rules for Mankala listed are quite a bit different from the rules many may be using in at least the US today). Even so, the large number of games mentioned, as well as the references used by the author to research them, will likely satisfy the curiosity of people looking to understand something about the world-wide phenomenon of gaming.

Good encyclopedia of traditional board games

This is an excellent book if your into playing board games ( the Chess/checkers/Backgammon kind rather than the Monopoly/Careers kind). This book has 15o+ traditional board games from around the world, some ancient and many very fun to play! If your into other cultures or just want something different to play, its a good book. A number of ones not in standard American repertoire, in this book: Go, an unusual oriental game said to be on par with Chess(still unbeaten by computers) Chinese, Japanese, Burmese and Arab versions of Chess, and the ancient ancestor of them all. Hnefa-tafl, a clever Viking game Latrunculi, the Roman's game of intellect Mancala and co., a very weird and very fun group of games, called "the National Game of Africa" OK, I'm outta time here, ya get the idea ;)