Pyramid Pick
Things We Think About Games
Published by Gameplaywright Press
Written by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball with John August, Pat Harrigan, Fred Hicks, Ken Hite, John Kovalic, Michelle Nephew, Philip Reed, S. John Ross, Mike Selinker, and Noah Wardrip-Fruin
164-page b&w softcover; $25
Despite a plethora of games available at your local gaming store and online, comparatively few books exist about games and gaming. Most titles that are available are more likely to talk about being a better GM than they are about being a better player. Things We Think About Games is a new addition to this niche, one that goes further than simply handing out advice to only the GM and the player. It is aimed squarely at the games player, the games referee, and the games designer, not just of the one game, but of the whole gaming spectrum. Board games. Card games. Computer games. Miniatures games. Roleplaying games. Video games. War games. In other words, the whole kit and caboodle.
And the counsel comes in the fewest number of words possible.
Each piece of advice given in Things We Think About Games is written in the form of a Kōan. A Kōan is a Zen Buddhist question, statement, or story, one that defies logical understanding -- but not intuitive understanding -- such as the well-known question, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" Fortunately, the advice provided by Things We Think About Games is rarely as esoteric as a Zen Kōan, but it does defy comparison, because . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: August 29, 2008
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