Board, table top and strategy games Books

Book SynopsisIn North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group are a thorn in the sides of the Italian forces, disrupting vital lines of communication and striking at strategic targets ranging far and wide. In Normandy, US forces brace against a German counterattack, determined to maintain their foothold in the region. The fighting is intense and the outcome hangs on a knife-edge. With everything at stake, you desperately need reinforcements!Undaunted: Reinforcements is a modular expansion that introduces a range of new rules, scenarios, and units. Unleash the might of the German and American tanks and see how your new squad options fare against them in Undaunted: Normandy, or make use of mines, assault aircraft, and other new units as you attempt to outfox your opponent in Undaunted: North Africa. Whether you have only one or the other, you'll be able to play Undaunted for the first time in a four-player mode, or test your mettle in a solo mode by Dávid Turczi and

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Book SynopsisThe RAF faces the Luftwaffe in this two-player deckbuilding game of aerial WWII combat.Summer, 1940. The German war machine has rolled across the continent in less than a year, crushing all before it. Britain is all that stands in the way of German victory in Europe. Command the pilots of the battle-tested Luftwaffe, looking to extinguish all resistance and pave the way to invasion, or the resourceful and determined RAF opposing them at every turn.Undaunted: Battle of Britain is a standalone game in the Undaunted series, adapting the core gameplay of the previous games to recreate the dynamic dogfighting of aerial combat. Maintain cohesion between your pilots, evade anti-aircraft artillery, and leverage talented aces to win the battle for the skies!Ages: 14+Players: 2Playing Time: 45-60 minutesContents: 116 cards, 31 large map tiles, 4 dice, 58 tokens, Scenario booklet

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Book SynopsisFAST PACED: a speedy observation game where players put their reflexes to the test as they race to spot the creature.EASY TO LEARN and addictive to play, family fun for all ages.REVERSIBLE PLAYING BOARD: with multiple board combinations and 300 animals to spot, for hours of fun.DISCOVER 300 SEA CREATURES from around the globe.LAURENCE KING PUBLISHING has been capturing imaginations and inspiring creativity in new and unexpected ways for over 30 years, with playful and eye-catching games, gifts and books.300 sea creatures are hiding on this gameboard, can you be the first to spot the barracuda or the whale shark? How about the roosterfish and the vampire squid? Take a chip from the box and see who can find the creatures first!Now in a square box, I Saw it First! Ocean includes a double-sided hexagonal board and 300 counters with charming animal illustrations by Caroline Selmes. Simple to understand and addictive to play, this fun and challenging game will delight adults and children alike.

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Book SynopsisThe abstract game of Qwirkle consists of 108 wooden blocks with six different shapes in six different colours. There is no board, players simply use an available flat surface. Players begin the game with six blocks. The start player places blocks of a single matching attribute (colour or shape but not both) on the table. Thereafter, a player adds blocks adjacent to at least one previously played block. The blocks must all be played in a line and match, without duplicates, either the colour or shape of the previous block. Players score one point for each block played plus all blocks adjacent. It is possible for a block to score in more than one direction. If a player completes a line containing all six shapes or colours, an additional six points are scored. The player then refills his hand to six blocks. The game ends when the draw bag is depleted and one player plays all of his remaining blocks, earning a six point bonus. The player with the high score wins.

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Book SynopsisA Real Simple gift guide pick for 2017A fun board game based on the best-selling Listography journal series:Listography: The Game invites players to create and share lists based on fun and thought-provoking topics - from geography and pop culture to toothpaste and constellations! With the goal of being the first around the game board, players score points according to the number of similar or unique answers. Every round in the game results in creative thinking, surprise outcomes, and lots of laughs. May the best list win! • Small and compact for travel and to take to dinner parties• Game makes a fun and unique housewarming gift• Lisa Nola is the creator of the Listography book series and the popular list-making website, listography.com. With over one million copies sold, her books inspire creative auto-biography and reinvention through list-makingListography: The Game will appeal to list-

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Book SynopsisImmerse yourself in a world of abstract equilibrium with 57 tiles inspired by the Modernist master Piet Mondrian. Arrange the tiles to create table-top compositions of perfect balance, large or small. Beautifully presented and with millions of possible arrangements, Make Your Own Mondrian will delight would-be Modernists of all ages.

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Book SynopsisAelin 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: 2Ages: 14+Playing Time: 45 minutesContents: 97 oversized cards, rulebook

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Book SynopsisUp your game with everything you need to run your next tabletop roleplay game with expert advice, gameplay guidance, and playable content from RPG expert James D’Amato.How do I make combat more interesting? How do I encourage my players to role-play? How do I avoid my sessions ending in disaster? Leading an RPG can be a challenge, but The Ultimate Game Master’s Guide is here to help! With advice from RPG expert James D’Amato, you’ll find answers to all these questions and more, along with guidance for bringing your game to life from behind the GM screen. James covers everything you need to know to bring your GM game to the next level including: -How to make player decisions meaningful -How to add more roleplay to your adventure -How to keep combat interesting—and memorable -How to make NPCs dynamic, but keep them from stealing the show -And so much more! Add excitement to your game and keep

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Book SynopsisRamp up your role-playing game (RPG) and make your character your own with this fun, interactive workbook—an essential addition to any player’s gaming kit.You’ve chosen your class, bought your weapons, and rolled for your stats, and you’re now the proud owner of your own RPG (role-playing game) avatar. But before you begin your adventure, there’s so much more you can do with your character to make him or her your own! Just how evil is she? What does his dating profile look like? Where did she get that scar? What does he want for his birthday? With fill-in-the blank narratives, prompts, and fun activities to help you customize your character at the start of the game, or build out your backstory as you play, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Book will help you fully imagine your character and bring them to life for the ultimate gaming experience!Trade Review"Your character creating journey itself seems like a game, there’s space available to write in the book which I feel helps add to pencil and paper feel to the famed tabletop RPGs! What I like about this book is even if you don’t want to play with others, you could entertain yourself by creating characters for fun OR to help you create characters for a book or short story. From what I’ve read so far, this book is pure fun. If someone like me who knows little to nothing about traditional RPG’s could enjoy this book, then other newcomers to the genre and returning heroes from past fellowships will find something in this for them." * Horror Fuel *"I took my time reading through this book, trying out exercises with new and existing characters, and handed it off to friends, both those who D&D players and short story writers. I was pretty quickly getting questions about how much it cost, ($14.00 USD MSRP, though it’s currently on sale for a lower price several places), when it comes out, (October 2nd) and if I’d be willing to let them borrow it, which I think speaks volumes. I’ve found myself reaching for the book when trying to come up with a clever little something to fit into a character’s backstory while writing a script, and have had other writers suggest they’d use it to do the same. It’s not only a useful tool for building and fleshing out characters, it’s also written in an incredibly entertaining way, making it fun way to get the creative juices flowing." * Gaming Trend *"James D’Amato has thought about the novice and the experienced player and has put together ‘The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide’ to essentially have you be an RPG superstar…. Taking fear into account can make your role-playing character come to life by giving them a sense of humanity and creating interesting gameplay. That’s something only D’Amato has realized and gamers will be the better for it…. James D’Amato has done something special with his new book ‘The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide.’ It’s akin to a graduate school course in role-playing games." * Reviewfix *"This is a great book for any player of RPGs and can be a valuable resource for those that act as a Game Master. Much of this book is addressed in the third person and it gives the feeling of a great attentive Game Master working out character creation you the reader as the player. We should all be so lucky to have such a GM and we should all be such thoughtful and creative players." * Game Industry *"I can give The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide the following praise - it's inspired me to want to kick off a new RPG Campaign for the first time in a year and a half. I want to DM a campaign and I want to play in a campaign. I want to pick through the guide for nuggets of inspiration, for added depth to my next game world. I can think of no better endorsement other than "this book will be used". Sadly, I can't say that for the vast majority of my gaming collection." * Tenkar's Tavern *"For me as a founder of Halo: The Lost Keys a text based RPG played via discord it really was fun and entertaining to do, and I look forward to writing some more in it." * Nation Fusion *"It truly is an RPG guide that hopes to make everyone a bit more excited for the RPG experience. Again, as mentioned above, it’s incredibly useful for those trying to get a kickstart into creating a story for their friends… I can dig this guide and its purpose… Anyway, there isn’t a lot to dislike about this book. It shoots straight, it works for what it is, and it feels open. I particularly enjoyed the fact that there are spaces for writers/game masters to fill in the blanks to answer questions, as well as make notes… it is a good book that does truly act as a guide. It will certainly help to kickstart ideas for characters, stories, and situations that pure RPGers can get behind." * Digital Chumps *"The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is the perfect way to create a unique character for yourself, and no two characters made using this book will be the same… Even if you don’t intend to use your character for anything, going through this book will give you an appreciation for the skill of creating characters. Whether for video games, literature, D&D or even comic books… The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is a gem for all dungeon masters, and for anyone who may find themselves with the need to create characters with depth. I could even picture indie developers who may not have their own creative resources, utilizing this book to flesh out characters in their RPGs. At $10.39 for the paperback currently, this book is completely worth the price." * Koalition *"In what seemed like it would be a novelty item to your RPG adventure, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide comes off far more as a requirement for crafting your character… I absolutely enjoyed this. I tried to be a bit critical and think what this book lacked. There’s really not much… The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is still a really essential guide for crafting your player character to their fullest. For me, this gave me the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into my own character in some rather interesting ways that I never thought about. Highly recommended." * Outright Geekery *"James D'Amato's The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide contains a wealth of exercises that can be used to enrich RPG characters and their interactions with others through the use of improvisational storytelling techniques, something James has a great deal of experience with, having trained at Second City and iO in Chicago in improvisational comedy." * Game Vortex *"Whether you are a DM/GM that wants to encourage their players to have deeper characters and create more engaging Non-Player Characters (NPCs), or a player looking to bolster their roleplaying by establishing more about a character’s origin, or even an author in need of a tool to assist in building believable characters, relationships, and establishing world building, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is a perfect supplement to any game’s character creation process. Ever activity is well thought out and cover a broad range of impact to the character and the world they live in. Some are silly and fun, while others dig deep into a character’s major events. For RPG veterans and new players alike grabbing The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is a sure way to expand your overall RPG experiences!" * Marooners Rock *"This guide is a great addition to any adventurers’ library." * Gaming Buddha *

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Book SynopsisThis family-friendly game is packed with cheeky monkeys and other mischievous primates from all around the world for hours of bingo fun. It features such firm favourites as the ring-tailed lemur and the chimpanzee, one of our closest living relatives, as well as more unusual creatures like the mustachioed emperor tamarin and the tiny, carnivorous western tarsier, whose eyes are as big as its brain and whose head can rotate 180° in either direction. Boasting 64 weird, wonderful and beautiful species, Monkey Bingo is filled with fun facts and glorious illustrations that are guaranteed to delight monkey lovers and novices alike. Mark each species off on your card as it’s called and be the first to shout BINGO!

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Book SynopsisThe classic chess reference book – as seen in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. This text is a comprehensive guide to opening moves in the game of chess. Covering every standard line of play, it provides the essence of contemporary opening theory, and is indispensable to both club and tournament players. The standard reference work on chess openings for more than half a century, earning the epithet 'the chess player's bible', Batsford's Modern Chess Openings is the most comprehensive single-volume work on the openings. Covering every standard line of play, it provides the distilled essence of contemporary opening theory. This edition is an indispensable reference work for club and tournament players. International Grandmaster Nick de Firmian is a three-times US Champion and an expert on opening theory. He helped develop computer Deeper Blue's opening repertoire in its match victory over arch-theoretician Gary Kasparov.

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Book SynopsisAn International Master's instructive guide to essential tactical strategies and positions in chess. A comprehensive book from the Swedish International Master Thomas Engqvist for understanding the most important tactical chess positions in the opening of a game, the middle game and the endgame. It cuts to the chase on the most useful tactical positions at each stage of the game. Knowing the positions is one thing but this experienced coach shows you how to create them, even out of nothing, in the spirit of Tal and Alekhine. It covers other important facets of tactical play, including calculation (how to calculate with the help of stepping stones), attacking play such as defence and counter attack, and even psychological tactics. Each numbered position can be seen as a test-yourself quiz (with answers given below the diagrams) to help cement tactical understanding. Since it's advisable to revise the positions from time to time, this book can be your life-long companion, enabling you to dramatically increase your tactical chess understanding. The perfect guide for players who want to reach a higher level but don't have time to spend hours every week on less productive study.Trade Review‘An excellent read for any player serious about getting better at chess’ -- American Chess Magazine

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Book SynopsisA dynamic two-player card game of competitive area control, careful planning, and very hungry bears.Every summer, dozens of ravenous brown bears descend upon the majestic Brooks River in the Katmai region of Alaska. Here they gorge themselves on its summer bounty of salmon that swim up the beautiful, glacial-fed rivers of the Alaskan wilderness.In Katmai, you will be playing bears to advantageous fishing spots along Brooks River in order to gain dominance, satisfy challenges and catch delicious salmon. As the fishing spots fill up, you will need to choose your bears carefully, triggering unique abilities that will allow you to take advantage of situations and outwit your hungry opponent. Katmai weaves together simple mechanics with rich decision making to create an experience that is contemplative, competitive, and tense. Winter approaches and the wilderness is yours. It''s time to feast!Players: 2Ages: 14+Playing

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Book SynopsisThe perfect stocking filler for lovers of Bridge.When you open this little book, the state secrets of the game of bridge lie in your hands. They cover everything you need to know to go from being a bridge beginner to an international mastermind!The book is split into short, concise and easy-to-follow tips that will help to improve all aspects of your game and strategy. They reveal how to play a good defensive hand, how to devise a bidding system, what you can read from an opponent's play, plus lots more.The beautifully decorated pages and luxury pocket style make this book something a little bit special. With it by your side you'll always come up trumps!

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Book SynopsisLearn how to play mah-jong with this beautifully illustrated mah-jong set!Animal Mah-jong takes the traditional Chinese tile game and updates it for a new audience in this affordable card format. Rather than the traditional line drawings of bamboo and Chinese characters, it features Ryuto Miyake''s beautiful animal illustrations - each suit features Asian animals from the land, sea and air. Get ready to pong, chow and kong like you never have before!Stunning illustrations by Ryuto MiyakeAffordable new card formatScreen-free fun - a high quality non-digital game for all agesSuitable for children and familes to play together

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Book SynopsisRoll the die - place a ladder - catch the moon! Climb through the clouds and reach for the moon! All it takes is a few cleverly placed ladders, a steady hand, and a bit of imagination. Reach for the moon, but don't stretch yourself too thin, or you may lose the ladders under your feet. With the right mix of suspense and risk taking, you will ascend to success.

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Book SynopsisThe ideal gift for all word puzzle enthusiasts!250 fun puzzles for word game lovers. Based on techniques required for Scrabble, these challenges have been designed to put your word power to the ultimate test. All words used are from the official Scrabble word list, so you learn as you play.Suitable for the whole family.In this collection of word puzzles you will find a great variety of word games:Word Slider move tiles in the grid to create multiple wordsScrabble Word a variation of Wordle, solve the anagram from the clues givenSeven Letters solve the given clues to find the hidden 7-letter wordScrabble Score try and make the maximum score from a given rack of tilesWordsearch ideal for word trainingAnagram Challenges unscramble the letters from the racksGive me a clue fill in the blank tiles to match the definitionWord Wheel find as many words as you can with a given lengthScrabble Soup find the highest-scoring word you can in the grid of lettersWord Ladder get from the top o

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Book SynopsisStretch your mental muscles into the third dimension! In this version of Ubongo, the hit puzzle game, players race to place three-dimensional blocks so they fit perfectly in a specific area on a puzzle card and completely fill a designated three-dimensional space. Each time you win, you collect colourful plastic gems; the player with the most valuable collection of gems at the end of the game wins.

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Book SynopsisIn 2020, The Red Cathedral stormed onto the board game scene and quickly became very popular amongst Euro gamers. Red Cathedral Contractors is another fabulous offering from Sheila Santos and Israel Cedrero, with stunning artwork again by Pedro Soto and Chema Roman.

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Book SynopsisEach round, one player gives a clue to an abstract art card with the aim of having at least one player - but not everyone! - guess correctly. This easy-to-learn party game has won many awards, including the 2010 Spiel des Jahres.

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Book SynopsisMikhail Tal was simply a chess phenomenon. The "magician from Riga" stunned the chess world when he became the youngest ever World Champion (at that time) in 1960, and he won countless supporters for his scintillating tactical play and his infectious enthusiasm for the game. As former World Champion Vassily Smyslov once noted, "Tal's appearance in chess had the effect of an exploding bomb, since his style of play was distinguished by extraordinary combinative brilliance." In this book Raetsky and Chetverik revisit Tal's brilliant victories. The authors have carefully picked his most famous and instructive games and combinations, ones which set the chess world alight with admiration. A study of this tactical genius is sure to entertain and benefit the aspiring chess student. *Includes Tal's most brilliant sacrificial attacks *Ideal for the attacking-minded chess player *Perfect for sharpening tactical ability

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Book SynopsisRoll the robot dice and find the bots on the board! These illustrated dice make up the legs, bodies, heads and antennae of 81 different robots for you to find on the board. Collect a counter for every robot you spot first; the player who collects the most counters wins. Who is the fastest? Who can focus their mind the most?

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Book SynopsisIncrease your chess knowledge within the year! In this book, Andrew Soltis analyzes 365 key chess games in an easy way for busy people. In this book, 365 of the most instructive short games of chess are analyzed, step by step, by well-respected author Andrew Soltis. Arranged as daily lessons, this book is perfect for chess players who would like to reach the next level of skill but can't devote hours and hours each day to study. Learn to feel confident with each tactic – each game features test-yourself quizzes (with answers at the back of the book) to help cement understanding, as well as chess diagrams for those who learn visually. Challenging tactics are revisited in later games to help you recognize when they occur and how chess masters use them to their full advantage. With this book, Andrew encourages you to learn to think like a chess master within the year. From Castling to Zugzwang, learn something new everyday!

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Book SynopsisThis family-friendly game is packed with ocean creatures for hours of bingo fun. Includes such favourites as the emperor penguin, sea otter, killer whale and Pacific seahorse as well as lesser known sea inhabitants like the yellow-bellied sea snake and the bioluminescent octopus. Boasting 64 weird, wonderful and beautiful species, Ocean Bingo is filled with fun facts and glorious illustrations that are guaranteed to delight aquatic afficionados. Mark each species off on your card as it’s called and be the first to shout BINGO!

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Book SynopsisDive deep into the history of the world's most popular fantasy RPG livestream with the cast of Critical Role in this definitive guide featuring never-before-seen illustrations and photos.From its unassuming beginnings as a casual home game between friends to the role-playing phenomenon it is today, Critical Role has become the stuff of legend. These pages chronicle how a circle of friends who all happen to be talented voice actors built the most-watched tabletop role-playing livestream of all time.Discover dazzling new illustrations and richly written insights into the locations, characters, and adventures featured in the hundreds of episodes across Critical Role's two campaigns, Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein. Go behind the scenes with archival photos and exclusive interviews with Dungeon Master Matt Mercer and the entire Critical Role cast as they explore their characters' most triumphant moments and darkest hours. And celebrate the massive community of Critters who support and expand the show's world through a highlighted tour of the crafts, cosplay, and art they create every day.Featuring a foreword from the cast, lush illustrations, and the inside story you won't find anywhere else, this book is your indispensable guide to Critical Role.The adventure begins!

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Book Synopsis'Timely... wonderfully entertaining' - The Wall Street JournalIn It's All A Game renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations.Trade Review[A] timely book... It's All a Game provides a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history. * The Wall Street Journal *A brisk and hugely readable account of some of the world's great board games and the amazing people who played them. Packed with fascinating tales from ancient Egyptian senet to Google's AlphaGo. Highly recommended. -- Ian Stewart, author of SIGNIFICANT FIGURESTable of Contents0: Introduction 1: TOMB RAIDERS AND THE LOST GAMES OF THE ANCIENTS 2: CHESS: THE 'MAD QUEEN'S GAME' 3: BACKGAMMON: THE FAVOURED GAME OF INTERNATIONAL PACESETTERS AND ANCIENT EMPERORS 4: THE GAME OF LIFE: A JOURNEY TO THE UNIQUELY AMERICAN DAY OF RECKONING 5: THE FORGOTTEN MESSAGE OF MONOPOLY 6: FROM KRIEGSSPIEL TO RISK: BLOOD-SOAKED AND WORLDSHAPING PLAY 7: I SPY 8: CLUEDO'S BILLION-DOLLAR CRIME SPREE 9: SCRABBLE: WORDS WITHOUT MEANING 10: PLASTIC FANTASTIC: MOUSE TRAP, OPERATION AND THE WILLY WONKA OF TOYS 13: RISE OF THE MACHINES: GAMES THAT TRAIN SYNTHETIC BRAINS 14: TRIVIAL PURSUIT: ADULTS AT PLAY 15: PANDEMICS AND TERROR: DISSECTING GEOPOLITICS ON CARDBOARD 16: MADE IN GERMANY: CATAN AND THE CREATION OF MODERN BOARD GAMES

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