Best Video & Computer Games
Look for the sequels to The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia , with The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts and the upcoming Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia due out April 24th 2018. He is the series producer and manager of The Legend of Zelda and won the Golden Joystick Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The opening letter from Shigeru Miyamoto sets a wonderful, celebratory tone for the rest of the book. The first third of the book, entitled "The Legend Begins: The World of Skyward Sword" is devoted to said title, the most recently released Zelda game we all played and loved. It's filled to the brim with the concept and official art that inspired Skyward's Sword brilliant aesthetic style. As one who views Skyward Sword as one of the most beautiful and brilliantly inspired video games ever made in terms of its art design and visuals, this is just fine with me. There's tons here, including a lot of really interesting ideas for characters that didn't make it into the game, like a floating Fi in a massive suit of armor or Zelda designs that are decidedly more elegant and fancy. There's also a good amount of location art that is simply gorgeous and really captures your imagination, just like the settings in the game did. What is even better about this section is the following 70 or so pages that actually chronicles, in great detail, the events of each timeline in chronological order. Sprinkled liberally through all of this are nice screenshots and art, as well as fascinating tidbits, like boxes that fully decipher the various Hylian/Hyrulean dialect text that appear in the games. This section closes with a very nice letter from Eiji Aonuma, arguably the second most important man behind the Legend of Zelda, after Shigeru Miyamoto of course. The lay-outs are nice, the printing quality is vibrantly beautiful and sharp as a tack, and the pages are crisp and clean. The binding is also high quality, which is important because this is a big book that would fall apart relatively quickly if it wasn't bound well. There are few games that capture the sense of beauty, imagination, and adventure like the Legend of Zelda effortlessly does with each and every release."
"As a Zelda fan it's wonderful to have a physical book of all game events (from 1986=2011), concept images and developer interviews."
"There's translations of some of the games in-game language systems and explanations for why certain things are as they are, for example hinting that timeshift stones and the ocarina of time are made of the same time-travel capable material. If I had to say anything negative, it would be that perhaps learning about the development decisions made during other games would have been nice, particularly Majora's mask, instead of just showing Skyward Sword concept art."
"One thing that I wish this had, and I don't know why I assumed it would... but I have a Nintendo Power magazine of Zelda from the 90's that was pretty cool."
"I say, anything that will hold his attention for that long and he will read in it daily, I consider it a great buy."
"After going through Amazon in search of gift ideas, I came across this particular one and decided it might be a good gift to purchase for him."
T he Legend of Zelda™: Art and Artifacts contains over four hundred pages of fully realized illustrations from the entire thirty-year history of The Legend of Zelda™ including artwork from the upcoming The Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild ! A few years later, the Gameboy and the Super Nintendo cemented Nintendo as one of the premier gaming companies in the world.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"First of all, if you're a die hard Zelda fan, nothing in this book is new as this book is essentially a collection of promotional and concept art for the series. You do get art from the entire series from the original Legend of Zelda to Zelda Twilight Princess HD or Zelda Tri Force Heroes."
"This is a must own to learn the history of one of the greatest franchises is video game history."
"The only unique part to the book is the final 40 pages or so that are full of interview Q&A's which are pretty interesting."
"Gorgeous to look at, came safely packaged, no wear and tear, protective plastic sleeve fits perfectly with the cover illustration."
"I bought this book as a gift and it is beautiful!"
"That said, I am an obsessive Zelda image hunter and have sought out most of this art in the past."
"I bought this for my son's birthday and he loves it."
"I'm pretty obsessed with everything Zelda, so when I saw this book I had to get it."
TOTALLY COMPREHENSIVE: All side quests, all Shrines of Trials and all information about collectable items – each mapped out and ready for you to discover and complete!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is an excellent buy."
"Delivered with slightly bent corners from shipping, so if someone is looking for pristine PRISTINE condition I'd recommend buying from a store, but honestly it's not too noticeable for someone who will be using the guide a lot."
"The quality is excellent and what I would expect from a Collector's Edition guide."
"Beautiful and helpful!"
"A very good guide to have."
"A good description about the game."
"Very sturdy binder and colorful.. but way too busy for my eyes."
Best Computer & Internet Game Strategy Guides
COLLECTOR’S EDITION BONUS: Premium hardcover,extra-large map poster and dedicated 16-page art section. AT-A-GLANCE WALKTHROUGHS: Annotated maps and screenshots show you the way through every quest and dungeon.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is an excellent buy."
"As beautifully illustrated as the Adventure Game it follows, this walk-thru has everything you need to know to enjoy new levels of RPG gaming."
"My only gripe is the font and print is so small it isn't always what I reach for to find things about the game sadly."
"I would highly recommend buying sticky tabs to mark numerous locations in the book (you WILL need them)."
"Delivered with slightly bent corners from shipping, so if someone is looking for pristine PRISTINE condition I'd recommend buying from a store, but honestly it's not too noticeable for someone who will be using the guide a lot."
"The quality is excellent and what I would expect from a Collector's Edition guide."
"Beautiful and helpful!"
Best Video Game Art
Look for the sequels to The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia , with The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts and the upcoming Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia due out April 24th 2018. He is the series producer and manager of The Legend of Zelda and won the Golden Joystick Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The opening letter from Shigeru Miyamoto sets a wonderful, celebratory tone for the rest of the book. The first third of the book, entitled "The Legend Begins: The World of Skyward Sword" is devoted to said title, the most recently released Zelda game we all played and loved. It's filled to the brim with the concept and official art that inspired Skyward's Sword brilliant aesthetic style. As one who views Skyward Sword as one of the most beautiful and brilliantly inspired video games ever made in terms of its art design and visuals, this is just fine with me. There's tons here, including a lot of really interesting ideas for characters that didn't make it into the game, like a floating Fi in a massive suit of armor or Zelda designs that are decidedly more elegant and fancy. There's also a good amount of location art that is simply gorgeous and really captures your imagination, just like the settings in the game did. What is even better about this section is the following 70 or so pages that actually chronicles, in great detail, the events of each timeline in chronological order. Sprinkled liberally through all of this are nice screenshots and art, as well as fascinating tidbits, like boxes that fully decipher the various Hylian/Hyrulean dialect text that appear in the games. This section closes with a very nice letter from Eiji Aonuma, arguably the second most important man behind the Legend of Zelda, after Shigeru Miyamoto of course. The lay-outs are nice, the printing quality is vibrantly beautiful and sharp as a tack, and the pages are crisp and clean. The binding is also high quality, which is important because this is a big book that would fall apart relatively quickly if it wasn't bound well. There are few games that capture the sense of beauty, imagination, and adventure like the Legend of Zelda effortlessly does with each and every release."
"As a Zelda fan it's wonderful to have a physical book of all game events (from 1986=2011), concept images and developer interviews."
"There's translations of some of the games in-game language systems and explanations for why certain things are as they are, for example hinting that timeshift stones and the ocarina of time are made of the same time-travel capable material. If I had to say anything negative, it would be that perhaps learning about the development decisions made during other games would have been nice, particularly Majora's mask, instead of just showing Skyward Sword concept art."
"One thing that I wish this had, and I don't know why I assumed it would... but I have a Nintendo Power magazine of Zelda from the 90's that was pretty cool."
"I say, anything that will hold his attention for that long and he will read in it daily, I consider it a great buy."
"After going through Amazon in search of gift ideas, I came across this particular one and decided it might be a good gift to purchase for him."
Best Antique & Collectible Records
It’s bursting with the latest facts and stats on your favorite games from the futuristic soccer action of Rocket League to the psychedelic paint battles of Splatoon . GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (GWR) is the universally recognized global authority on record-breaking achievement.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A 28 year old step-grandson who is a whiz computer person, and his 16 year old brother,also a whiz with computers, both remarked about this book in a very favorable manner."
"This book has a lot of trivia in it. If anyone still gives a trivia party this book would put you leaps on everyone else."
"I think it's a fun book to browse and although he is almost 14 now, during the years when he was between the ages 8-12 he excitedly went into hiding every year and read them cover to cover."
"has a thick hardback cover in a shiny yellow metallic that makes it look like a rockstar is gonna pop out when you open it up."
"It is a thick book and what I love is that every possible space on each page is filled with facts and stories."
"There is a lot of good information and tips in the book."
"Great book."
"I get the new one for my son every Christmas, this has kept my son who is 12 and my daughter who is 9 enthralled with reading for countless hours."
Best Biscuit, Muffin & Scone Baking
-Whole Wheat Bread. -Gluten Free Bread. -Sourdough Bread. -Nut Bread. -Cheese Bread. -Pizza and Focaccia. -Coffee Cakes and Sweet Roll. -Chocolate Bread. However, the newer generation of machines turns out excellent bread, and after being bombarded with know-how by this James Beard Award-winning writer, even the most reluctant may be inspired to give it a go. There are recipes for pizza and flatbreads, as well as selections from a variety of traditions, from Alsatian kugelhopf to Zuni Indian bread. (Aug.). Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have had his bread machine cook book for years."
"I have never made homemade bread before."
"I highly recommend this to any bake at home person, especially ones with a bread machine that came with a limited recipe book."
"I was reading up on the sourdough recipes and it explains in detail how to make the starter also gives a brief history of its origins."
"Unfortunately, medical issues have removed bread from my diet, but I still cook for family, and this is my long-time favorite collection of bread recipes."
"What is awesome about this book it is it does not include just recipes, but HOW they differ, what works, what doesn't, history, tips, etc."
"I've tried multiple recipes from this book with tasty results and look forward to trying more of them."
"Lots of good recipes in this book but if you don't want recipes with "complicated" ingredients then don't buy it."
Best Word Games
When time is up, pun makers share their puns with the prompter, who awards the prompt cards to the player whose pun he or she likes best. JO and FRED FIRESTONE, a daughter-father duo, are the creators and hosts of Punderdome®, NYC’s Most Puntastic Competition—part of New York’s comedy landscape since 2011.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My 3 friends and I sat in a circle, drew green and white cards, and looked at them until we had a puns. But if you love puns, I would 100% recommend this game if only for the well thought out and structured green/white cards which you can use for endless fun. BONUS: There are hilarious pun jokes on the back of the cards which I discovered during my 3rd play through."
"Jo Firestone is a treasure and this game is destined to be a classic."
"This is so much fun."
"Fun game, good price, and make you really think lol."
"Not a fan favorite."
"I was so excited for this game, but honestly it was a huge let down."
"Boring game."
Best Card Games
When time is up, pun makers share their puns with the prompter, who awards the prompt cards to the player whose pun he or she likes best. JO and FRED FIRESTONE, a daughter-father duo, are the creators and hosts of Punderdome®, NYC’s Most Puntastic Competition—part of New York’s comedy landscape since 2011.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My 3 friends and I sat in a circle, drew green and white cards, and looked at them until we had a puns. But if you love puns, I would 100% recommend this game if only for the well thought out and structured green/white cards which you can use for endless fun. BONUS: There are hilarious pun jokes on the back of the cards which I discovered during my 3rd play through."
"It doesn't really give you much to go on in terms of strategy or gameplay, you're basically just forcing puns out of phrases and words."
"This game requires a good amount of thinking and definitely a love and aptitude for puns."
"I preordered three copies the moment I saw this- I know a bunch of people who love puns."
"We laughed a lot, but it can be frustrating, especially if you can't come up with a pun."
"Not really sure I like this as a game."
"Whole family LOVES to play this."
"Jo Firestone is a treasure and this game is destined to be a classic."
Best Board Games
Parents Magazine Best Toys of 2014. Dr. Toy's 10 Best Toys of 2014. 2014 Parents' Choice Award – Silver The magic of the New York Times bestseller Press Here is now available in game form! Hervé Tullet is known for his prodigious versatility, from directing ad campaigns to designing fabric for Hermès.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'd read an interview with him that discussed what he tries to achieve when writing a children's book - "the idea that adults and children should collaborate with the book together, the element of surprise, the connection between abstract and concrete concepts..." In this neat book, he achieves what he sets out to do... it allows your child to feel like a magician, assisted by nothing more than yellow, red and blue dots! Beginning with a simple yellow dot your child presses (which "magically" - via your child pressing it - responds by turning into two yellow dots on the second page), the amount of dots, colors, patterns and sizes of the dots change as the book progresses, with a child learning the meaning of pressing, turning, rubbing, tapping, shaking, tilting, blowing, along with varying degrees of movement (gently, a little bit, a little bit more, hard, a little bit harder, really hard) - and direction (left, right, up, down). Toward the end, your child will be clapping to make the dots larger and larger and LARGER until finally that original one yellow dot (with a white hole in the center) is taking up the entire two page spread... at which point your child's encouraged to "Quick, press the white dot", with the final page showing the original yellow dot and saying, "Bravo!"
"LOL - okay, the wonderful review before mine is so chock full of great information on the book that I don't know how I can compare. Within moments, we were surrounded by every other child in the waiting room as they watched and listened in fasciation. This is truly a wonderful little book that proves imagination is more important and more effective than batteries! I told my daughter that it had been her favorite book when younger, so she asked me to read it to her. She's now shared the book with her kindergarten class and the kids keep asking her to bring it back."
"He calls it his magic color book."
"This book is loved by the whole family and a favorite at bedtime."
"This book is SO stinking adorable!"
"Awesome book!"
"This book is fun."
"It is better for younger kids that are more easily wowed."
Best Math Games
Part of the reason for the book's success is its marvelously varied assortment of brainteasers ranging from simple "catch" riddles to difficult problems (none, however, requiring advanced mathematics). In addition, Martin Gardner, former editor of the Mathematical Games Department, Scientific American , has clarified and simplified the book to make it as easy as possible for an English-reading public to understand and enjoy. A master at making math fun for his high school students, Boris Kordemsky loaded this clever collection with a wide variety of math and logic related games and puzzles dealing with magic squares, tricky weights and measures, properties of numbers, mathematical tricks, and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Anyone who enjoys math and logic puzzles is basically required to own this classic."
"I'm a teacher and I've been using problem in this book as daily class warm ups."
"Definitely makes your brain more aware."
"Complex to say the least, but even though it's challenging it is still a lot of fun."
"I use it in my stratagies and tactics class to encourage critical thinking and to have some fun with students."
"Plenty of ingenuity and excellent challenges that defy the imagination."
"If your kids aren't bored with it, teach them as young as possible!"
"I had expected clever word and math puzzles and I was a little disappointed to find the book devoted a lot of space to visual puzzles."
Best Word Search Games
The book s introduction offers helpful tips and techniques for solving the puzzles, starting with the process of elimination. For almost 20 years, Brain Games® has been the go-to name for puzzle book and magazines that are both entertaining and mind building. Based on the recognized science that games train your brain to think quickly and creatively, BG puzzles cover all bases: logic, word puzzles, cognition, spot the difference, and more. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There are already a lot of reviews so this will probably get lost in the mayhem, but I would like to share what I wish more book sellers would ‘show and tell’ about their puzzle books, such as pictures of random pages and how many of each puzzle type is in the book so you can make sure you do not end up with a ‘variety book’ filled with a hundred crosswords and only a handful of the more interesting ‘outside the box’ puzzles."
"There was some writing in the one that I received and I wasn't too happy about it but it's ok. Once we MASTER this book we will be moving on to the Kindergarten book."
"They love them."
"Every time we work on it, he says it "makes his brain feel good"."
"Great book!"
"This is a good puzzle book, but I am not totally into some of the variety of puzzles."
"This is a great workbook w brain games In it."
"The crossword puzzles and other word puzzles help her work on her spelling skills."
Best Travel Games
Now, more than ninety years later, the classic crossword series continues with a brand-new collection of crosswords at every level from top puzzle master John M. Samson. John M. Samson is an expert crossword puzzle constructor and editor.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"When I worked at a brick and mortar bookstore in college, Simon and Schuster crossword books were popular for crossword enthusiasts."
"For me the joy for doing a Simon-Schuster puzzle is from that the puzzle title reveals itself bit-by-bit."
"Bought this for my husband and he is very pleased."
"these are my favorite puzzle books, have gone thru all of them, wish there were more."
"My Puzzle man Brother In Law loves it ..."
"However, it is not at the difficulty level I was expecting."
"Excellent product and service."
Best Puzzle & Game Reference
Everything a player needs to create heroic characters for the world’s greatest roleplaying game The Player’s Handbook® is the essential reference for every Dungeons & Dragons® roleplayer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am an oldster, have played every edition of D&D there has been, most of them being released when I was of legal drinking age, and IMO this is the best edition ever. Another way to think of it is that this edition is the most true to the game principles set forth in the earlier editions, especially AD&D 1st and 2nd editions, while at the same time carrying the more modern and popular principles from 3.5 and even the much maligned 4.0. When playing even 2nd edition, but very much so for 3.0, 3.5, and even 4.0, I found myself interacting with my character in the game more as a playing piece than a character in a story. It was almost as if my character, and my decisions about playing the character, began to be dominated more by my interface with the rules in the book, rather than with my ideas about my character and my interaction with the game world. As I reflected while playing these later editions, I found that I was not really playing a character, but instead was playing a set of rules. I worry now more about the choices and decisions I make while interacting with the game world, and those choices making the character fun to play, rather than fretting over whether or not I have chosen the right Feats or if my modifier for a particular skill is as high as I want it to be. As I start down the path of the twilight of my gaming career given my age, I want a set of rules that provides enough structure that a DM can make consistent rulings on the fly that fit in with the general mechanics used in the game, and that foster my appreciation as a player of the development of my character in a game world where playing the game is smooth and produces memories of an interesting character who is the protagonist in an interesting story line."
"UPDATE 9/30/15: I thought that I would share my experience with obtaining a replacement book from the manufacturer after my initial review. The info to do so may be found here: [...]. After explaining my situation to the customer service rep, they promptly scheduled a pick up via FedEx of my defective book and when it was received, I was sent email notification that a replacement was in route."
"So, the fifth edition of the venerable Dungeons and Dragons game is officially out, with the Player's Handbook ready to be picked up, combed through and played by the world. To give a little background (and you can feel free to skip this paragraph if you want to get to the meat of the review), I started with 3rd edition, which came out all the way back in 2000, when I was in middle school. In the end, I, like a lot of folks, gained interest in the older editions of the games, the ones that predated my own D&D experiences, the ones that sounded to me like ancient, esoteric and arcane books of mystery, whose rambling prose and absurdly convoluted mechanics became somehow enticing. I tried to get into more of the indie side of the RPG genre, taking a particular interest in Burning Wheel, which I still adore as a system, though it seems too unwieldy and I was and remain hesitant to actually try and play it. For some reason, after years of total uninterest in Dungeons and Dragons, where any mention of the game would make me turn up my nose at such inelegant, fiddly silliness, I found myself, all at once, filled with overwhelming excitement about the coming edition. The promise of a game, both old and new, divorced from the flaws of the past, made with some fresh ideas and streamlining, aiming to take the best of each old edition and instill them into a unified whole that is at once simple, quick and varied? The high level of quality starts with the art design and cover, which are probably my favorite for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons. When we open the book we can see that Dungeons and Dragons is a game of vaguely feudal societies, but whose inspirations span the entirety of the globe, removing us from the strict adherence to Europeanism that dominated past editions. My recurring argument for what D&D should be revolves around the game ideally being limitless, and the active inclusion of non-western cultures and peoples without lumping them into types such as "oriental" or "vaguely mesoAmerican but we are not going to call them that" really goes along with that. The order is logical and a good start for beginners, though the classes reference rules that are not detailed until much later chapters, which could be very confusing to newcomers. Classes too each have at least two subclasses, with the class list including the Barbarian, whose mechanics of course focus around her berserker rage; the bard, who can cast spells but also gets a pool of "bardic inspiration dice" that he can spend to benefit their allies and roll to add extra bonuses to attacks, checks and saves; the Cleric, who is fairly standard, but has a lot of variety granted by what "domain" corresponds to her respective god, potentially giving abilities ranging from being excellent in combat, excellent at sneaking around(! ), excellent at healing (the classic) and so forth; the druid, who can focus either in her ability to cast spells or the classic druid art of lycanthropy; the fighter, who can be a standard, simple to play warrior who is good at having hit points and hitting things, in addition to both a very 4th edition-like, Warlord-esque commander type guy, who uses a pool of special dice to trigger abilities and command his allies, and an eldritch knight, who casts spells while he slashes and smashes and stabs; the monk, who isn't really my thing but other people might like him a lot--he can either punch or cast spells; the paladin, who now swears an oath, either to a god, to nature or to herself, and draws her powers from that, manifesting as a paladin of vengeance, who loves to kill, or even a paladin of the woodland fae, confusing people with fairy-inspired charms, which are both pretty cool; the ranger, who either slaughters with his own swords or gets a lovely woodland creature to aid him; the rogue, who loves thievery, assassination or arcane tricksteriness, and who of course backstabs non-stop; the sorcerer, who either focuses on her draconic origins or the chaotic influence of wild magic, and who has special sorcery points to spend that allow her to modify spells in much the same way that 3rd edition's metamagic feats worked; the warlock, who is probably my least favorite class, though I like the thematic idea, and who combines 4th edition-esque style powers with classic Vancian casting in a way that I found particularly inelegant; and of course the wizard, who has a huge list of spells to choose from, and who gets to choose one of the classic schools of wizardry--abjuration, conjuration, necromancy et cetera--to modify spells and grant thematic special abilities. In past editions of Dungeons and Dragons, the end of the races and classes chapters would pretty much mark the final steps in creating and customizing your character's abilities, personality and details. Your background also gives you examples for four new stats in fifth edition: your character's personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws. There is a lot in these chapters regarding roleplaying, cost of living, what your character's do with their downtime and other more mundane--but in my opinion still fun--activities that occur during an adventurer's life. These individual sections are fairly short, but I felt they cover everything to a reasonable degree, still allowing a lot of room for DM or player ideas. Combat is simple and quick, and unlike the past two editions, is assumed to be more of a "theater of the mind" experience, not relying on grids or miniature figurines. In a somewhat silly move, however, attack ranges and positioning and speed are still measured in feet, adding needless complication and increased possibility for arguments when it comes to who can reach who and who is in whose spell's area of effect. I would have much preferred a more narrativist combat positioning system that depended on more abstract zones or areas or something, but I suppose this way still allows for players who want to play with miniatures to do so. It also allows for a certain amount of improvisation, where a player may use his or her action to try and jump on the giant's back and stab him in the eye, for example. The book ends with a few appendices, detailing deities from various D&D worlds, common monsters and animals the players will interact with and summon and even a list of recommended reading, containing the old classics like Tolkien but updated with fantasy novels published as recently as in the last year. They even added some story game elements--how weird is that!--and your character's personality and feelings, for the first time ever in D&D, have mechanical benefits."
Best Logic & Brain Teasers
Based on the science that shows that people middle-aged or older who solve word games and brainteasers have a significant cognitive advantage over those who do not, 399 Games, Puzzles & Trivia Challenges is the illustrated game book specifically created to cross-train the brain. Nancy Linde created and runs Never2Old4Games.com, an online subscription service for activities professionals working with senior citizens at assisted living residences, retirement communities, senior centers, and other senior-serving organizations.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"And for most of them, they're the types of challenges that you can read aloud to a group--or to a significant other--to enjoyably while away a long road trip. You might be asked about a wealthy socialite from the 1920s, or a slightly famous murder trial that took place during the Great Depression. In retrospect, the cover text is very revealing: the book claims these puzzles were designed to "keep your brain young.""
"A good variety of word puzzles that can be done rapid-fire like a game show while sitting around the campfire or in a car on a road trip."
"I bought this puzzle book to take on a long flight that also had a decent layover."
"Great fun."
"It is so good for your brain and a fun way to pass the time....... fun to do with a friend too."
"This book is such a terrific way to engage your mind in a fun and not toooo challenging way."
"Maybe there isn't any real scientific proof that these games help slow brain aging, but just having quiet, me-time, thinking all on my own without outside stimuli to distract me, has to be a brain-perk in itself."
"So entertaining!"
Best Gambling
The incredible true story of the card-counting mathematics professor who taught the world how to beat the dealer and, as the first of the great quantitative investors, ushered in a revolution on Wall Street. A child of the Great Depression, legendary mathematician Edward O. Thorp invented card counting, proving the seemingly impossible: that you could beat the dealer at the blackjack table. Along the way, the so-called godfather of the quants played bridge with Warren Buffett, crossed swords with a young Rudy Giuliani, detected the Bernie Madoff scheme, and, to beat the game of roulette, invented, with Claude Shannon, the world’s first wearable computer. An intellectual thrill ride, replete with practical wisdom that can guide us all in uncertain financial waters, A Man for All Markets is an instant classic—a book that challenges its readers to think logically about a seemingly irrational world. “In A Man for All Markets , [Thorp] delightfully recounts his progress (if that is the word) from college teacher to gambler to hedge-fund manager. Edward O. Thorp launched revolutions in Vegas and on Wall Street by turning math into magic, and here he weaves his own life lessons into a page-turner as hot as a deck full of aces. “Whether you are an aspiring professional player, a casual gambler, or an occasional visitor to Las Vegas, you can feel the impact of Edward O. Thorp’s intellect on that desert city. The text was based on Thorp’s original research that stemmed from his curiosity about the game of 21 and was billed as a how-to book for the layperson to beat the casinos at blackjack. A Man for All Markets chronicles Thorp’s personal journey in navigating the unexpected and sometimes dangerous obstacles that come along with challenging the status quo of a wealthy corporate adversary.” —Nicholas G. Colon, professional advantage gambler and managing director, Alea Consulting Group. Find the formula for valuing financial options but use it to make money rather than win a Nobel Prize? This book is in part the gripping story of how one man’s genius and dedication has solved so many problems in diverse fields. But more important, it’s a fascinating insight into the thought processes of someone with little interest in fame, who has mostly stayed under the radar, yet who has followed his inquisitive mind wherever it has led him, and reaped the resulting rewards.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Edward Thorp is a remarkable man - a polymath of science, computing, mathematics, and finance - and I have looked up to him for a large portion of my life, from when I read "Beat the Dealer" as an impressionable young teenager, to my career in finance as I learned more about his incredible investing exploits, told skillfully in Poundstone's "Fortune's Formula". Third, his investment management career, which was so consistently successful until it came to a screeching halt on federal charges against members of the east coast branch of his firm (Thorp does appear to have been completely uninvolved and unaware). Fourth, and longest, a 120+ page meditation on the recent past, including a handful of successful investment ideas that have been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere (thrift conversions, the Palm/3Com arbitrage trade, statistical arb) and long ruminations on compound interest, personal finance, the hedge fund industry, personal fitness, time, and his interesting but fairly tangential interactions with Warren Buffett, among other things."
"I have read almost all his books. I think this book is one of the best."
"Written by a great Economist and "Gambler"."
"An amazing life."
"As a mathematician, trained in California, Thorp has been a hero to me."
"Having informally followed some of the core life principles guided in this book, I am truly enriched after reading it and look forward to the future as I walk a similar path if I can be so fortunate."
"It condenses the knowledge of a great mind into understandable and useful advise."
Best Poker
Twice-world champion and Hall of Famer Doyle Brunson and five leading experts in their various specialties tell you when to raise, call, bet, and fold at hold 'em (limit and no-limit), 7-stud (high and low), draw poker, and lowball.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even for the modern player, reading Brunson's thoughts on the game is crucial, because even if it's not how you personally play, it's a mode of play that every top player understands."
"You buy system 1, then you buy system 2.. not for the casual player, you need to READ, digest, maybe re-read Doyles plays, tips, etc."
"There has never been, nor will probably ever again be such a definitive word on the game of Poker."
"I recommend reading it cover to cover before picking a section, because you may find a new gem in a game you haven't played before."
"- Delivered as promised and in perfect condition."
"Super, great information!"
"I've read super system two,and reading original lots of useful poker knowledges."
Best Crossword Puzzles
500 puzzles; the biggest collection of Sunday crosswords ( the Times' most popular) EVER. He has edited countless books of crossword puzzles, Sudoku, KenKen, and all manner of brain-busters.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This was purchased for a gift."
"As any cruciverbalist knows, you must keep lots of puzzles on hand."
"A great value."
"Some very challenging puzzles in this book."
"Very heavy and difficult to hold."
"Bought this for my mother and she loves it."
"It made a great Christmas gift for my mom."
"A majority of the book featured long puzzles with the grids so small that it was very difficult to print letters in them."
Best Bridge
Explains twenty-five bidding conventions, including the grand slam force, lead-directing doubles, negative doubles, new minor forcing, responsive doubles, reverse Drury, splinter bids, Stayman, takeout doubles, and weak two-bids.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a really great resource for learning bridge."
"Last section is for duplicate player/"experts" who have time to "study" with their partners and spend a lot of time at the table."
"A nice addition to my Bridge library."
"This is the second time I've purchased this book."
"This book covers all the essentials to learn and understand the most popular bridge conventions."
"A must have for all bridge players."
Best Sudoku
The book s introduction offers helpful tips and techniques for solving the puzzles, starting with the process of elimination. For almost 20 years, Brain Games® has been the go-to name for puzzle book and magazines that are both entertaining and mind building. Based on the recognized science that games train your brain to think quickly and creatively, BG puzzles cover all bases: logic, word puzzles, cognition, spot the difference, and more. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There are already a lot of reviews so this will probably get lost in the mayhem, but I would like to share what I wish more book sellers would ‘show and tell’ about their puzzle books, such as pictures of random pages and how many of each puzzle type is in the book so you can make sure you do not end up with a ‘variety book’ filled with a hundred crosswords and only a handful of the more interesting ‘outside the box’ puzzles."
"There was some writing in the one that I received and I wasn't too happy about it but it's ok. Once we MASTER this book we will be moving on to the Kindergarten book."
"They love them."
"Every time we work on it, he says it "makes his brain feel good"."
"Great book!"
"This is a good puzzle book, but I am not totally into some of the variety of puzzles."
"This is a great workbook w brain games In it."
"The crossword puzzles and other word puzzles help her work on her spelling skills."
Best Chess
The most complete collection of chess problems ever published, including 5,334 instructional situations, presented by the world's leading chess teacher. Bruce Pandolfini is perhaps the most experienced chess teacher in North America.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An excellent workbook for training the beginner's eye and mind to see combinations and relationships between pieces and pawns."
"My 7 year old loves this book."
"Polgar doesn't cloud the pages with his thoughts and observations, it's just straight up chess problems without the unnecessary riffraff."
"Very useful book."
"A must for anyone who wants to to improve their."
"Nice book to teach 5~10 years old and let them practice."
"love this Book even thought I order a hardback I ended up with a paper back... STIIL WANT A HARD COVER IF ANYONE HAS ONE FOR !!"
"One problem, the copy I bought years ago has page 559 where page 539 should be."
Best Fantasy Sports
A one-of-a-kind deluxe keepsake for fans celebrating Quidditch, the magical sport from J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This isn't a playable quidditch set, and for anyone who thought you could buy a full sports quality quidditch set at $18... maybe you should have read the product description a little more closely."
"I also thought it was gonna be really tiny because of the price, but it's a pretty good collectible size (not life size). And for those leaving bad reviews because the snitch doesn't have wings...have you seen the movie?"
"I really love the trunk...so many complained that it was too small, I was hoping for something smaller."
"I got the set for under $5 and I feel that was a fair price; I wouldn't pay more than that for it personally. Like others have mentioned the book is basically just the same vector clip art that's being put on all kinds of products along with a handful of box art, but personally I find the miniature book aspect to be quite charming even if the art is somewhat modernized."
"The two complaints I have are due to the quality of the box and the fact that the golden snitch is not removable."
"Though other reviewers seem to be more okay with the included book, I was more disappointed by the book than by the pony. There are some colorful pictures of various ponies in the book, which are nice (though they kind of look like clip-art), but there is a lot of unnecessary filler text that I didn't love -- for instance, some pages merely said mundane things like "Made in the 80's" or "Friends 4-Ever" which seemed completely pointless to me."
"Bought as a wedding gift for a Harry Potter obsessed friend of mine."
"The pony I received was very different (I see the image has now been updated to reflect the actual pony)."
Best Quizzes
Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British bestseller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more, The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha” compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school. Think Magellan was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, baseball was invented in America, Henry VIII had six wives, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain? Check out THE BOOK OF GENERAL IGNORANCE for more fun entries and complete answers to the following: “To impress friends with your cleverness, beg, borrow or buy John Lloyd and John Mitchinson’s The Book of General Ignorance, an extraordinary collection of 230 common misperceptions compiled for the BBC panel game QI (Quite Interesting).”. — Financial Times “This book would make even Edison feel small and silly, for it offers answers to questions you never thought to ask or had no need of asking as you already knew, or thought you knew, the answer.”. — The Economist. moving slightly faster than your brain does, so that you haven’t quite absorbed the full import of one blissful item of trivial information before two or three more come along. “This UK bestseller redefines ‘common knowledge’ with factoids that will inform and entertain (or at least liven up your next cocktail party).”. – OK!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It's quick enough to pick up and read for a few minutes at a time, but also long enough to give a fairly good explanation of the facts it's laying out."
"Very well-documented and factual."
"Fun to read and a great gift for “special” friends who appreciate the title."
"All ages liked this book ."
"Great book for inquisitive minds."
"It's almost like myth busters but for common facts that we "think to be true"."
"This is the kind of book a person can pick up, read for a few minutes, and then go back to work/sleep."
"told me lots of stuff I didn't know."
Best Magic Tricks
More than 2,000 illustrations provide the know-how behind 300 techniques, from basic card tricks to advanced levitation, along with advice on planning and staging a professional-quality magic show. Mark Wilson is first and foremost a famous magician, who the New York Times has recognized as probably the nation's leading authority on magic.” He is also the hugely successful author of numerous kits and books devoted to instruction in the magical arts including the newly released Complete Course in Magic (Revised Ed.).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My significant other is a bartender that does magic tricks to entertain his customers, I bought this as a gift for him and he loved it!"
"This is a great book on learning magic from one of the best magician around."
"This book has detailed information for folks who are genuinely interested in learning how to build their own magic show complete with information about patter, misdirection, and prop construction."
"Grandson has really loved this gift."
"I owned this volume way back when I first started in magic, it was referred to me by a friend who owns a magic shop and he said once you read this and try some of the tricks it would be a really good start, the tricks that are within its pages, some are very easy and some are even stage illusions, many are now dated but I have found that with some rehashed patter and some updated workings these tricks are timeless, I own the Tarbel volumes and I find myself going back to this more often then not!"
"The variety is awesome and the reader may pick and choose or simply select the category of interest and concentrate on that. We had magicians at nearly every birthday party and, like most kids, I was enamored with the entire process but never pursued it beyond amateur status."
"By far the BEST book to buy first, if you're a beginning magician."
"Everything you need to know to get your magic hobby or career started!"
Best Puzzles
Main entries include a brief definition, a part-of-speech label, and inflected forms for fast, easy word validation. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My son gets to use it, and we don't, so it evens up the play."
"Great gift along side Super Scrabble to keep player on the up and up."
"I'm no expert on Scrabble, but I'm finding this very useful in playing the Lumosity on-line games and keeping on hand when playing Scrabble with grandchildren."
"I teach English to English as a THIRD language and this dictionary makes expanding vocabulary (via scrabble play) extremely fun."
"It has a lot of words to get you out of a sticky situation when you have letters that you are sure you can't use."
"Very nice up to date Scrabble dictionary."
"As an avid player,using a dictionary definitely adds to the game.having gone through several paperbacks i thought. the additional words and hardcover would enhance the experience.Lots of new words makes it more fun."
Best Trivia
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. For Munroe, who writes with a clarity and wit honed over eight years of writing captions for his webcomic, the fact that a question might be impossible to solve is no deterrent to pursuing it.” —Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. "With his steady regimen of math jokes, physics jokes, and antisocial optimism, xkcd creator Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, scores traffic numbers in NBC.com or Oprah.com territory. [A]t its best [xkcd] isn’t a strip comic so much as an idea factory and a shared experience."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love the blog and was really looking forward to this book, but buying the kindle edition was a mistake."
"This is a great way to enjoy older questions and answers over again, updated, and to share them with new people, and the new questions and answers - never featured on the website - are delightful; I won't spoil it for you, but my favorite has to be the answer to "If a bullet with the density of a neutron star were fired from a handgun (ignoring the how) at the Earth's surface, would the Earth be destroyed?" If you have even a passing interest in science and ever enjoy daydreaming about the fantastic or the ridiculous, this book is for you. Gift season is coming up; thanks to this book my Christmas shopping will be a great deal easier."
"Randall Munroe hits that oddball humor sweet spot with zany questions and actual, scientific--and most importantly, interesting--answers."
"Randall Munroe's XKCD is a cornerstone of the World-Wide Web, and he brings the same intelligence and overabundance of careful research here to absolutely hilarious (and often randomly awesome or terrible) questions."
"Best bathroom book ever... and I mean that in the very best possible way you can imagine."
"All wrapped up in a well made book sufficient for display."
"Whether it's taking a dip in a nuclear reactor cooling pool, or halting the earth's spin just to see what would happen, Monroe accepts the intellectual challenge and delivers with gusto."
"They're hyperlinked, and you can use the links on the footnote to jump back But the page bounds move slightly every time, and notes near the top activate the Kindle options rather than the footnote."
Best Blackjack
Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on M.I.T.’s campus into a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winning big. Ben Mezrich graduated magna cum laude from Harvard.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Well not a gambler in the sense of giving my money away to the casinos, because I know the odds are rigged to the benefit of the house. The only difference is the market will not "take you for a one way ride into the desert". I highly recommend the book or the movie."
"However, without nerves of steel to hold them steady when carrying and betting huge sums of money while avoiding threats of being caught in their lucrative activities, they would not have succeeded, brilliant as they were."
"Good read, very interesting."
"Good luck putting this book down...you will most likely finish in one sitting."
"They may have taken Vegas, but ultimately greed, technology, and inflated egos, brought them down."
"Loved the movie, and love the book."
"If they weren't going up against an entity detested more than "big oil" we may not root them on...But, you will root for them as they leave carnage in the pits because you know given the opportunity, you would do the same (hopefully you would not let it become your life and religion since your moral compass balances you). Ben Mezrich's book is a bit slight, but is fun and you'll likely zip through it in a couple of sittings because it has good tension and the constant thrill provided by the six is palpable as they manipulate the odds."
"What this book does offer is a short and easy to read storyline regarding the lives of MIT students who took many casinos, most prominently in Las Vegas, for considerable money with a team effort card counting system for Blackjack."