Celebrating Board Games

Celebrating Board Games. Nina Chertoff and Susan Kahn. 2006. 144 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Games are a part of almost everyone's childhood. And board games in particular have a special place in most people's hearts.

Premise/plot: All the board games included in this tiny book belong to one collector. There isn't much text to it. Readers can learn the name of a board game and the year it came out. Occasionally, the author(s) elaborate. "This game is about who can make the most money..." or "the artwork of this one is racially offensive..." or "this game is like parcheesi..." or "this game is based on a tv show...." For each game mentioned, we have a photograph of the box, the game board, and the player pieces.

My thoughts: When I learned that all the games photographed (and included) belong to one person's collection it made a bit more sense as to what was included and what was not. This is not a comprehensive, thorough book that COVERS every board game from every decade. I've heard my mom talk about games she used to play--dad has a few stories as well--and sadly these were not included. Some of my own favorites from childhood were not included either. That's the way of things. (Careers is/was my personal favorite. Chutes and Ladders, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Scrabble--these are the games off the top of my head that were not included. I never thought about how many games don't have a game board--Yahtzee, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Battleship, Scattergories, Guess Who). 

The book wasn't particularly organized. It would have perhaps to have the book organized into sections: games about making money, games about war or strategy, games based on tv shows or movies, educational games, games of chance, etc. 

I think some of the games were chosen for their rarity and novelty...not because they were super popular, beloved, and representative of their times.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews