AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY GAMES

According to one of the world’s most respected mathematicians, the games we play have made us who we are.

Du Sautoy, an Oxford academic and author of The Music of the Primes, Symmetry, How To Count to Infinity, and other acclaimed works, admits to a fascination with games. When he has travelled to attend conferences and meetings around the world, he has tried to find out how the locals amuse themselves. In his latest book, the author examines the mechanics and history of each game (he does not include sports) as well as the underlying math. “Tell me the game you play,” he writes, “and I’ll tell you who you are.” While he has great affection for rational, strategic games like chess, his main interest is games that require both skill and luck. The games that have endured are those with simple rules that give rise to near-infinite complexity. Some games, like backgammon and bridge, transcend national borders, while others, such as mancala (mostly in Africa) and truco (South America) are played mainly in their culture of origin. The author acknowledges that his list is somewhat arbitrary, but he thoroughly knows his subject, and he writes with self-effacing charm. He discusses the odds that apply to dice games, cards, and even roulette, although he emphasizes that the most that math study can give you is a slight edge, not an unbeatable advantage. In fact, many regular game players have an intuitive grasp of the odds, which leads du Sautoy to speculate that games played a crucial part in the brain development of early humans. “Both games and mathematics combine the creativity and imagination of the artist with the logic and practicality of the scientist,” he writes, adding that “we will keep on inventing new games”—a fitting conclusion to an engrossing tour.

A complex package delivered in refreshingly simple and consistently entertaining terms.