Around the World in Eighty Games: From Tarot to Tic-Tac-Toe, Catan to Chutes and Ladders, a Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the World's Greatest Games

by Marcus du Sautoy

Pulling all of these threads together, why do we really play games? According to Caillois, it is “an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill, and often of money.”