While this might be a little simple for people who are already boardgame devotees, for people looking for something more complex than monopoly, or wondering what these odd boardgames like Carcassone and Catan are, this is a useful guide. It has details about the growth of the boardgames industry together with explanations of the role of the Essen convention and Spiel de Jahre awards. Don’t worry if you don’t know what Meeples are at the start of the book you will by the end.

It also has details for five games, Carcassone, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Stone Age, and Dominion. After background details, interviews with the creators and an overview of the game, it also includes strategy guides. These guides might be a little simple for experienced players of these games who have developed their own style, but there are still likely to be useful tips that you might not have considered (and a few that had me tutting because that’s not how we’d play it…). For new players of these games, particularly those new to adult boardgames in general, these tips will be very helpful – especially if they are new to the idea of co-operative or partially co-operative games. It also ends with a lot of suggestions for other games, and those of the suggestions I have played are great so I think these recommendations are probably worth looking up.

Despite many lists, sections, and images, the formatting is clearly laid out and easy to read. It even has an index at the end, which is not hotlinked but then you can’t have everything. I was going to say this was a packed little book, since it was a fast and entertaining read. Then I realised it was over 200 pages long and I’d been reading it for longer than I thought. Obviously, time flies when you’re having fun.

With everything from an intro to gaming to strategy tips to interviews with designers, this is a packed book great for anyone who loves boardgames.