Around the World in 80 Games

'BRILLIANTLY CLEAR AND CAPTIVATING PROSE' STEPHEN FRY




A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR 2023




An award-winning mathematician explores the maths behind the games we love and why we love to play them.



Where should you move first in Connect 4?


What is the best property in Monopoly?


And how can pi help you win rock paper scissors?


Spanning millennia, oceans and continents, countries and cultures, Around the World in 80 Games gleefully explores how mathematics and games have always been deeply intertwined. Marcus du Sautoy investigates how games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world, how understanding maths can help us play games better, and how both maths and games are integral to human psychology and culture.


For as long as there have been people, there have been games, and for nearly as long, we have been exploring and discovering mathematics. A grand adventure, Around the World in 80 Games teaches us not just how games are won, but how they, and the maths behind them, shape who we are.



'A delightful and addictive celebration of games. You’ll keeping wanting one more go' DARA Ó BRIAIN




‘Whether your game is Go, Dungeons and Dragons, or Chocolate Chilli Roulette, you'll find this book adorable. It's lively, creative and humane – exactly as one would expect from Marcus du Sautoy’ TIM HARFORD, author of How To Make The World Add Up