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?


Which property is best in Monopoly?


How can pi help you win Rock Paper Scissors?


Crossing oceans, continents and millennia, award-winning mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores how maths and games have always been deeply intertwined. As well as being integral to human psychology and culture throughout the ages, games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world. This grand adventure teaches us how to strategise, play better and win more often.


‘The subject matter is fun (I mean, isn’t it quite literally the definition of fun?) and du Sautoy’s enthusiasm is infectious’ THE SUNDAY TIMES


'A delightful and addictive celebration of games. You’ll keep wanting one more go' DARA Ó BRIAIN, author of Is There Anybody Out There?


‘Lively, creative and humane – exactly as one would expect from Marcus du Sautoy’ TIM HARFORD, author of How To Make The World Add Up


‘You do not need to be a seasoned player nor a skilled mathematician to relish this enchanting read. However, this book may just encourage you to become the one or the other’ REINER KNIZIA, award-winning game designer