“Around the World in 80 Games: A Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the Greatest Games” by Marcus du Sautoy

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Rating: 4/5 Stars.

Emulating the journey of Phileas Fogg in “Around the World in Eighty Days”, this is an interesting journey around the world, featuring eighty games selected by the author. He traces the history and rules of the games as he moves from region to region, and covers what makes them mathematically interesting.

Starting with games from the Middle East, he moves on to the Arabian Sea, India, East Asia, Australasia, South Pacific, South and Central America, the USA, Atlantic Ocean, Africa and Europe. He covers traditional games from those regions, and also looks at modern games (computers, board and card games).

While the games are varied, the author picks out some common elements that make the games lasting and interesting for participants and the audience. The mathematical elements the author looks at include the odds of winning, the mathematics behind winning strategies and the mathematics behind the design of the games itself.

A wide-ranging and interesting look at the games that people play around the world and what makes people continue to play the games.

Book read from 2026/06/29 to 2026/07/06.