The Game Changers – Review

What value are games to you? What value to the world? As we age it is easy to put aside games and play. Society can see such pursuits as frivolous, childish, and without cultural merit. Certainly in our current culture, games do not have the cache of sport. The playing of games is seen as a mere pastime at best. 

The Game Changers by Tim Clare, makes the case for games being not only culturally significant, but an essential part of what makes us human. It is a pacey tour through the anthropological impact of games.

The history of dice and cards are told like a compelling mystery, tracing their impact across the great civilisations and over hundreds and thousands of years. This is not just a book that reveals the historic origins of card components. Individual games are brought to the attention and Tim casts his net wide in doing so.

Tim dives into the history of Monopoly, a tale that is as much about greed and capitalism as the game we have come to know. Tim does not stop with this commonly known board game though. From The Game of Life to the Pokemon card game, Tim dives into the history of games you may be familiar with. For those you don’t know, he provides a fascinating introduction to each game he chooses to highlight. Tim does this not to show off, but to put games in their proper social, cultural, and historical context. 

One of the most welcoming aspects of The Game Changers, is that Tim does not limit himself to one country, continent, or hemisphere. He writes passionately about games as cultural keystones from Africa, Japan, Sweden, America, and more besides. Games covered can be as seemingly simple as Mancala, or as grotesquely intricate as Magic: The Gathering. It doesn’t matter to Tim, who sees them all as important to the wider gaming culture and society in general. 

Tim reinforces the cultural impact through stories. Not fiction, but real tales of people finding solace, friendship, and shared purpose through games. Ukrainian soldiers play a draughts style game with molotov cocktails as they wait at the front line. Behind the lines another soldier plays Blood Bowl with his son who is safe in Norway with the soldier’s wife. Karuta, a Japanese game of competitive poetry recognition, provides solace to those far from home. Tim himself bonds with a class of children in Beijing by getting them to collaboratively make their own Pokemon. 

Every time Tim wanders down historical paths he roots that information not in the artifacts of play, but in the people who play them. In doing so he brings our attention to the realtionships that games can create between people. Friends are made over battles, betrayals, co-operation, and competition. All within the safe hands, the magic circle, that games provide. 

The Game Changers feels like someone taking you into their confidence. Tim reveals strange truths from history, introduces you to people from aroudn the world, and lets you into the world of games in an approachable and understandable fashion. He never talks down, never judges, just enthuses about the power of games to comfort, connect, and form communities. It is a book that will leave you marvelling at the breadth, depth, and impact of games whether you are a seasoned veteran or just an interested observer. 

I bought the Game Changers with my own money. I do know Tim Clare and have interviewed him on Brainwaves

Thanks very much for visiting the site and reading this article. You are welcome to comment on the piece below or join our Discord. If you would like to support us financially you can do so via Patreon or one of the other methods on our site.

Join us on Discord

Support us other ways