The first of my Christmas books! I like games. I like Dave Gorman. So, this books must have been a bit of an obvious one. I don't play a huge amount of games now. I used to play a lot of go, and have played various other games and puzzles (generally enjoying them quite a lot). Indeed, I try to avoid playing too many games, since a) I'm a bit too competitive for my own good, and b) if I weren't careful I'd end up using all my time on games. Caroline was kind enough to get me Carcassonne for Christmas. Yay. I also like Dave Gorman as he's a geek comedian. Well, you'd have to be to write a comedy book about playing games, wouldn't you?
This book fits nicely into the Gormanesque category of 'Do something a bit odd for fun (often a silly bet), then write a book about your experience'. In this case, he was feeling at a loose end, so he invited people to play against him at random games, and this is the result. It's categorised under 'Travel' on the back, and that seems appropriate. Dave goes all over the place to play people, and to a fairly large degree the games (though described well) take back seat to people, places and just general incidental knowledge. It's apparent that lots of games have been elided, to concentrate on the best stories (perhaps rather than the best games?).
Apart from a rather strange and unexpected punchline, it's all predictable enough and simply enjoyable fun, with a few laugh-out-loud moments. There are several games that sound plenty of fun (and many that don't!), although I very much doubt I'll find the time to play them. Overall, though, it's the characters he meets that stand out. Light, fun reading.
Posted 2011-12-31.