The Pocket Guide To Games

Dice games have been played for centuries and are a staple of the playground, board games, and casinos alike. This pocket guide spans the history of dice and offers clear explanations of popular dice games, including farkle (played since the Middle Ages), Gluckhaus (a German game of fortune, played since the medieval era), craps, and Jacks! This guide also includes tips on winning and how to avoid being tricked by loaded or “crooked” dice. Famous dice players, such as the Roman emperors Augustus and Caligula, lost money playing dice and quickly stole other people’s to continue their gaming sprees. In the early nineteenth century, fortunes could be won and lost at the roll of a die and it was not only money which was gambled away, but estates and even marriages. Full of fascinating facts and useful tips, this is a must-read book for everyone interested in family fun, games, gambling, or social history. Did you know? • Dice derives from the Latin datum, meaning “ought to be played” • The black marks showing the numbers are called pips • Dice were first played in India around 3000 bc • Dice were originally made from bones, including knuckle and ankle bones • Traditionally cubed, dice also come in other geometric shapes, incuding the zocchihedron, the 100-sided die, and the deltoidal icositetrahedron, where each side is shaped like a kite

The 75 games in this book revive the tradition of game playing without computers, joy sticks, boards, or game pieces. With such tools as balls, bean bags, broomsticks or canes, and ropes, parents and teachers can organize dozens of hours of fun and challenging activities for kids of all ages.

Abracadabra ! Hocus-pocus! Allakazam! Happis crappis! Say it together now-magic! Take a peek inside the magician's secret wardrobe to discover the tricks of the trade, the tales of derring-do, and the people who made the magic happen. Demystifying the mystical is the popular, raucous, ready-to-trick-his-own-mother Bart King! But what, you may ask, can Bart do? He can show the ways of the most secretive magicians in the world.

The greatest leaders and geniuses in history were mischief makers. They were the brave women who looked at how unfair the world was and said, “I can do better than that.” They were the stalwart men who saw stupidity and asked, “Why do we have to do it that way?” And they were the delightful children who ganged up on the neighborhood bully and hit him with wet noodles until he said, “Uncle!” Yes, history's mischief makers had the courage to point out that things like slavery, global warming, and turtleneck sweaters are bad. And they also pulled off some of the greatest hoaxes and practical jokes of all time. Their achievements include the Boston Tea Party, the “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of 1938, and the Cheese Whiz Disaster of 2008. In honor of them, we introduce The Pocket Guide to Mischief, the perfect addition to any prankster's collection, as well as a fun-filled how-to for the budding troublemaker in all of us.

This handy guide is an almost indestructible how-to tool. It includes need-to-know information about basic cuts, skinning, boning, packing and more. Best of all, the guide is waterproof, dirt-proof and pocket-sized, so you can take it everywhere!

* Stats for all karts in Mario Kart DS * Strategies for winning on all 32 tracks in Mario Kart DS * All Star Coin locations for New Super Mario Bros. * The locations of all 100 Stars in Super Mario 64 DS * Learn how to beat all of the bosses in Super Mario 64 DS * Tips for winning all of the mini games in Mario Party DS * Details on all of the game boards in Mario Party DS * All you need to know about taking care of your Nintendog * Locations for all Star Coins in New Super Mario Bros. * And more!

Whetherit's a pastime or a passion, don't miss this opportunity to learn everythingyou didn't know about dice!

Noah Grow is a bird-watcher. If you're picturing some kid in a big floppy hat, peering up into trees through giant binoculars . . . well, good job. That's exactly what he does. Right now, Noah is on a quest to find a wood duck. According to his calculations, aka the Drake Equation, the odds are good-really good-for spotting one. That's why he gets off the bus at the wrong stop. And that's how he ends up running down a hill, crashing into a fence, and landing right next to a strange, glittery disk. Noah and his best friends, Jason and Jenny, soon discover that the mysterious disk is, well, mysterious. It gives Noah peculiar powers. As things go from odd to outrageous, Noah is swept up in a storm of intergalactic intrigue and middle-school mayhem. There's much more at stake than Noah realizes. Bart King delivers a hilarious sci-fi adventure with just the right mix of heart and humor that will have readers looking out for birds-and strange alien objects.