Board games have long fascinated as mirrors of intelligence, skill,
cunning, and wisdom. While board games have been the topic of many
scientific studies, and have been studied for more than a century by
psychologists, there was until now no single volume summarizing
psychological research into board games. This book, which is the first
systematic study of psychology and board games, covers topics such as
perception, memory, problem solving and decision making, development,
intelligence, emotions, motivation, education, and neuroscience. It also
briefly summarizes current research in artificial intelligence aiming at
developing computers playing board games, and critically discusses how
current theories of expertise fare with board games. Finally, it shows
that the information provided by board game research, both data and
theories, have a wider relevance for the understanding of human
psychology in general.