Social Games

I was 13 when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy’s Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at 11 o’clock on a Tuesday night. Tommy was 17 and the supposed friend of my brother, Darren. I didn’t love him. I’m not sure I even liked him. In a moment, Deanna Lambert’s teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of “school slut”, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by her past.

While the Western was dying a slow death across the cultural landscape, it was blazing back to life as a video game in the early twenty-first century. Rockstar Games' Red Dead franchise, beginning with Red Dead Revolver in 2004, has grown into one of the most critically acclaimed video game franchises of the twenty-first century. Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth, and Violence in the Video Game West offers a critical, interdisciplinary look at this cultural phenomenon at the intersection of game studies and American history.

Jonathan Rowson’s competitive success as a Grandmaster and his work as a philosopher of public policy have given him a unique perspective on why the great game is more important than ever for understanding the conflicts and uncertainties of the modern world. In 64 witty and addictive vignettes, Rowson takes us on an exhilarating tour of the game of life, from the psychology of gang violence, to the aesthetics of cyborgs, the beauty of technical details, and the endgame of death.

Wonder Woman is an Amazon Warrior and Princess. She has never left her home on Paradise Island. But she wants to be a superhero - the very best superhero she can be. In order to train at the most elite school in the galaxy, she has to juggle acing her classes, forging new friendships, trying to make the team for the Super Hero Super Triathlon, and her insane suitemate sharing her every embarrassing moment on social media. Not to mention, Wonder Woman has never seen a boy before.

Will Noah and Violet finally defeat Daniel and his crew of rainbow griefers? Violet and Noah's village is celebrating the new amusement park opening in town. Everyone is enjoying the fun rides and tasty food. But when Noah spots a rainbow griefer in the village carrying blocks of TNT, the celebration suddenly stops. Before the townspeople can do anything about the dangerous interloper, the roller coaster explodes! The accident with the roller coaster is blamed on Noah and Violet's frequent enemy, Daniel.

She doesn't need a hero. She is a hero. On a planet called Etheria, two forces battle for control. The Horde, with its skillfully trained soldiers and advanced technology, has one goal: to conquer all of Etheria in the name of Hordak. The other force, the Rebellion, is made up of princesses and has been fighting to maintain harmony and freedom for all of Etheria's people. Hidden among them all is a hero to be. Her destiny was written by the First Ones a thousand years ago. Now she is about to rise again.

Will Noah and Violet find the griefers who escaped to the Overworld? Noah and Violet are busy rebuilding their town when the Ender Dragon flies above the village streets. The following day the Wither attacks them. As the town battles these harsh hostile mobs, Noah and Violet, with their good friends, Hannah and Ben, set out to search for Daniel, whom they suspect is behind these vicious attacks.

From the Emmy Award-winning Squid Game to streaming sensations like The Glory and Crash Landing on You, Korean television has emerged onto the global pop culture scene as compelling television—but what exactly makes these shows so irresistibly bingeable? And what can we learn about our societies and ourselves from watching them? From stand-up comedian and media studies PhD Grace Jung comes a rollicking deep dive into the cultural significance of Korean television.

For thousands of years, we've created things called games that tap the tremendous psychic power of fun. In a revised and updated edition of For the Win, authors Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter argue that applying the lessons of gamification could change your business, the way you learn or teach, and even your life. Werbach and Hunter explain how games can be used as a valuable tool to address serious pursuits like marketing, productivity enhancement, education, innovation, customer engagement, human resources, and sustainability.

Rob has come up with 3 1/2 Laws that will enhance your network marketing skills to increase sales, revolutionize your relationships and build a referral engine. The top inventors, visionaries and mavericks all used networking to launch and leverage their companies.

Should you watch public television without pledging? Exceed the posted speed limit? Hop a subway turnstile without paying? These questions illustrate the "prisoner's dilemma", a social puzzle that we all face every day. Though the answers may seem simple, their profound implications make the prisoner's dilemma one of the great unifying concepts of science. Watching poker players bluff inspired John von Neumann to construct game theory, a mathematical study of conflict and deception.

Kate craves adventure and excitement. Mia loves dresses, roses, and anything beautiful. Lainey dreams of talking to animals. Gabby believes in fairies more than anyone. In a blink of an eye, these four best friends all get their biggest wish - they're whisked off to Never Land, home to Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. The adventure of a lifetime is just beginning! But how will the Never Girls ever get home again?

Among many legendary episodes from the life and career of men's basketball coach Dean Smith, few loom as large as his recruitment of Charlie Scott, the first African American scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drawn together by college basketball in a time of momentous change, Smith and Scott helped transform a university, a community, and the racial landscape of sports in the South.

It’s easy to overlook the underlying strategic forces of war, to see it solely as a series of errors, accidents, and emotions gone awry. It’s also easy to forget that war shouldn’t happen—and most of the time it doesn’t. Around the world, there are millions of hostile rivalries, yet only a tiny fraction erupt into violence. Too many accounts of conflict forget this. With a counterintuitive approach, Blattman reminds us that most rivals loathe one another in peace. That’s because war is too costly to fight.

In The Gutsy Girl, author Caroline Paul emboldens girls to seek out lives of exhilaration. Once a young scaredy-cat herself, Caroline decided that fear got in the way of the life she wanted - of excitement, confidence, self-reliance, friendship, and fun. She has since flown planes, rafted big rivers, climbed tall mountains, and fought fires as one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco.

If you searched for this audiobook, chances are you need strategies to meet your ADHD child where they are. Unfortunately, no child comes with an instruction guide, so as a parent, you need tips, strategies, and games so you don’t lose your mind while doing your best to raise your child.

Noah and Violet, treasure hunters and protectors of the Overworld, are back in this fifth installment of the League of Griefers series. When skeletons corner Noah and Violet, the duo escapes through a portal to the Nether. Trouble brews as Noah accidently leaves the portal open, and the mobs from the Overworld enter the Nether. Noah and Violet must battle hostile mobs from both worlds to survive. Taking shelter in a Nether Fortress, they befriend treasure hunters who help them battle the mobs.

Peppa Pig and her family are going on a trip to Italy. They pack their bags, fly on an airplane, meet a new friend, and even learn how pizza is made! But what will happen when Peppa keeps leaving her teddy bear behind everywhere they go?

Those who have been lured by the sound of skate blades slicing into fresh ice and everything-or-nothing attitude of the game know that hockey can seem like its own world. Yet in another light, that tight community can turn insular; the values of teamwork and humility can manifest as collective silence in the face of abuse and discrimination. In Game Misconduct, reporters Evan Moore and Jashvina Shah reveal hockey's toxic undercurrent which has permeated the sport throughout the junior, college, and professional levels.

Impress your friends by doing interesting facts about people, relationships, animals, and the world. Master trivia nights like a boss. Never be bored again with hundreds upon hundreds of amusing fun facts that you never thought were true. I don't know about you, but I love learning new things every day. I have compiled some of the best facts in the world - some of which will literally "blow your mind".