Unique Games and Sports Around the World is an interesting book for game enthusiasts, and those who enjoy reading about other cultures. It examines the games popular around the World, many from obscure nations and tribes.

The major sections are Africa, The Americas, Asia, Europe, The Middle East, and Oceania.

Within each section, countries are listed alphabetically, and then the games from those areas listed alphabetically. The first thing listed under the game is its level of "appropriateness". As described in the introduction, many of these games are tests of bravery and skill that are required in other cultures before someone can be considered an "adult". Other games are suitable for adults, but not children. Following the appropriateness level is a description of the players (how many, what age, what gender, etc), the object of the game, any costume/equipment needed, the type of arena or field required for the game, the approximate time length of the game/how the end of the game is determined, and any special symbolism (purpose) of the game. Following these lists will be anywhere from a paragraph to a full page of description including the rules and scoring.

Where necessary to help explain the game, simple black and white drawings are shown.

So, for instance, in the Africa section, the first country is Ghana, and the first game is "Alokoto" which is judged as "not appropriate". The players are male pre-teens from the Kasena-Nankana, Dagombas, and Akans tribes. The object is to spin a funnel-shaped shell on a sandy surface attempting to manipulate the shell so that it rests with its spinning edge face up. The symbolism of this game is listed as "bravery, initiation into teenage/adulthood, acceptance by peers as worthy to be a man". Following these lists, you're given a description of the game. It seems that players sit in a circle and take turns spinning the shell on its tip. As the shell spins, the player can use one hand and a small knife, only, to attempt to manipulate the shell so that it will ultimately land with its tip up. Though it doesn't explicitly say so, I think that the helping hand being cut by the knife is part of the game. If the shell lands correctly, a point is scored. Play continues until a player reaches some agreed upon final score. The big loser (the player with the fewest points at the end) gets his knuckles smacked with the shell. Between that, and the fact that you're playing with a knife, the "inappropriate" rating makes sense.

In Nigeria, a game called Okho Kho Vare (Chicken Come Home) made me laugh. At least this one is appropriate for kids. 10 to 20 kids play at once. One kid is designated as a hawk. One is a hen, and the rest are all chickens. The players representing chickens line up at one end of field. The hen is at the other end, and the hawk is in the middle. The hen calls the chickens "home". At this time all of the chickens need to run to where the hen is. But the hawk is going to try to catch the chickens (tag them). Any chicken "caught" automatically becomes a hawk for the next round. The game continues until all of the chickens are caught by the hawks. But how is a winner determined? "The hawks win if they touch all the chickens. The chickens win if the hawks are exhausted and want to stop playing". That's the part where I laughed.

The Americas section includes South America, North America, and Native American games. Those are the most interesting, I think. Zuni Kick Stick has a funny objective, I thought: "To kick a stick around the circle and back without kicking it out or hitting a spectator". So, hitting other players is fine, but don't hit an unsuspecting by-stander.

As this book is supposed to describe obscure games, not the everyday games, even the section for the United States contains games I've never heard of. While I've never heard of "Punctured Drum" I've seen something similar in challenges on Survivor: Given a can or container with some holes in it, see who can fill a small bucket the fastest. Players need to fill their container with water, and figure out the best/fastest way to transport the water to their bucket, losing only the minimum amount through the holes. Then go back for more trips until their bucket is full. The player who fills his bucket first wins.

The book goes on in this manner, describing over 300 games. I find them pretty interesting to read, although I wouldn't sit and read through the entire book at once. Also, there are very few illustrations; more would make the book more interesting.

At the end, are two indices. The first is by continent, then country, then game. So it basically just follows the same order as the book. This is useful if you remember that you saw a game in, say, Mexico, that you want to go back and find. The second is a list of places, names, and various equipment used in the games. There's no alphabetical listing of just the games, themselves. So, if you remember that you read about a game called Uzam Wad-Dah, but you don't remember that it's from Saudi Arabia, you'll have no easy way to find that game again.

Overall, this is a pretty interesting book that would be better if it had more illustrations, and a more convenient index.

Recommended: Yes