Why is playing games a universal human instinct?Why did the same games evolve across wildly different civilisations?And how can those games make your life happier, healthier and more fulfilled?

In this entertaining and thought-provoking look at games through the ages, Tim Clare explores the legal highs of a good dice roll, the thrills of a predatory race game and the tactile pleasures of the games that age with us through our lives to discover how, through play, we become fully ourselves.

From Roman anti-cheating devices to organised crime card syndicates, from Pokémon’s world domination to the combative domestic bonding ritual of Monopoly, The Game Changers explains why games are more popular now than ever, and how playing them helps us learn to be better losers, make smarter decisions and become more human.