The essays from prominent public intellectuals collected in this volume reflect an array of perspectives on the spectrum of conflict, competition, and cooperation, as well as a wealth of expertise on how games manifest in the world, how they operate, and how social animals behave inside them. They include previously unpublished material by former Cabinet minister Sayeeda Warsi, the philosopher A. C. Grayling, legal scholar Nicola Padfield, cycling coach David Brailsford, former military intelligence officer Frank Ledwidge, neuro-psychologist Barbara J. Sahakian, zoological ecologist Nicholas B. Davies, and the final work of the late Nobel laureate Thomas C. Schelling. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history, nature, and dynamics of games.

David Blagden is University Lecturer in International Security and Strategy at the University of Exeter, affiliated to the Strategy and Security Institute within the Department of Politics. He was previously the Adrian Research Fellow in International Politics at Darwin College, University of Cambridge, where he remains an Associate Member. He obtained his D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, and has published in journals such as International Affairs, International Security, and International Studies Review. Mark de Rond is Professor of Organisational Ethnography at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School and a Fellow of Darwin College. He is the author/editor of eight previous books and many journal articles on topics spanning the fields of organisational science, corporate strategy, management, and leadership. His ethnographic studies include long stints with British military medics in Afghanistan, elite rowers in Cambridge, biochemists in Oxford, and comedians in London; he has also rowed the navigable part of the Amazon. Mark gained his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, and consults widely for a variety of private firms, public bodies, and media outlets.