Are video games a form of artistic expression? If they are, can they be thought of as a form of artistic intervention--an attempt to influence thinking and values? According to Flanagan, they can, and she supports this claim with a sweeping yet detailed history of games and play.

Most of the book is not about video games, but instead about children’s games, board games, and other kinds of games that preceded the invention of the computer. In fact, only the last two chapters address video games. These two perspectives make for odd bedfellows. That is, the first 220 pages are historical and critical. This part is scholarly, well written, well researched, and well documented, and could easily stand on its own. The last two chapters are constructive and prescriptive, providing advice on how to design critical games. I suppose that if you step back far enough, this makes sense. And to be fair, the last two chapters are directed toward artists rather than video game technicians. Despite the abundant merits of the book, its audience is probably not the same as the audience of this review.

This is certainly not the first book to consider video games from the perspective of critical expression. While this book is general and panoramic in scope, it barely mentions Second Life and World of Warcraft.

There is a lot of interesting work being done in critical studies of video games, just as there is a lot of interesting work being done in the technology, design, and development of video games. Still, these two fields have yet to come together, and perhaps they never will. Although the book clearly addresses a critical studies audience, if you are a video game designer or researcher, this book offers a broad perspective that will inform and improve your understanding of the role and possibilities of video games.