Why am I passionate about this?

Games and playing have always played a part of my life. I have created games and businesses and been fortunate enough to have worked with both at various levels as a mentor and guide. For me, this is the gift that keeps giving. The tee-shirt wearing creatives and the suit folk with their business acumen we seek to help scale our ideas. I have worked for years at the nexus of these tribes, and still find it a thrill to learn about the visions people have for the wonderful world of games and play and the oblique outcomes we couldn’t have predicted.


I wrote

Business Planning for Games

By Chris Buckingham,

Book cover of Business Planning for Games

What is my book about?

This is a practical guide to help budding entrepreneurs think about various planning aspects of their proposed games business, with…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Consumer Tribes

Chris Buckingham Why did I love this book?

This book covers an often-overlooked aspect of finding a market and customers, users, or players for your game.

Tribes are the drivers of the traction you will need on social media and the impact your vision will have on your community. I love the case studies in this book, covering a global stage of BDSM through to the British Royal Family.

This book taught me the value of nurturing and caring for the diverse communities we serve.

By Bernard Cova, Robert Kozinets, Avi Shankar

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Consumer Tribes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Marketing and consumer research has traditionally conceptualized consumers as individuals- who exercise choice in the marketplace as individuals not as a class or a group. However an important new perspective is now emerging that rejects the individualistic view and focuses on the reality that human life is essentially social, and that who we are is an inherently social phenomenon. It is the tribus, the many little groups we belong to, that are fundamental to our experience of life. Tribal Marketing shows that it is not individual consumption of products that defines our lives but rather that this activity actually facilitates…


Book cover of Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Chris Buckingham Why did I love this book?

Until I read this book, I thought I had a good grip on strategy.

I thought I understood the mechanics that make strategy work and I thought I was capable of delivering a strategy that delivered the outcomes that mattered. This book taught me that, although I was on the right track, there was much I was missing.

I learnt the power of good strategy to help me overcome some of the biggest challenges I have faced. That strategy serves a purpose that act as an anchor for the vision you wish to create.

By Richard Rumelt,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Good Strategy Bad Strategy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Richard Rumelt's Good Strategy/Bad Strategy was published in 2011, it immediately struck a chord, calling out as bad strategy the mish-mash of pop culture, motivational slogans and business buzz speak so often and misleadingly masquerading as the real thing.

Since then, his original and pragmatic ideas have won fans around the world and continue to help readers to recognise and avoid the elements of bad strategy and adopt good, action-oriented strategies that honestly acknowledge the challenges being faced and offer straightforward approaches to overcoming them. Strategy should not be equated with ambition, leadership, vision or planning; rather, it is…


Book cover of The Post-Truth Business: How to Rebuild Brand Authenticity in a Distrusting World

Chris Buckingham Why did I love this book?

Reading this book made me think hard about alternative truths and the consequences of these alternatives for communities everywhere.

From fake news, disinformation, and misinformation this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey where brands are having to face the reality that their marketing and communications. These are being eroded in ways brands find hard to manage.

Demonstrating authenticity is becoming more difficult as is persuading an audience that a brand knows best, that they are experts in their field and that they can be trusted. Purpose is at times in conflict with stakeholders needs and Chenecey quickly moves through the political and social aspects of these challenges while asking the reader to consider their own beliefs and knowledge within this context.

By Sean Pillot de Chenecey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Post-Truth Business as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FINALIST - Business Book Awards 2019 - Embracing Change Category Brands are built on trust, but in a post-truth world they're faced with a serious challenge: so much of modern life is defined by mistrust. A shattering of the vital trust connection between brands and consumers, together with the evaporation of authenticity as a core brand pillar, is causing enormous problems for businesses on a global scale. If a brand isn't seen as trustworthy, then when choice is available it will be rejected in favour of one that is. The Post-Truth Business provides a way forward for any organization wishing…


Book cover of Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly

Chris Buckingham Why did I love this book?

When we put our ideas out there in the real world, we take a risk.

It is an element of being entrepreneurial. But sometimes we can do something in service to others that creates value way beyond what we imagined. Something that has a good impact for those we serve. But this something may have been unpredicted, unseen in the planning stages.

Obliquity teaches us we can focus on the features or the benefits of what we do. This may not result in wealth for the founder, it may not mean a mega exit for the company in a few years. But equally, it may mean a bigger impact for the communities we serve and greater cohesion among those people than we had predicted when writing our business plans.

By John Kay,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Obliquity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"John Kay tells a fast-paced detective story as he searches for the surprising secret to success...Brilliant."
-Tim Harford, author of The Logic of Life

In this revolutionary book, economist John Kay proves a notion that feels at once paradoxical and deeply commonsensical: the best way to achieve any complex or broadly defined goal, from happiness to preventing forest fires, is the indirect way. We can learn how to achieve our objectives only through a gradual process of risk taking and discovery-what Kay calls obliquity. The author traces this seemingly counterintuitive path to success as it manifests itself in nearly every…


Book cover of The New Games Book

Chris Buckingham Why did I love this book?

My copy is from 1976. It is a timeless classic that speaks to the human at the center of everything we play together.

This book serves to remind us that games don’t have to be digital experiences. Sometimes exploring ideas and being creative can lead to new paradigms of seeing each other as contributors to our joy and excitement of playing games.

I never tire of reading this book and learning of the scale and scope for being players and playing well together. The games in this book are co-created with a community of players, isn’t that the way it should be?

As game designers, when we pitch to investors, we often forget to include the joy and love that our customers, players, and users find in our games. 

By New Games Foundation, Andrew Fluegelman (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Games Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

More than sixty games in which two to two hundred players can participate all require elements of trust and cooperation


Explore my book 😀

Business Planning for Games

By Chris Buckingham,

Book cover of Business Planning for Games

What is my book about?

This is a practical guide to help budding entrepreneurs think about various planning aspects of their proposed games business, with a view to growing their businesses and becoming more successful. This book includes customary business plan headings and worksheets where the reader can record their thoughts as they start to articulate the vision behind their game.

This is a fresh pedagogical approach to an established method of teaching entrepreneurship that uses a series of worksheets for readers to dip in and out as their needs require. Designed to help nourish an understanding and appetite for doing more than just creating a product, it will help develop an understanding of the business process with sound ideas and inspirational worksheets.

Book cover of Consumer Tribes
Book cover of Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters
Book cover of The Post-Truth Business: How to Rebuild Brand Authenticity in a Distrusting World

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Antonieta Contreras Author Of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

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Why am I passionate about this?

As a trauma therapist and dedicated researcher, I love uncovering valuable insights within lesser-known books. There are hidden gems, free from the pressure of commercial success, crafted by authors deeply committed to research, understanding, and the art of writing itself. Their dedication resonates with me, as I believe in the profound value of information and the power of critical thinking. Through my own book, Traumatization and Its Aftermath, I aim to emphasize that psychological concepts often lose their depth in translation and my mission is spreading awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of trauma and its intricate facets. With that idea in mind, I chose these five titles. 

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What is my book about?

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster of symptoms to be tamed, but instead best understood as development gone off course, away from growth and towards (only) survival.

This book prompts a profound shift in perception, inviting to view trauma as an intricate and diverse experience, a point of view that ultimately leads to sharper treatment and,…

Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

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