David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
s and
board game
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
s. He is the president of the
British Skat Association.
Life
David Sidney Parlett was born in London on 18 May 1939 to Sidney Thomas Parlett and Eleanor May Parlett, née Nunan. He is one of three brothers. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Parlett lived in
Barry, Glamorgan. He was educated at
Battersea Grammar School and the
University College of Wales
Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...
in
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
. He has a BA in Modern Languages. Parlett was a technical writer with PR companies and later a freelance writer for ''Games & Puzzles'' magazine. He is married to Barbara and they have a son and a daughter.
Works
His published works include many popular books on games such as ''Penguin Book of Card Games'', as well as the more academic volumes ''The Oxford Guide to Card Games'' and ''The Oxford History of Board Games'', both now out of print. Parlett has also invented many card games and board games. The most successful of these is ''
Hare and Tortoise'' (1974). Its German edition was awarded
Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) in 1979.
Parlett is a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
.
Books
Games and gaming
* ''All the Best Card Games''
* ''Anarquía y Otros Juegos Sociales de Cartas''
* ''Botticelli and Beyond''
* ''Card Games for Everyone''
* ''Family Card Games''
* ''Know the Game: Patience''
* ''Original Card Games''
* ''Solitaire: Aces Up and 399 other Card Games''
* ''Teach Yourself Card Games''
* ''Teach Yourself Card Games for Four''
* ''Teach Yourself Card Games for One''
* ''Teach Yourself Card Games for Three''
* ''Teach Yourself Card Games for Two''
* ''Teach Yourself Poker and Brag''
* ''The Guinness Book of Word Games''
* ''The Oxford Dictionary of Card Games''
* ''The Oxford Guide to Card Games / A History of Card Games''
* ''The Oxford History of Board Games'' reprinted as ''History of Board Games''
* ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''
* ''The Penguin Book of Patience''
* ''The Penguin Book of Word Games''
* ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Card Games''
* ''The Popular Dictionary of Card Games''
Other subjects
* ''A Short Dictionary of Languages''
* ''Dalcroze Today'' (translation of
Marie-Laure Bachmann's work)
* ''Learning a Language Alone''
* ''Selections from the
Carmina Burana'' (translations)
Games invented
Board games
Since 1974, David Parlett has published numerous games, including the following:
* Around the World in 80 Days (2016)
* Asterix: Das Kartenspiel (1990)
* Chicken Out! (2017)
* Die Wilden Kerle (The Wild Kids) (2017)
* ''
Hare and Tortoise'' (1973)
* Katarenga (Colorado) (2017)
* LifeCards
* Metal Mickey's All Around the House Game (1982)
*
Ninety-Nine (1974) / Four Seasons (2016)
* Pot Black: Snooker Dice (1980)
* Rainbow Junior Scrabble (1989)
* Roman Poker (2015)
* Shoulder to Shoulder (1975)
* Star Wars: Duell der Mächte (2015)
* Sushi Spiel (Chinese Take-Away)
* The Gnümies Party Game (2001)
* The Puzzle of Oz (2012)
* Zoo Party / 7Safari (2000) / Alles für die Katz
Card games
Parlett has invented more than 70 original card games that can be played with a standard deck of playing cards.
[Parlett, David]
Original Card Games: New way with old cards
Retrieved 17 October 2020.
Solitaire games
*
Archway
*
Black Hole
A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...
*
Gay Gordons
*
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...
References
External links
David Parlett's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parlett, David
Board game designers
Tabletop game writers
Card game historians
Living people
1939 births
English Quakers
Card game book writers
British game designers
Alumni of Aberystwyth University