"Optimizing play: Why theorycrafting breaks games and how to fix it," by Christopher A. Paul

Authors

  • Kathryn Fedchun Carleton University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2026.3063

Keywords:

Sports analytics, Tragedy of the commons, Video games

Abstract

Christopher A. Paul, Optimizing play: Why theorycrafting breaks games and how to fix it. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2024, paperback, $35.00 (200pp) ISBN: 9780262547789; ebook, $25.99 (200pp) ISBN: 9780262378321.

Downloads

Published

2026-03-14

Issue

Vol. 47 (2026): Gaming Fandom

Section

Book review

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Kathryn Fedchun

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

TWC Nos. 25 onward are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC by 4.0). For an explanation of the journal's reasoning, see the TWC editorial Copyright and Open Access. TWC Nos. 1 through 24 are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, with TWC, not the author, retaining copyright.

Presses whose policies require written permission for reproduction should contact the TWC Editor; such permission is routinely given for no fee.