I remember being in a bad mood when I wrote it. That is no excuse.

Parlett’s assertation that he can routinely tell what game was being played by looking at a poorly shuffled deck is rather typical of his comments. “Pompous” or “braggart” by itself would have been a much more appropriate description on my part.

Take anything Parlett states with a grain of salt. He does not hesitate to make rather wild claims.

I have only read his Oxford History of Board Games. You’re right that he talks about Hare and Tortoise, but you can hardly blame him. It was a ground-breaking game and one of the forerunners of the German games revolution we are enjoying.

Have you checked out his website? The original card games are very good, particularly 99.

His book on the history of boardgames is an alright book, but he never missed a chance to talk at length about his own game.