More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers. The average young person in the UK will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. The future will belong to those who can understand, design and play games. World-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal knows that videogames are fulfilling genuine human needs, and in Reality is Broken she shows how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy, and utilized these discoveries to astonishing effect in virtual environments. But why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of gaming, she reveals how gamers have become expert problem solvers and collaborators, and shows how we can use the lessons of game design to socially positive ends, be it in our own lives, our communities or our businesses. 'If the world of gaming seems alien to you, this book will crack it wide open. For experienced gamers, it will likely inspire you to play - or even invent - better more meaningful games. Despite her expertise, McGonigal's book is never overly technical, and as with a good computer game, anyone, regardless of gaming experience, is likely to get sucked in' New Scientist 'An intriguing and thought-provoking book.

And if the worst thing you can say about McGonigal's vision of the future is that she underestimates the human race's obsession with sex and fondness for puerile humour, that's pretty good' New Statesman 'Her central idea - that games hold lessons for the real world as well as vice versa - is interesting, and worth taking seriously' Economist 'Brilliantly deconstructs the components of good game design before parlaying them into a recipe for changing the offline, 'real' world'' Literary Review [perhaps include pic of Jane McGonigal on back cover?].