A seminal and groundbreaking study that will of be particular interest to gamers wanting an introduction to the mathematics behind their gaming pastime pursuits, "Mathematics of Tabletop Games" by mathematician and educator Aaron Montgomery is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and college/university library Recreational Mathematics collections.
Midwest Book Review
This book undoubtedly fits into recreational mathematics, as it combines gaming with topics such as combinatorics, graph theory, group theory, logic, probability, and number theory. The mathematics presented is straightforward and accessible to undergraduates. Besides learning about games that have a mathematical flair, I found the main draw of the book to be that it offers unique examples to use in courses that cover any of the aforementioned topics. A motivated undergraduate could use this for an independent study or even spark a project exploring the mathematics behind their favorite games.
Notices of the American Mathematical Society