David Parlett was born in 1939 in London, where he still resides, has a degree in Modern Languages from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and describes himself as a "patriotic European". He is a world renowned games scholar who has studied both card games and board games. His published works include many popular books on games and the authoritative volumes "Oxford Guide to Card Games" and "Oxford History of Board Games", both now out of print. Parlett has also invented a number of board games, the most successful of which is Hare and Tortoise (1974). The German edition was awarded Spiel des Jahres (game of the year) in 1979.