Your Turn! The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design

Scott Rogers has been a professional game designer for thirty years. He has designed many tabletop games including Rayguns and Rocketships, Pantone: The Game, ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo, and was featured in the 2020 documentary Gamemaster. He is the author of the best selling book Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design. Scott has taught at USC and the New York Film Academy and now he's ready to teach YOU!

Hi There! xxi Chapter 1 Let's Make a Board Game! 1 The Game Board 2 A Brief Note About Components 3 Getting Started 4 How to Make a Game Board 5 Let's Make Improve the Game! 11 Change a Number 12 Change a Component 13 Change a Rule 15 Change the Theme: An Introduction to Theme and Genre 16 Chapter 2 Writing Rule Books Is Hard 21 The Problem with Rule Books 23 Problem #1: There Can Be Only One (Reader) 23 Problem #2: Front-End Information Overload 24 Problem #3: Rule Book Length 25 Problem #4: Edge Cases 26 Tricks to Writing Rule Books 27 Trick #1: Rules Are Stories 27 Trick #2: Use The Six Zones of Play 28 Trick #3: I Am Talking to "You" 34 Trick #4: Use Command Statements 34 Trick #5: Include Pictures 34 Trick #6: Add Callouts 35 What Every Good Rule Book Needs 36 Creating an Introduction 36 List of Components 37 Game Setup 38 The Goal of the Game 38 General Sequence of Play 40 Detailed Sequence of Play 47 End of Game 47 Everyone Deserves Credit 48 But Wait, There's More 48 Say What? Translating the Rules 51 Chapter 3 The Chapter About Play Testing 53 The Great Worry 54 Let's Start Starting 56 Is This a Thing? 56 Going Solo 59 Do It by Design 62 Gamers Game Games 63 Friends and Family 73 Blind Play Testing 73 Publisher Play Testing 74 Chapter 4 Let's Make a Dice Game! 75 Dice Basics 75 Dice Mechanisms 78 Rolling 79 Rerolling 80 Dice Determine Movement 81 Dice Determine Combat Results 82 Dice Placement 82 Banking Dice 82 Dice for Targeting 83 Dice Builder 84 Concealing Dice 84 Dice Determine Actions 85 Dice Determine Resources 85 Dice of Different Colors 86 Combination Matching 87 Real-Time Rolling 87 Roll and Write 87 Dice Stacking 89 Dice Crafting 89 Dice as Counters 89 Dice as Units 90 Bluffing with Dice 90 Pop-O-Matic 91 Choosing the Right Dice Tools 91 It's Probably Due to Probability 91 I Still Don't Believe in Luck, But 96 Let's Design a Dice Game 98 Step 1: Create the Rules 99 Step 2: Play Test the Game 100 Step 3: Change the Rules 100 Step 4: Change a Number 101 Step 5: Change the Objective 102 Step 6: Add a Mechanism 103 Step 7: Change the Theme 104 Creating Your Own Custom Dice 106 Dice Games to Play 106 Chapter 5 Let's Make a Card Game! 109 Let's Create a Card! 110 One Way to Make Cards 110 Another Way to Make Cards 111 Yet Another Way to Make a Card 112 Here's One More Way to Make a Card 112 Even More Ways to Make a Card 113 Print and Play 113 Size Matters 115 Clear Cards 116 Pentagonal and Hexagonal Cards 117 Circular Cards 117 A Very Short History of Card Games 118 An Order of Sides 121 Card Mechanisms 125 Components 142 A Note About Probability and Cards 143 Let's Design a Card Game 144 Step 1: Setting Up the Game 144 Step 2: Create the Rules 144 Step 3: Play Test the Game 145 Step 4: Change the Rules 146 Step 5: Change a Number 146 Step 6: Change the Objective 146 Step 7: Add a Mechanism 147 Step 8: Change the Theme 148 Let's Share a Card Game! 149 10 Card Games to Play 150 Chapter 6 Let's Make a Party Game 153 First Came Parlor Games 153 Then Came Party Games 154 There Are Only Four Types of Party Games 157 Traits of a Party Game 160 Trait 1: Keep It Simple 161 Trait 2: Few Components 161 Trait 3: No Theme Required 161 Trait 4: Accommodating the Players 162 Trait 5: Playable Anywhere 166 Trait 6: Interruptions Allowed 167 Trait 7: Scoring at a Party 168 Trait 8: Ageless 168 The Five Ps of Party Games 169 Permission 169 Predictability 170 Pace 171 Presentation 173 Props 175 The Sixth P Is for Player 176 Party Game Mechanisms 176 Knowledge 176 Word Play 177 Guessing 178 Memory 178 Acting 179 Drawing/Creating 180 Betting 181 Bluffing 183 Repetition 184 Movement 184 Observation 184 Judging 185 Let's Make a Party Game 185 Step 1: Create the Rules 186 Step 2: Playtest the Game 186 Step 3: Change the Rules 187 Step 4: Change a Number 187 Step 5: Change the Objective 188 Step 6: Add a Mechanism 188 Step 7: Change the Theme 188 Ten Party Games to Play 190 Chapter 7 Let's Make a Board Game 193 Board Games of Antiquity 194 Mancala 195 The Royal Game of Ur 196 Mehen 197 Senet 198 Nine Man's Morris 199 Chess 199 Backgammon 200 Hnefatafl 201 Snakes and Ladders 201 Ancient Games Are Still Around 201 Types and Elements of Game Boards 202 Game Board Grids 203 Game Board Tracks 203 Game Board Spaces 204 Victory Tracks 206 Maps 207 Terrain 208 Abstraction and Symbolism 211 How to Make a Game Board 215 Understanding Abstract Games 216 Traits of an Abstract Game 218 The Concept of Elegance 219 Abstract Game Mechanisms 220 Word Game Mechanisms 221 Let's Design an Abstract Game 224 Step 1: Create the Rules 227 Step 2: Playtest the Game 228 Step 3: Change the Rules 229 Step 4: Change a Number 230 Step 5: Change the Objective 230 Step 6: Add a Mechanism 231 Step 7: Change the Theme 231 The Mensa Select Award 232 10 Abstract Board Games You Need to Play 233 Chapter 8 Let's Make a Euro-Style Strategy Game 235 A Short History of the "German Game" 235 The German Game Becomes the Euro-Game 238 Euro-Game Traits 239 Lack of "Luck" 240 Lack of Conflict 241 Loss 242 Emphasis on Construction/Growth 242 Exotic Settings 243 Lack of Theming 245 Goals 245 Balancing Mechanisms 246 Catch-up Mechanisms 246 Shorter Playing Time 247 Wood Components Rather Than Plastic 247 Crunchiness and Weightiness 248 Euro-Game Mechanisms 249 Action Points 249 Action/Role Selection 251 Arrangement 252 Auction/Bidding 252 Building 253 Bag-Builder 254 Buying/Market 255 Choosing 255 Cooperation 256 Engine-Builder 257 Income 257 Negotiation 258 Placement 258 Follow Action 262 Seeking Information 263 Set Collection 263 Trading/Deal-Making 264 Rondels 265 Victory Track 266 Gaming Is for Everyone 266 Color Blind Accessibility 266 Language Dependency 267 Character Diversity and Portrayal 267 Let's Design a Euro-Game 267 Components of Riverside 268 Step 1: Create the Rules 271 Step 2: Playtest the Game 271 Step 3: Change the Rules 272 Step 4: Change a Number 273 Step 5: Change the Objective 273 Step 6: Add a Mechanism 274 Step 7: Change the Theme 276 Some Euro-Games to Play 277 Chapter 9 Let's Make a Thematic Strategy Game 281 A History of Thematic Games 281 The Adventure Is Yours 284 Meanwhile Over in England 286 The Secret Origin of Ameritrash 287 Traits of Thematic Games 289 Intellectual Property 291 Any Theme Can Be a Game 293 Stories in Games 295 Players Have Wishes 297 Adding Drama and Conflict 298 Strategy vs Tactics 301 Unraveling Complexity 302 Bring on the Bling 305 Making Miniatures 309 Collectability 311 The Gimmick 312 Thematic Mechanisms 316 Variable Player Powers and Characters 316 Leveling 318 Upgrades 320 Crafting 321 Action Points 321 Action Selection 321 Movement 322 Take-That 323 Fighting and Combat 324 Player Death and Elimination 326 Area Control 327 Timer 328 Doom Track 328 Race 328 Deduction 329 Voting 332 Let's Design a Thematic Game 332 Step 1: Creating the Game Board/Tiles 334 Step 2: Creating the Characters 339 Step 3: Creating the Denizens and Hit Tokens 340 Step 4: Creating the Dice 342 Step 5: Create the Rules 342 Step 6: Playtest the Game 344 Step 7: Change the Rules 344 Step 8: Change a Number 346 Step 9: Change the Objective 346 Step 10: Add a Mechanism 347 Step 11: Change the Theme 348 Some Thematic Games to Play 349 Chapter 10 Let's Sell a Board Game 351 Why Sell Your Board Game? 351 First Things First 352 The Importance of Sell-Sheets 354 The Pitch Presentation 357 The Pitch Video 363 The Digital Solution 366 Playtesting Events 367 Selecting a Publisher 368 Meeting with Publishers 370 Contracts and Money 373 Licensing Your Game 373 Credit Where Credit Is Due 374 The Advance 374 Royalty Rate 375 Other Rights and Issues 376 Complimentary Copies 376 Rights Reversion 377 Media and Products 377 Always Be Selling 377 Self-Funding 378 Crowdfunding 379 Marketing 380 Previews 380 The Campaign 380 Add-ons and Stretch Goals 382 Production 383 Pricing 385 Shipping, Storing, and Distribution 386 Chapter 11 Let's Do It All Over Again! 389 Starting with a Mechanism (or Two) 389 Starting with the Theme 390 Starting with a Story 391 Starting with the Title 391 Start with Components 392 Starting with the Player Count 392 Starting with a "Moment" 393 Starting with an Experience 393 Starting with the Publisher's Need 394 Carrying a Sketchbook 394 Inspiration for Amateurs 394 Preventing Game Designer Burnout 395 One Last Bit of Advice 396 Appendix A Let's Make a Game Prototyping Kit! 399 Appendix B Sell-Sheet Examples 403 Who's Hue? 404 Dynamite Ridge Railroad 406 Castle Climbers 408 A Town Called Showdown 410 Index 413