Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms 1st Edition

I think this is a great book for board game designers because I can look up what mechanics might go best with the feel I'm trying to achieve with the players. They are organized by "type" so if you are looking for an auction mechanic just go to that section and try to find one that may fit what you are looking for. Not only does it explain how the mechanic works it also provides insight about player and industry reactions to it. For newer designers such as myself those pieces of wisdom are critical on understanding your path to getting published.I know this seems trivial but there is huge value in having them organized by section. I was working on an auction/bidding mechanic for a prototype that I've been stuck iterating on for a couple of weeks now. After going through that entire section this last weekend I landed on a mechanic that I think will work much better for my situation. I could compare and contrast the different types all in one place. Maybe you won't find your answer but this book gets my brain thinking about how to solve my problem. This book will be a tool by my side as I continue to design new games. I highly recommend it.

Naively, I purchased this for my sons 12th birthday. It’s a little over his head though he has read parts and pieces of it. He loves to create board games and I thought this might help him organize his thoughts around mechanics of the games ideas he has. It probably would but he needs to be a little older. We’ll keep it around maybe he’ll find more value in it in a few more years. Other than that, I think it looks like it would be very informative and a great resource.

I didn't realize how much I needed this excellent resource. "Building Blocks of Tabletop Design" succinctly organizes the many facets of tabletop game design into logical categories like Turn Order, Game End and Victory, Uncertainty, and Card Mechanisms. Each "block" provides a clear definition, logical examples and clarifying diagrams. The diagrams are among the best I've seen in any book about our hobby.This book is to tabletop games what Henry Brown's "507 Mechanical Movements" is to physical machines. It will stand as the definitive catalog.This book belongs on the desk (not the shelf!) of anyone designing tabletop games.

This book is a must-have for those already in the game design industry and those hoping to break in. It can serve as both an excellent research tool on the types of game mechanics out there, and as a source of inspiration for game designs.The book is well organized and provides brief, usually a page or two, descriptions and explanations of hundreds of board game mechanics sorted by type, as well as providing examples of games that use the mechanic if one wants to see them in action and experiment with them. Everything is well written and easy to read and understand, and finding information is very easy due to good organization and an excellent index.In general, the content of the book is excellent, however, the actual manufacturing of the book its self can have some issues. While my personal copy has stayed together well, my design partner's copy suffers the same problem as many other reviewers here, with the binding failing and pages falling out. This seems to be a very common issue with the softcover version of the book, which is very disappointing considering the price.

I read this through cover-to-cover. And I've used it on every project since, simply as a resource. I didn't have any binding issues so far, as others mentioned. It really opened my eyes to thinking about certain mechanics in a new light. It also recommends games as exemplars of certain mechanics, which has helped me as well. I do remember minor typos throughout--but the content is just so good.

Great book. A must have for all board game enthusiasts as well as anyone looking to design their own game. Additionally it's a great reference guide for experienced game designers. I've worked professionally on multiple games and I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in table top gaming.

Not for casual reading, or the faint-of-heart, this book is as close to a definitive survey as an evolving field will allow. If you've ever wanted to design your own games - or even just understand more about the games you play - this is the book to have.

I have assigned this textbook for my Game Design Methodology course at Rutgers. It provides at last a common language for game mechanisms that allows my students to discuss complex design concepts with a deeper understanding.