Reddit Reddit reviews Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms

We found 9 Reddit comments about Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Computers & Technology
Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides
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Computer & Video Game Design
Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms
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9 Reddit comments about Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms:

u/_djur_ · 7 pointsr/tabletopgamedesign

This one was just released:
BGG redid their mechanics classification system based on this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491

u/zmobie · 5 pointsr/RPGdesign

This is more geared toward board games, but as far as analog mechanisms are concerned, you can't do better than board games.

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491

u/MrFrettz · 5 pointsr/tabletopgamedesign

Hello, and welcome to /r/tabletopgamedesign!

I can see in the comments that you are keeping your idea intentionally close the vest. You don't need to worry about people "stealing" your ideas - that really doesn't happen for three reasons:

  • Everyone already has their own ideas they care more about. I'm not going to bother stealing your idea when I already have fifty-billion of my own.
  • The hard work is everything that comes after the idea. Game ideas are a honestly a dime a dozen, but taking an idea and chiseling away and polishing it until it's a finely tuned machine is the real challenge.
  • You literally cannot copyright game mechanics. I could release a game that is mechanically identical to Risk but used my own unique art and assets, and could probably get away with it. But, nobody would buy it, because Risk exists.

    Eventually, you will need other people to help make your game into a reality, whether it's working with a publisher, a manufacturer, or even emailing your art to [email protected] to print them at your local store. Careful! A rogue Staples employee / aspiring game designer might steal your stuff! /s

    If you really don't want to share, nobody here can force you, but the quality of advice we can provide will be much lower. FWIW, I'm not just walking the walk - I have a website for my game, IntraSolar that anyone can visit and download the rulebook for. I'll also be releasing a print-n-play version sometime soon!

    ---

    My #1 piece of advice, however, is that nobody will design your game for you. Game design itself is not a game in that there are no set rules, pieces, or paths. Your path is your own, and will be more rewarding if you take initiative and purposefully move down it, rather than waiting around for someone to guide you.

    For now, I can at least share with you some very high-level information that should help get you started. Looking at your user history, I'm going to assume that you have no-to-little experience with tabletop gaming, but this also could be a completely incorrect assumption.

    Books to Read


  • Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design by Geoff Engelstein.
  • The Game Inventor's Guidebook by Brian Tinsman
  • Probably most books on this page.

    Games to Play


    I'm going to recommend some boardgame staples. Many of these games are older, but all of them have been very well received in the boardgaming community and have valuable lessons to teach if you haven't played them.

    There are many other great games out there, many of which are heavier than this, but considering that you are (likely) new to the hobby, this is a great starting point.

  • Seven Wonders
  • Pandemic
  • Dominion
  • Splendor
  • Secret Hitler
  • Mysterium
  • Sushi Go!

    Podcasts to Absorb


    You can also find them on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

  • Ludology
  • Shut Up & Sit Down
  • Heavy Cardboard
  • Board Game Barrage

    Blogs to Follow


  • Boardgame Geek's Blog
  • The Geek Weekly
  • Meeple Like Us
  • Meeple Mountain
  • Punchboard Media
  • Stonemaier Games' Blog
  • Pandasaurus Games' Blog

    Creators to Watch


    These last two are more videogame-focused but still contain relevant & great ideas / discussions.

  • Shut Up & Sit Down
  • Board Game Geek
  • Watch It Played
  • Game Maker's Toolkit
  • GDC

    ---

    There are so many other great games and resources out there that I couldn't possibly hope to put together a comprehensive list, but these are my top picks for beginners. I frequently listen / watch / read many items on this list myself on a daily basis.

    Good luck on your journey, and I hope you open a window into your prototype soon!
u/KindFortress · 2 pointsr/TGDRT

First off, thank you for mentioning the book - the Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design - that Geoff and I wrote. It's now available for pre-order, and should be out some time this summer. https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491/ It will offer readers a shortcut for learning about lots of mechanisms, and will help trace how basic ideas like Worker Placement get elaborated on by later designs.

​

I loved the too-brief conversation about playtesting that happened towards the end. To me, playtesting is the most opaque part of the craft and work of game design. I'm hoping to write my next book on the subject to help shed more light on how it works. From interviews and preliminary research, one thing I'm learning is that there are many ways to do it, and lots of different types of playtesting. The practice itself evolves along with the design.

​

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u/gengelstein · 2 pointsr/tabletopgamedesign

In our mechanism book we call this "End-Game Bonuses".

("VIC-06 End-Game Bonuses" to be precise. Defined as "Players earn bonus Victory Points at the end of the game")

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138365491

We also have a discussion on the difference between public goals and private goals in this chapter, but keep them under the same classification.

u/SuperRisto · 1 pointr/gamedesign

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design by Geoffrey Engelstein is a books that lists a lot of common rule structures for board games. Its useful to reference when design board games. Each chapter lists a number of ways other games tackle design problems and mentions numerous examples of games and their specific implementation.

Here's a podcast where they talk about the book!

u/bornin_1988 · 1 pointr/tabletopgamedesign

> Building Blocks of tabletop Game Design

Your comment got me curious so I checked Amazon. It looks like a very large percentage of the book is available for preview Here https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491. Gonna definitely read some myself!