Your Turn!: The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design

✍ Scribed by Scott Rogers

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Year: 2024
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 461
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Whether you are a novice or experienced pro, this easy-to-follow guide to designing board games is for you!

In Your Turn! The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design, veteran game designer Scott Rogers—creator of tabletop games including Rayguns and Rocketships, Pantone the Game and ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo—delivers a practical walkthrough to help YOU create over a half-dozen game prototypes, including dice, card, euro, miniature, and party games. The book is packed with easy-to-follow instructions, charming illustrations, and hands-on lessons based on the author's proven knowledge and experience.

And once you've made your game, Your Turn! will teach you how to prepare, pitch and sell it whether through crowdfunding or a publisher. You’ll also learn how to:

Write and create elegant and crystal-clear rules of play
Playtest your games to improve quality, fix problems, and gather feedback
Learn what players want and how to design for it
Learn the secrets of the Six Zones of Play and why they are so important to your game design!

Your Turn! is the essential guide for practicing and aspiring tabletop game designers everywhere! Why wait to make the tabletop game of your dreams? Grab this book and prepare to take Your Turn!

✦ Table of Contents

Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Contents
Hi There!
A Game Designer Plays All the Games!
Chapter 1 Let’s Make a Board Game!
The Game Board
A Brief Note About Components
Getting Started
How to Make a Game Board
Let’s Make Improve the Game!
Change a Number
Change a Component
Change a Rule
Change the Theme: An Introduction to Theme and Genre
Chapter 2 Writing Rule Books Is Hard
The Problem with Rule Books
Problem #1: There Can Be Only One (Reader)
Problem #2: Front-End Information Overload
Problem #3: Rule Book Length
Problem #4: Edge Cases
Tricks to Writing Rule Books
Trick #1: Rules Are Stories
Trick #2: Use The Six Zones of Play
Trick #3: I Am Talking to “You”
Trick #4: Use Command Statements
Trick #5: Include Pictures
Trick #6: Add Callouts
What Every Good Rule Book Needs
Creating an Introduction
List of Components
Game Setup
The Goal of the Game
General Sequence of Play
Detailed Sequence of Play
End of Game
Everyone Deserves Credit
But Wait, There’s More
Say What? Translating the Rules
Chapter 3 The Chapter About Play Testing
The Great Worry
Let’s Start Starting
Is This a Thing?
Going Solo
Do It by Design
Gamers Game Games
Friends and Family
Blind Play Testing
Publisher Play Testing
Chapter 4 Let’s Make a Dice Game!
Dice Basics
Dice Mechanisms
Rolling
Rerolling
Dice Determine Movement
Dice Determine Combat Results
Dice Placement
Banking Dice
Dice for Targeting
Dice Builder
Concealing Dice
Dice Determine Actions
Dice Determine Resources
Dice of Different Colors
Combination Matching
Real-Time Rolling
Roll and Write
Dice Stacking
Dice Crafting
Dice as Counters
Dice as Units
Bluffing with Dice
Pop-O-Matic
Choosing the Right Dice Tools
It’s Probably Due to Probability
I Still Don’t Believe in Luck, But. . .
Let’s Design a Dice Game
Step 1: Create the Rules
Step 2: Play Test the Game
Step 3: Change the Rules
Step 4: Change a Number
Step 5: Change the Objective
Step 6: Add a Mechanism
Step 7: Change the Theme
Creating Your Own Custom Dice
Dice Games to Play
Chapter 5 Let’s Make a Card Game!
Let’s Create a Card!
One Way to Make Cards
Another Way to Make Cards
Yet Another Way to Make a Card
Here’s One More Way to Make a Card
Even More Ways to Make a Card
Print and Play
Size Matters
Clear Cards
Pentagonal and Hexagonal Cards
Circular Cards
A Very Short History of Card Games
An Order of Sides
Card Mechanisms
Components
A Note About Probability and Cards
Let’s Design a Card Game
Step 1: Setting Up the Game
Step 2: Create the Rules
Step 3: Play Test the Game
Step 4: Change the Rules
Step 5: Change a Number
Step 6: Change the Objective
Step 7: Add a Mechanism
Step 8: Change the Theme
Let’s Share a Card Game!
10 Card Games to Play
Chapter 6 Let’s Make a Party Game
There Are Only Four Types of Party Games
Traits of a Party Game
Trait 1: Keep It Simple
Trait 2: Few Components
Trait 3: No Theme Required
Trait 4: Accommodating the Players
Trait 5: Playable Anywhere
Trait 6: Interruptions Allowed
Trait 7: Scoring at a Party
Trait 8: Ageless
The Five Ps of Party Games
Permission
Predictability
Pace
Presentation
Props
The Sixth P Is for Player
Party Game Mechanisms
Knowledge
Word Play
Guessing
Memory
Acting
Drawing/Creating
Betting
Bluffing
Repetition
Movement
Observation
Judging
Let’s Make a Party Game
Step 1: Create the Rules
Step 2: Playtest the Game
Step 3: Change the Rules
Step 4: Change a Number
Step 5: Change the Objective
Step 6: Add a Mechanism
Step 7: Change the Theme
Ten Party Games to Play
Chapter 7 Let’s Make a Board Game
Board Games of Antiquity
Mancala
The Royal Game of Ur
Mehen
Senet
Nine Man’s Morris
Chess
Backgammon
Hnefatafl
Snakes and Ladders
Ancient Games Are Still Around
Types and Elements of Game Boards
Game Board Grids
Game Board Tracks
Game Board Spaces
Victory Tracks
Maps
Terrain
Abstraction and Symbolism
How to Make a Game Board
Understanding Abstract Games
Traits of an Abstract Game
The Concept of Elegance
Abstract Game Mechanisms
Word Game Mechanisms
Let’s Design an Abstract Game
Step 1: Create the Rules
Step 2: Playtest the Game
Step 3: Change the Rules
Step 4: Change a Number
Step 5: Change the Objective
Step 6: Add a Mechanism
Step 7: Change the Theme
The Mensa Select Award
10 Abstract Board Games You Need to Play
Chapter 8 Let’s Make a Euro-Style Strategy Game
A Short History of the “German Game”
The German Game Becomes the Euro-Game
Euro-Game Traits
Lack of “Luck”2
Lack of Conflict
Loss
Emphasis on Construction/Growth
Exotic Settings
Lack of Theming
Goals
Balancing Mechanisms
Catch-up Mechanisms
Shorter Playing Time
Wood Components Rather Than Plastic
Crunchiness and Weightiness
Euro-Game Mechanisms
Action Points
Action/Role Selection
Arrangement
Auction/Bidding
Building
Bag-Builder
Buying/Market
Choosing
Cooperation
Engine-Builder
Income
Negotiation
Placement
Follow Action
Seeking Information
Set Collection
Trading/Deal-Making
Rondels
Victory Track
Gaming Is for Everyone
Color Blind Accessibility
Language Dependency
Character Diversity and Portrayal
Let’s Design a Euro-Game
Components of Riverside
Step 1: Create the Rules
Step 2: Playtest the Game
Step 3: Change the Rules
Step 4: Change a Number
Step 5: Change the Objective
Step 6: Add a Mechanism
Step 7: Change the Theme
Some Euro-Games to Play
Chapter 9 Let’s Make a Thematic Strategy Game
A History of Thematic Games
The Adventure Is Yours
Meanwhile Over in England
The Secret Origin of Ameritrash
Traits of Thematic Games
Intellectual Property
Any Theme Can Be a Game
Stories in Games
Players Have Wishes
Adding Drama and Conflict
Strategy vs. Tactics
Unraveling Complexity
Bring on the Bling
Making Miniatures
Collectability
The Gimmick
Thematic Mechanisms
Variable Player Powers and Characters
Leveling
Upgrades
Crafting
Action Points
Action Selection
Movement
Take-That
Fighting and Combat
Player Death and Elimination
Area Control
Timer
Doom Track
Race
Deduction
Voting
Let’s Design a Thematic Game
Step 1: Creating the Game Board/Tiles
Step 2: Creating the Characters
Step 3: Creating the Denizens and Hit Tokens
Step 4: Creating the Dice
Step 5: Create the Rules
Step 6: Playtest the Game
Step 7: Change the Rules
Step 8: Change a Number
Step 9: Change the Objective
Step 10: Add a Mechanism
Step 11: Change the Theme
Some Thematic Games to Play
Chapter 10 Let’s Sell a Board Game
Why Sell Your Board Game?
First Things First
The Importance of Sell-Sheets
The Pitch Presentation
The Pitch Video
The Digital Solution
Playtesting Events
Selecting a Publisher
Meeting with Publishers
Contracts and Money
Licensing Your Game
Credit Where Credit Is Due
The Advance
Royalty Rate
Other Rights and Issues
Complimentary Copies
Rights Reversion
Media and Products
Always Be Selling
Self-Funding
Crowdfunding
Marketing
Previews
The Campaign
Add-ons and Stretch Goals
Production
Pricing
Shipping, Storing, and Distribution
Chapter 11 Let’s Do It All Over Again!
Starting with a Mechanism (or Two)
Starting with the Theme
Starting with a Story
Starting with the Title
Start with Components
Starting with the Player Count
Starting with a “Moment”
Starting with an Experience
Starting with the Publisher’s Need
Carrying a Sketchbook
Inspiration for Amateurs
Preventing Game Designer Burnout
One Last Bit of Advice
Appendix A Let’s Make a Game Prototyping Kit!
Appendix BSell-Sheet Examples
Who’s Hue?
Dynamite Ridge Railroad
Castle Climbers
A Town Called Showdown
Index
EULA

✦ Subjects

Creating Games; Card Games; Strategy Games; Tableiop Games