Your Turn!

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!

  Autorentext

  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!

  Klappentext

  CREATE YOUR OWN TABLETOP GAMES! Your Turn! is the intuitive and fun guide to designing tabletop games for both novices and experienced professionals! Ready to master the art of designing, prototyping, and testing tabletop games? Your Turn! guides you through the process, from idea to execution. Create SIX original tabletop games to pitch and sell! Unleash your creativity and conquer the industry with YOUR captivating game designs! Unlock the wealth of knowledge within Your Turn! Master game mechanisms, theories, and history to become a tabletop gaming expert! Elevate YOUR designs and create unforgettable experiences with this invaluable resource by your side!

  Inhalt

  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…