I finished the Kobold Guide to Board Game Design last night. I never tried to create or modify a board game, but I think what makes board games great also applies to other kind of games, especially online browser games.

The book is a collection of articles by various game designers sharing their ideas and stories. The authors include: Richard Garfield (Magic: The Gathering), Steve Jackson (Munchkin), and Dale Yu (Dominion). The book is easy to read and mostly jargon-free.

I expected the book’s content to be more analytical than it is. Most articles turned out to be practical and concrete, and it’s great. I wish there was a little bit of ‘theory’, but board game designers don’t seem to use math & statistics to balance and design their game.

Great read overall: highly recommended, five stars, and all.