
by Chris Backe | Jul 3, 2020 | Book Reviews, Game Design
Nalin Chuapetcharasopon has made a name for herself for some of her posts in Facebook groups related to board game design. Per her website, “Ever since stumbling into crowdfunding in 2015, I’ve helped entrepreneurs raise over $13 million on... 
by Chris Backe | Dec 5, 2019 | Book Reviews
A “meticulous book about the design of games”, this MIT-published textbook based on a college-level course makes the case that “games are valuable because are a fundamental form of human expression”. The focus here is on “looking... 
by Chris Backe | Oct 2, 2019 | Book Reviews
I’ve been meaning to review more of the books I’ve been reading behind the scenes. Since Building Blocks first came out in June 2019, I was initially hesitant to buy this book, not because of the authors or the subject, but because of the price tag — about $50... 
by Chris Backe | Mar 4, 2019 | Book Reviews
Part of good playtesting means taking notes, and for better or worse that means a paper notebook. (No way my laptop leaves my house unless it has to, and typing notes into a tablet or smartphone is too slow.) For most of the last two years, I’ve used small... 
by Chris Backe | Aug 13, 2018 | Book Reviews, Game Design
There’s no shortage of books written about game design or how to make board games — in fact, every time I look for something new to read, there’s usually a new one I hadn’t heard of before. This isn’t not an exhaustive list, but aims to curate...