Useful & Inspiring Board Game Design Books (11 books)

For aspiring tabletop game designers, here are some books that can be useful in your own design & development. They can inspire your creativity. And they're fun to explore even if you simply enjoy games.

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1	The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz 3.93 avg rating — 165 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Cardboard Ghosts by Amabel Holland 4.39 avg rating — 23 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Game Inventor's Guidebook by Brian Tinsman 3.62 avg rating — 237 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms by Geoffrey Engelstein (Goodreads Author) 4.49 avg rating — 116 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Playing Place: Board Games, Popular Culture, Space by Chad Randl (Editor) 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Your Turn!: The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design by Scott Rogers 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Board Game Designer's Guide: The Easy 4 Step Process to Create Amazing Games That People Can't Stop Playing by Joe Slack (Goodreads Author) 3.72 avg rating — 81 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology by Katie Salen (Editor) 4.06 avg rating — 135 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design by Mike Selinker 4.06 avg rating — 638 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Critical Play: Radical Game Design by Mary Flanagan 3.92 avg rating — 157 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga 3.99 avg rating — 2,970 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars