Coming soon · Book Profile
Kobold Guide to Game Design, 2nd Edition
A veteran-designer anthology that defines what tabletop and roleplaying game design actually is and teaches the craft, adventure-building, and business skills needed to create games that captivate players.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design, Second Edition gathers essays from award-winning designers—Wolfgang Baur, Monte Cook, Rob Heinsoo, Ed Greenwood, and more—into a practical, thought-provoking handbook for anyone who wants to make roleplaying games and adventures better. It moves from the conceptual (what design is, how creativity works, why game balance is partly a myth) through the concrete craft of building mechanics, magic systems, locations, worlds, mysteries, and encounters, and on to the professional realities of pitching, playtesting, editing, collaborating, and coping with deadlines and failure. Whether you're a hobbyist DM or an aspiring professional, the book argues that great design is the conscious creation of heightened play experiences for an audience—and it shows you, essay by essay, how to do exactly that.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- An aspiring or working game designer (or DM) who wants to create roleplaying games and adventures that excite players and earn recognition.
- The problem
- They struggle to turn cool ideas into well-crafted, publishable games and adventures that actually play well at the table. They feel uncertain whether they have the talent, discipline, and know-how to design well and break into a tiny, competitive industry.
- The plan
- Understand what design is and design a game you want to play but can't yet find.
- Find the mechanical hook that captures your theme and follow through on its implications.
- Build adventures from location, encounter, and monster up—with concise, escalating, saturated flavor.
- Worldbuild only what enables player action and keep tight focus on a big idea.
- Pitch to the right audience, playtest honestly, revise ruthlessly, and edit collaboratively.
- The payoff
- You create memorable, heightened play experiences that players brag about for years. · You develop professional discipline, hit deadlines, and build a reputation for original design. · You publish work that reaches and excites an audience while continuing to grow as a designer.
See our guide
Additional reading
- Start with Why · Simon Sinek
The book's core idea—'People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it'—is central to crafting a compelling crowdfunding narrative that connects with backers on an emotional level.
- To Sell Is Human · Daniel Pink
Provides insights into the psychology of pitching and influence, such as the importance of making the audience (backers) feel like collaborators, which is a key strategy for engagement.
- Funding the Dream Podcast · Richard Bliss
A recommended resource for creators, offering interviews and specific insights into crowdfunding tactics and strategies.
- jamesmathe.com (blog) · James Mathe
A creator's blog recommended by the author for its detailed, list-based entries full of practical information for crowdfunders.
- Ready Player One · Ernest Cline
Recommended as an enjoyable alternative read for those who decide crowdfunding isn't for them, showing the author's engagement with geek culture.
- Homo Ludens · Johan Huizinga
Referenced for its foundational concept of the 'magic circle,' which defines play as a separate, protected space outside of ordinary life. This contextualizes the author's own theory.
- Man, Play and Games · Roger Caillois
Cited for its academic definition and categorization of games, providing a counterpoint to the more practical definitions offered by game designers.
- Rules of Play · Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
Mentioned as a key contemporary text offering a precise, systemic definition of a game, which the author uses as part of his survey of existing definitions.
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience · Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The concept of 'flow' is discussed as a state of deep immersion that is often associated with fun, but the author distinguishes his theory by focusing on learning rather than mastery.
- The Essential Difference · Simon Baron-Cohen
The theory of 'systematizing' versus 'empathizing' brains is used to explain why different types of games may appeal to different people, particularly along gender lines.