May is "Get Caught Reading Month"

Get Caught Reading Month began in 1999 as a way to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read for pleasure, whether it is the classics, chick-lit, the latest thriller, or just your favorite magazine or the sports pages.

So, as a gamer let's put a gamer spin on this! Here are a couple great books that I've been reading that have to do with tabletop games:

First we have The Game Inventor's Guidebook. 

Amazon Description: "Game Design Manager at Wizards of the Coast, the world's largest tabletop hobby game company. Do you have an idea for a board game, card game, role-playing game or tabletop game? Have you ever wondered how to get it published? For many years Brian Tinsman reviewed new game submissions for Hasbro, the largest game company in the US. With The Game Inventor's Guidebook: How to Invent and Sell Board Games, Card Games, Role-playing Games & Everything in Between! he presents the only book that lays out step-by-step advice, guidelines and instructions for getting a new game from idea to retail shelf."

How about something much more meatier? This book is huge. Really huge. It's deep and has a TON of wonderful and insightful information from gameplay mechanics to game theory and absolutely everything in between. 

Amazon Description: As pop culture, games are as important as film or television -- but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Play as a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance.Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Play is a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.

This is one of my favorites. It's small, but packs a lot of punch and provides valuable insight on board game design!

Amazon Description: 

Winner of the 2012 Origins Award

Pull up a chair and see how the world's top game designers roll.

You want your games to be many things: Creative. Innovative. Playable. Fun. If you're a designer, add "published" to that list.

The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design gives you an insider's view on how to make a game that people will want to play again and again. Author Mike Selinker (Betrayal at House on the Hill) has invited some of the world's most talented and experienced game designers to share their secrets on game conception, design, development, and presentation.

In these pages, you'll learn about storyboarding, balancing, prototyping, and playtesting from the best in the business.

And last we have another very accessible book. It's a lighter read but also has a TON of valuable information on how to turn an idea into a game. We all have those game ideas that have been floating around in our heads. Why not finally make a move?

Amazon Description:

Do you have game ideas collecting dust in the back of a closet - or the back of your head? Dust them off, pick up this book, and discover the simple steps to turning your concept to cash in today's game market. Long-time industry veteran gives a concise and complete insider's view of this fascinating world and shares the process of licensing or publishing your board game, card game, or party game for profit. Find out how the industry works and what companies are looking for in a game. Examine what makes a good game good while understanding the basics of prototyping and play testing. Gain the knowledge on how to best approach companies to maximize your chances of success. Learn how to protect your idea and how to strike a deal when the call comes. It is all covered step-by-step in this easy-to-follow guide to game design.

Or, if you are like me you can sit back, relax and read a board game instruction booklet on a quite evening.

Weird?

Possibly.

But I always find it relaxing when doing it when is convenient for me and not in the middle of game night when everyone is ready to play!