7-7-7 Rule for Game Design (Paperback)

A few useful pages, but mostly material I had seen better elsewhere.

This is the third book I have read on game design this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. Two stars. The subject deserves a better treatment than this.

Very good, with a few caveats. The core material is strong.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.