Koster has written an incredible book that cannot help but cover game design. The question of "fun" has baffled the game design community for years: it's an unquantifiable concept a designer succeeds at capturing more reliably with luck (and experience) than anything else. This book provides one of the first steps away from that.

For those who harangue the book because of the title, it's worth reading the Foreword, written by Will Wright.

To explain fun, Koster does not bother pretending to live in an ivory tower. He opens the doors to his life and allows you to connect with him as you ponder his ideas. Fun is difficult to disconnect from games, especially since that's his field, so he explains games, too. The result is a narrative, not a white paper: he brings you into his shoes and takes you on a journey, giving you contextual background before (How Brains Work) his central thesis and after (Ethics of Game Design).

The book is not a be-all, end-all "Definitive Guide to Fun". It's a provocation and a challenge, to game designers, to game theorists, and even to gamers. It's meant to make you think, not hold your hand. My favorite moment with the book was when I didn't have it: I loaned it to a roommate, who came back a week later completely stunned, complaining that it had made sense and had gotten him thinking. He plays rugby and Madden, mostly.

You won't find 12 steps to make your game fun, nor will you have any idea how to make a game after you read it, if you didn't before. But when you play a game, and you have fun, now you have somewhere to start in understanding why. And if another game bores you to tears, you may be able to figure out how to improve it.

The book is not about games. It's about gamers: about people. Because people have fun, and they sometimes even do it while gaming. And this book is about why.

Koster has written an incredible book that cannot help but cover game design. The question of "fun" has baffled the game design community for years: it's an unquantifiable concept a designer succeeds at capturing more reliably with luck (and experience) than anything else. This book provides one of the first steps away from that.

For those who harangue the book because of the title, it's worth reading the Foreword, written by Will Wright.

To explain fun, Koster does not bother pretending to live in an ivory tower. He opens the doors to his life and allows you to connect with him as you ponder his ideas. Fun is difficult to disconnect from games, especially since that's his field, so he explains games, too. The result is a narrative, not a white paper: he brings you into his shoes and takes you on a journey, giving you contextual background before (How Brains Work) his central thesis and after (Ethics of Game Design).

The book is not a be-all, end-all "Definitive Guide to Fun". It's a provocation and a challenge, to game designers, to game theorists, and even to gamers. It's meant to make you think, not hold your hand. My favorite moment with the book was when I didn't have it: I loaned it to a roommate, who came back a week later completely stunned, complaining that it had made sense and had gotten him thinking. He plays rugby and Madden, mostly.

You won't find 12 steps to make your game fun, nor will you have any idea how to make a game after you read it, if you didn't before. But when you play a game, and you have fun, now you have somewhere to start in understanding why. And if another game bores you to tears, you may be able to figure out how to improve it.

The book is not about games. It's about gamers: about people. Because people have fun, and they sometimes even do it while gaming. And this book is about why.

I should start out by mentioning that I'm reviewing this book from more of a general knowledge standpoint than a purely video game related one.

A lot of other reviews have mentioned that there aren't many practical tips in this book, which is true, but that's why it's a theory of fun and not a handbook of rules. Theories pull basic meanings & principles out of a vast, murky subject that can later evolve into practical uses, in this case for video games or any other artistic medium.

The author breaks down our sense of enjoyment into more manageable & understandable categories, like social and aesthetic satisfactions. But the bulk of the book covers the enjoyment that comes from learning patterns and overcoming challenges, which he defines as "fun."

Although fun as Koster defines it is most evident in video games, the enjoyment that comes from learning and figuring things out could just as easily apply to a mystery novel as a puzzle game. Having a firm understanding of "fun" as well as the other types of enjoyment could benefit any artistic pursuit.

Another fascinating concept in "Theory of Fun" is the idea that all artforms become more and more complex until only a dedicated few can master it, at which point the artform either dies off or is reinvented to better suit the masses. This concept could explain the recent rise of the Wii, with its simple, accessible approach to games over more complex systems.

All in all, "A Theory of Fun for Game Design" isn't just ideas on how to build a better video game mousetrap, but a basic intro on enjoyment so we can hopefully learn to create work that's enjoyable for others.

I should start out by mentioning that I'm reviewing this book from more of a general knowledge standpoint than a purely video game related one.

A lot of other reviews have mentioned that there aren't many practical tips in this book, which is true, but that's why it's a theory of fun and not a handbook of rules. Theories pull basic meanings & principles out of a vast, murky subject that can later evolve into practical uses, in this case for video games or any other artistic medium.

The author breaks down our sense of enjoyment into more manageable & understandable categories, like social and aesthetic satisfactions. But the bulk of the book covers the enjoyment that comes from learning patterns and overcoming challenges, which he defines as "fun."

Although fun as Koster defines it is most evident in video games, the enjoyment that comes from learning and figuring things out could just as easily apply to a mystery novel as a puzzle game. Having a firm understanding of "fun" as well as the other types of enjoyment could benefit any artistic pursuit.

Another fascinating concept in "Theory of Fun" is the idea that all artforms become more and more complex until only a dedicated few can master it, at which point the artform either dies off or is reinvented to better suit the masses. This concept could explain the recent rise of the Wii, with its simple, accessible approach to games over more complex systems.

All in all, "A Theory of Fun for Game Design" isn't just ideas on how to build a better video game mousetrap, but a basic intro on enjoyment so we can hopefully learn to create work that's enjoyable for others.

There is actually a theory of fun buried in the book, but the time spent developing the theory is minimal. The rest of the book seems to be all about trying to justify choosing game design as a career. Geez! It's fun and you get paid. 'nuff said on that topic.

I purchased the book mainly as a learning tool for designing boardgames.

The author's journey starts by trying to convince his get-a-real-job grandfather (and perhaps himself) that a career in game design is of significance. In doing so the author winds down a *philosophical* road describing how game design can mature into an artform just as other mediums have. His arguments are well thought, intriguing, and convincing. Raph will enlighten novice game designers and deeply plant some ideas that will surely influence the growing field of game design.

Among his most influential ideas, the author suggests that games should seek to allow people to explore game mechanics that reflect tiny aspects life as to allow real-world lessons to be learned. He suggests that game designs should *not* have preconceived destinations aimed at supporting the designer's personal truths, but that the game should allow its participants to openly experiment and discover their own truths. Very powerful stuff!

My harshest criticism is that the book seemed "puffed up" like a term paper where a procrastinator (in attempt to fill the required number of pages) quadrupled the line spacing, fatten the margins, and increased the fonts. The author provided hand-drawn pictures on every odd-numbered page. Some pictures were useful, but many seem forced and in trying to properly pair the text with the related pictures, lots of content pages are predominantly white space.

My preference would have been to reduce the size of the book by favoring the content much more heavily than the pictures and by doing away with the excessive white space; the book could easily have been half its size.

Despite the criticism the book offered good insight and was a fair value having purchased it on modest discount.

This book provides a very compelling framework for thinking about games and the psychology of engaging people in games. I found it very insightful as someone coming in from a related but different field. His insights resonate as being intuitive and on target.

There's a little bit of defensiveness of the industry which seemed off track though. The basic thesis is that any learning is good learning and playing games is about learning. That's fine, but I'm not sure it's a great argument -- it begs a reasonable countargument of "yes, but what about learning something more productive." All in all, the book would stand on its own merits as a great synthesis of the field without this defensiveness and is well worth the read and 5 stars.

A Theory of Fun is a title long awaited. Raph Koster takes an incredibly complicated and seemingly arcane subject and demystifies the magic with lucid insight and laser sharp deconstruction...and it's all done in a wonderfully playful way! I found myself both laughing and saying "aha!" simultaneously at both the insight and humor.

Koster's creative talents are clearly demonstrated in the book's unique format - a design mirroring a Left Brain / Right Brain construct, where the left side of each page is packed full of information on games, how we learn, and cognitive functions, while the right side contains fun drawings with a light and moving theme that enhances the left, while striking out on its own, almost like a counter point melody to the book's grand symphony. It really is almost two books in one! Yet even the light and funny elements carry wonderfully heavy insight into what games teach us and why.

A Theory of Fun is highly recommended for anyone working in entertainment today - from game designers, to producers, to the film industry, to people working in any creative endeavor, and people who think they don't have a creative bone in their bodies. (They'll soon discover they have a whole skeleton of fun in their proverbial closet after reading this book!)

Koster's book clearly demonstrates that `Fun Is As Fun Does' while exposing the method to the madness in gaming. A Theory of Fun is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why games are so pervasive today, as it sheds new light into why fun matters in this world, and how `play' makes us truly human.

Plenty of books have been written about playing games or enjoying them - but what really makes a game fun? Leading interactive designer Ralph Koster provides a visual survey and discussion which examines the foundation of designing a 'fun game' in Theory Of Fun For Game Design, examining the different levels which work for game designers initially, how these ideas translate into games which teach and evolve, and how learning and playing are interconnected. Chapters aim at the rudiments of why some games are fun and others simply boring.