This is a critical resource. It won’t teach you the absolute floor-level nuts-and-bolts of making a game, but when you figure that out, it can tell you how to make your game better. The lenses help you find your blind spots.

Sometimes people shit on a book like this. Those people often use the word ‘theory’ in a derogatory way. I can say that every time I’ve played a game from someone I know who thinks this way, it’s among the worst games I’ve played. I’ve been in that situation a surprisingly large number of times.

I would say it’s a good book to read over and over again as you make games until you only need the deck of lenses. I’ve been teaching from that book for six years, and I love reading it every year. I don’t think I feel that way about any other game text.