The White Box Essays is a 200-page book included in The White Box, a box full of generic components to enable users to design their own game. The Essays (25 of them) cover a wide swath of ground, including game mechanics, writing rules, the bits you use, how to playtest, and how to promote your game before (and after) publishing.
I didn't expect much from this, but was pleasantly surprised. It's not my favorite book on gaming, but it had more good tips (and realism) than I expected. For example, one chapter walks through an actual game contract the author had signed, explaining each component of it and why it's necessary (or optional). Another chapter looks at how much you actually get per board game sold (spoiler: next to nothing) due to publishing, distribution, and marketing costs. Another discusses the pros and cons of crowdfunding your game (like on kickstarter). The value was more in publishing-related matters (over half the book) than in game design (just a few chapters at the start). The author is what I would consider a mildly successful game designer (his greatest hit is The Duke), which I appreciated- this wasn't some megastar writing a "you can make millions too" book. Overall, if you're going to design a game and want to get it published, I'd read this.
Rating: B
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