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The White Box: A Game Design Workshop-in-a-Box

Created by Gameplaywright

The White Box is a book of essays about game design and a collection of generic prototyping components — cubes, dice, tokens, and more — to help you get the game idea out of your head and onto the table.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Meeples Together: A New Book about Cooperative Games from Gameplaywright
about 6 years ago – Fri, Oct 19, 2018 at 12:08:50 AM

Our Next Kickstarter is Live!

If you’re the type of gamer or game designer who likes cooperative games, Gameplaywright’s next Kickstarter is for you. 

Yesterday we launched Meeples Together, a book from two brilliant authors about how and why cooperative board games work. 

If The White Box stoked your game-designer brain and co-op games are something that interests you, come explore the Meeples Together campaign page.

The White Box for the Holidays; Meeples Together
about 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 07:34:08 AM

Hi, retail backers!

We’ve heard from a lot of you that you’re happily continuing to sell The White Box — some of you as frequently as 2–3 copies a month — since the campaign ended.

But because a fair number of our retail backers joined us from outside the hobby games distribution network, we wanted to remind you that in addition to being available that way, you can also still get The White Box at retail-discount terms directly from Atlas Games.

The holidays are a time when you’ll want this one-of-a-kind gift item stocked deep. To place an order, contact the Atlas Games sales team at [email protected], or have a look at the retail support page on the Atlas Games website.

Here, also, are links straight to the order pages for The White Box on a few key distributor websites (where you’ll need to log in to continue):

Meeples Together

One last thing, in case you missed it: Gameplaywright just launched a Kickstarter for a new project.

Meeples Together is a book about how and why cooperative board games work, from two brilliant authors who’ve thought deeply about the topic. With a foreword from Pandemic designer Matt Leacock and endorsements from the designers and co-designers of games like Shadows over Camelot, The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game, and Betrayal at House on the Hill, you can rest assured that the gamers in your store are going to love it.

We believe that any store that sells cooperative board games will have an audience for Meeples Together. The campaign features the same kinds of retail terms that the campaign for The White Box did: a small deposit, digital editions for your print-edition customers, and a 30-day head start on the distribution channel.

Come check out Meeples Together.

New Gameplaywright Release: Friendly Local Game Store
over 6 years ago – Thu, Mar 01, 2018 at 06:25:13 PM

Gameplaywright's next project is Friendly Local Game Store, a book by game store owner and renowned Quest for Fun blogger Gary Ray about how to open a game store with a realistic, five-year plan for earning a solid, middle-class income.

Friendly Local Game Store includes a detailed look at startup costs, an exploration of a store’s unique value proposition, a sober examination of why you should think twice about hybrid stores, inventory management basics, and more. Gary also shares the stories of his years running Black Diamond Games. Even if you don’t want to open a game store, you’ll appreciate his stories about what it takes.

Pre-orders for Friendly Local Game Store will be open for one more week. Physical copies will ship before the end of March, and digital copies — to be delivered no later than March 12 — are free with your pre-order. If it so happens that you'll be at the GAMA Trade Show, you can pick up your pre-order in person and we'll refund your shipping and handling costs.

 

Last Call for Fulfillment; Two New Projects
almost 7 years ago – Sat, Feb 03, 2018 at 11:03:28 PM

Fulfillment is Complete

All backers' orders have been fulfilled for some time now, so if you are still expecting rewards, something has gone wrong. Please email jeff at jefftidball dot com to let us know.

We still have a small number of backers who haven't filled out their surveys in BackerKit. Go to thewhitebox.backerkit.com. In the last few weeks, we've encountered two instances where a backer who hadn't filled out their survey had been marked as "shipped," which was clearly impossible since we didn't have their address. If that looks like it's happened to you, email jeff at jefftidball dot com and we'll take care of you right away.

Beating the Story

Gameplaywright's next project is Beating the Story, a book by RPG-design rockstar Robin D. Laws. It's a book for anyone who wants to better understand how stories are crafted: novelists, screenwriters, comic creators, critics, playwrights, and (yes!) game designers. It contains a ton of advice on using Robin's story beat system — first documented in Hamlet's Hit Points — to craft your own stories.

Pre-orders for Beating the Story are now open. If you order a physical edition during the pre-order period, you'll get the digital editions for free, which is not an offer we typically make. Have a look.

 Cogs and Commissars

Atlas Games is in the early days of a new Kickstarter campaign for card game Cogs and Commissars! If you like to play games as well as design them, have a look.

  • A game of glorious robot revolution, where players control the means of production. 
  • A smarter take on take-that card games. 
  • A game of direct competition, with rules that reward smart play and creative ideas. Casual card gamers can get started right away with pre-made faction decks. More advanced players will love the drafting rules. 
  • Gameplay features lots of back-and-forth play with actions and reactions, and tons of quirky, subtle, and fascinating card combos.

 

Canada and Europe Shipping Updates
almost 7 years ago – Wed, Dec 13, 2017 at 09:33:26 PM

(If you are somewhere other than Canada or Europe, information about shipping can be found in the previous update.)

Canada Shipping Update

In our haste to get out the most recent update, we forgot to include specific information about Canada. Our apologies!

As previously reported, backer rewards for Canadian backers had to come from China to Minnesota, then go to Buffalo (NY) for import into Canada. All of this has happened. Snakes & Lattes, our Canadian fulfillment partner, reports that they expect all backer packages to leave their Toronto warehouse by tomorrow (12/14).

Canadian backers should all receive email updates with tracking information at or soon after the time of shipment. If you don’t receive tracking information on that schedule, or if tracking indicates that problems have arisen with your shipment, please don’t hesitate to contact us (see below).

Europe Shipping Update

Kixto, our European shipping partner, reports that they finished packing backer packages a day ahead of schedule, and that those are being picked up today (12/13). They report that UK packages typically take two days in transit, while the rest of European shipments usually take 5–7 days. However, they also predict that recent winter storms in northern Europe may extend those normal times. If you are worried that your package has gone missing, please feel free to contact us (see below).

Damaged Shipment?

If you received physical rewards that were unacceptably damaged in transit, please contact us (see below) and include photos of the damage in your email. We will replace all damaged shipments.

Contacting Us

To get in touch, send an email to jeff at jefftidball dot com. We are trying to respond to all emails by the next day.