"Theory of Fun for Game Design" by Raph Koster
It has been several months since I read this book, which is a shame, because I have forgotten what I wanted to say about it. So I will just say that it was worth a read and has appeal beyond "gamers".
Raph tries to understand what people find to be fun and why, and I agree with a lot of his observations.
People are basically learning machines. We enjoy learning, in all kinds of ways, and games and fun are an extension of this innate desire. The hard part for game designers is finding the balance between challenging/interesting and tedious/boring/impossible. A challenge all game players have experienced first-hand.
So send a few bucks Raph's way and buy his book.
