Within the field of game design, game balance can best be described as a black art. It is the process by which game designers make a game simultaneously fair for players while providing them just the right amount of difficulty to be both exciting and challenging without making the game entirely predictable. This involves a combination of mathematics, psychology, and occasionally other fields such as economics and game theory. Game Balance offers readers a dynamic look into game design and player theory. Throughout the book, relevant topics on the use of spreadsheet programs will be included in each chapter. This book therefore doubles as a useful reference on Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheets, and other spreadsheet programs and their uses for game designers. FEATURES The first and only book to explore game balance as a topic in depth Topics range from intermediate to advanced, while written in an accessible style that demystifies even the most challenging mathematical concepts to the point where a novice student of game design can understand and apply them Contains powerful spreadsheet techniques which have been tested with all major spreadsheet programs and battle-tested with real-world game design tasks Provides short-form exercises at the end of each chapter to allow for practice of the techniques discussed therein along with three long-term projects divided into parts throughout the book that involve their creation Written by award-winning designers with decades of experience in the field Ian Schreiber has been in the industry since 2000, first as a programmer and then as a game designer. He has worked on eight published game titles, training/simulation games for three Fortune 500 companies, and has advised countless student projects. He is the co-founder of Global Game Jam, the largest in-person game jam event in the world. Ian has taught game design and development courses at a variety of colleges and universities since 2006. Brenda Romero is a BAFTA award-winning game director, entrepreneur, artist, and Fulbright award recipient and is presently game director and creator of the Empire of Sin franchise. As a game director, she has worked on 50 games and contributed to many seminal titles, including the Wizardry and Jagged Alliance series and titles in the Ghost Recon, Dungeons & Dragons, and Def Jam franchises.

Have you ever noticed that we tend to compartmentalize when teaching our children? In real life, there aren’t artificial barriers between “subjects.” For example, when you are cooking or baking, you have to use the skills of reading, logical thinking, and measuring, just to name a few. In driving a car, you see and read road signs, read maps, and count miles. It has become quite clear that there is an abundance of math curriculums available that are nothing but monotonous drill sheets dressed up in pretty colors. Pretty colors do not make a living book. Content, story, and the ability to show math in real life make a living math book. Math Level 1: Teach math lessons through the creative means of a life storyProvides a link for the downloadable answer keyHas a scope and sequence that contains learning numbers 0 to 100, circles and patterns, counting and addition, days of the week, and telling time. This book was written to be used by you and your young student together. It is the story of a twin brother and sister, Charlie and Charlotte, who are visiting their grandparents’ farm. They soon learn that the farm is full of learning opportunities! As you read their story, your students will be drawn into the adventure along with the twins. They will learn about numbers, shapes, place value, adding, and subtracting. They will also learn about gardening, baby animals on the farm, nature, and the love of family. They will hear exciting stories from Grandpa and Grandma, and they will be invited to join the twins on their living math adventures. We hope you have a grand time on this adventure!