I thought this was really well put together - breaking down the process of creating a board game into good basic steps, and building on each one, so if a reader actually followed through they'd have a game prototype to play at the end! I especially liked that they included materials to photocopy and use along the way in the back of the book.
The fantasy outer space plot location seemed a bit unnecessary though - I'm not sure it added anything to the book, but if it makes it more fun for middle grade readers, I'm all for it!

The various elements didn't come together well. There are too many characters, and they aren't very distinguishable in personality. The actual information is delivered in large chunks of dialogue, and too much time is spent on irrelevant story elements. The futuristic alien environment seems to be there just to make for some more interesting visuals, and establishing that setup wastes space.

There are also too many references to games we're supposed to recognize without using their actual names. I was disappointed in what I was able to take away from the book. Not many of the principles stuck with me, since I was distracted by all the other goings on.

This graphic novel (or comic) tells the story of a group of people and aliens (I think?) who decide that they want to create a game. The work together to solve the challenges that designing a fun game bring such as answering the question “what makes a good game”. The fun and colourful characters and large speech bubbles make this book look interesting and attractive to young readers. Graphic novels are well loved by middle grade readers and this book will be no exception. I like that the focus of the story is something of substance and would be interesting but also could be something teachers relate back to content areas. As a grade 3 teacher, I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 8-11 range. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

Miigweetch NetGalley and First Second books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is a graphic novel about how to think about games; it is not about how to code games, although the principles discussed throughout can certainly be applied to the digital game space. I like that all the exercises can (and should!) be done with simple tools like a pen and paper; it makes things more accessible for all kids. There are example games throughout, and I like that the purpose of the game is explained after the reader has been given an opportunity to try it, such as the first example “Mind Meld” which encourages budding developers to observe the patterns that emerge from each game and serve as a jump-off point for discussing player behaviors and choice-making.

I wasn’t initially sold on the narrative format or characters, but I did really liked that a Black girl is the main character, along with her fraternal twin siblings, and that there is a maternal legacy of female STEM involvement referenced within the first two pages (Grandma asks, “Y’all gonna become game devs like your mom?” I AM HERE FOR IT). I decided to stick it out and found that the format works better than I would have expected.

This would be a great read for students looking to get into game development. I recommend it for middle grade readers especially. It would make a great addition to a makerspace library shelf!