Tick Talk

Uncertainty in Games (by Greg Costikyan) is a short, informal book that reads more like a long essay than an academic work.  The book provides a good overview of different types of uncertainty (i.e. tension), but often fails to support or fully discuss their statements.  However, the book provides an interesting foray into sources of uncertainty in play.

Characteristics of Games (by George Skaff Elias, Richard Garfield, and K. Robert Gutschere) was a fascinating read and challenged more than one assumption I had about topics I felt were quite cut and dried.  This book starts at the foundation of design by examining topics such as number of players, game length, and types of games.  The book introduces some new vocabulary and contains some excellent appendices that give good summaries of topics such as Game Theory.