
The Game Designer's Guide to Creating Licensed Tabletop Games
James Sheahan(Author)
CRC Press
1st Edition
Published on 13. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
188 pages
978-1-032-94977-2 (ISBN)
Description
This book explains the steps in creating a licensed tabletop game and the factors which influence its design using examples, including the designer's first-hand experience of converting the Fallout videogames into Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.
Converting an existing property, such as a videogame or film, into a tabletop game provides all the challenges of tabletop design whilst adding many more challenges, restrictions, limitations, and pressures. This book covers all the necessary topics, such as:
Gaining a license and working with a licensor
Identifying boundaries the license creates, which defines the design space in which the game must exist
Studying the IP's setting to understand what the tabletop game can be, how to extract principles and details from that setting, and the important challenges that must be resolved
Addressing the inevitable changes to the source material that must occur when adapting to the tabletop medium
Creating the game mechanics - the most fundamental building blocks of all - and imbuing them with the license to portray the IP's characters, action, and atmosphere.
The book takes the reader through the process of designing a licensed tabletop game and explains how a license adds opportunities to be embraced and challenges to be overcome. Using behind-the-scenes knowledge of creating licensed games, the experience, insights, and lessons learned from a career in games will assist and inspire readers to bring a licensed world to life.
This book will be ideal reading for games professionals looking to learn best practices for designing games based on existing properties.
Converting an existing property, such as a videogame or film, into a tabletop game provides all the challenges of tabletop design whilst adding many more challenges, restrictions, limitations, and pressures. This book covers all the necessary topics, such as:
Gaining a license and working with a licensor
Identifying boundaries the license creates, which defines the design space in which the game must exist
Studying the IP's setting to understand what the tabletop game can be, how to extract principles and details from that setting, and the important challenges that must be resolved
Addressing the inevitable changes to the source material that must occur when adapting to the tabletop medium
Creating the game mechanics - the most fundamental building blocks of all - and imbuing them with the license to portray the IP's characters, action, and atmosphere.
The book takes the reader through the process of designing a licensed tabletop game and explains how a license adds opportunities to be embraced and challenges to be overcome. Using behind-the-scenes knowledge of creating licensed games, the experience, insights, and lessons learned from a career in games will assist and inspire readers to bring a licensed world to life.
This book will be ideal reading for games professionals looking to learn best practices for designing games based on existing properties.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional Practice & Development
Illustrations
30 Farbfotos bzw. farbige Rasterbilder, 1 s/w Tabelle, 30 farbige Abbildungen
1 Tables, black and white; 30 Halftones, color; 30 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
313 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-94977-2 (9781032949772)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2026
CRC Press
€68.49
Available for download

E-Book
05/2026
CRC Press
€68.49
Available for download

Book
05/2026
1st Edition
CRC Press
€173.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
James Sheahan is a game designer with over 28 years' experience working on video games, tabletop games, gamification, experiential games, escape rooms, ad campaigns, and more. James has worked across almost all game genres and platforms, original and licensed IP (including Star Wars and Fallout), and many of the largest global brands.
Content
Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: Boundaries, Chapter 3: Setting, Chapter 4 : Converting to Tabletop, Chapter 5: Game Mechanics, Chapter 6: Conclusion