Reddit mentions of Challenges for Games Designers: Non-Digital Exercises for Video Game Designers

I really like.

Challenges for Game Designers by Brathwaite and Schreiber: https://www.amazon.com/Challenges-Games-Designers-Non-Digital-Exercises/dp/1542453313/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493469101&sr=8-1&keywords=challenges+for+game+designers

Game Design Workshop by Tracy Fullerton: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Playcentric-Innovative/dp/1482217163/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1482217163&pd_rd_r=C4KTX74FX6FRDX63HCJQ&pd_rd_w=EuUkE&pd_rd_wg=y877F&psc=1&refRID=C4KTX74FX6FRDX63HCJQ

*Kobold Guide to Board Game Design: https://www.amazon.com/Kobold-Guide-Board-Game-Design/dp/1936781042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493469414&sr=1-1&keywords=kobold+guide+to+board+game+design

I highly, highly, highly recommend Challenges for Game Designers. It is focused on tabletop/boardgame design, but I think the fundamentals of system design are so damn good and applicable to digital games very easily. It'll give you a better mechanical understanding of game design too.

While software and programming are valuable, a foundation in thinking like a designer has been more important in my experience.

I recommend Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite. I've used this book as an instructor for an intro to game design undergrad course, but it should work as well for a younger audience. The activities are designed to teach critical thought about games and prototyping, and require no special equipment or skills to complete. And it's the way a lot of studios begin the design process -- with pen and paper, or a whiteboard, prototyping and play testing ideas before investing in engineering time.

The challenges are quick, fun, and allow you to jump right in to designing game systems.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1542453313/ref=mp_s_a_1_1/147-2061481-7178413?ie=UTF8&qid=1494701669&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=challenges+for+game+designers&dpPl=1&dpID=51tUh1y6F1L&ref=plSrch

Hey! Sorry for the late answer, I was drowning under school projects.

My personal favorite is Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping and Development. It gives a lot of on-point theory, it explains iterative design and good practices, and it's all clear and much more practical than your average game design book. The first part focuses on game design, the second part on programming (it's meant for beginners, so I just skimmed it) and the third one is a collection of 8 tutorials showing you how to make a prototype for 8 different kind of games. It's very clear and very complete. The only problem is that Unity is evolving so fast that the book might be obsolete too soon.

I have the first edition of that book that came out in 2014, and when I read it (in 2016), there was already several lines of codes that were outdated in the tutorials. (A second edition came out in 2017, I don't know how it is!). There's an official website that lists those lines and tell you what you should put instead, but it's a bit inconvenient. However, if your main interest is the game design part, you're good to go!

Another one that you might like is Challenges for Game Designers. I haven't gone through it yet, so I can't attest how good it is, but basically it's a book that switches between theory and practical exercises. I don't believe there's a book out there that provides that many exercises, so that's really good for sharpening your skills. It's also cool because you can design your games without having to implement them at all (they can even be though as board games!), so you save all the time of production and really just foster your design abilities, which seems to be your focus for the moment.

Finally, while not being a game design book per se, I highly recommend Derek Yu's Spelunky. It's a making-of written by the creator of the game himself, and it's full of great advice about game development in general. Also, as he explains the process of creating the game, if you pay attention to what he's saying, you can learn a lot about the craft without being given straight out theory.

I hope that fits your request! :) If you have any other question, hit me up! Also, I don't know why you asked about books specifically, but if you want any other recommendation in other format (videos, blogs, etc.), I will happily provide them.

This book is the most practical one I've find for learning and practicing game design..

https://www.amazon.com/Challenges-Games-Designers-Non-Digital-Exercises/dp/1542453313/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509774270&sr=1-1&keywords=challenges+for+game+designers&dpID=51tUh1y6F1L&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Art of Game Design is usually the one everyone always recommends, it was my first game design book and I honestly, as a beginner, I found it more harmful in the end than helpful.. You should read it after you have some experience with design..

Well, you said video games so everyone started listing video game stuff, but I'd suggest taking a different tack. Start off by learning some game design by making some boardgames together:

https://smile.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Playcentric-Innovative/dp/1482217163/

https://smile.amazon.com/Challenges-Games-Designers-Non-Digital-Exercises/dp/1542453313/

Work through the exercises in "Challenges for Game Designers" https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542453313/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_atKDybA1PP1PT - Both of the books you referenced have a lot of theory and exploration, but CfGD has plenty of actionable exercises. There is a ton of value in prototyping and exploring the space non-digitally, even if you're more focused on making digital games.