Learning Video Game Design on the Tabletop includes an outstanding essay by game designer Stone Librande, the lead designer at Riot Games (and previously a designer at Electronic Arts/Maxis and Blizzard).

In his essay, Stone talk about using spreadsheets to create a homemade tabletop game, and how those spreadsheets led to him breaking into the video game industry and getting hired by Blizzard.

For your own spreadsheeting pleasure, you can download and play with the Excel spreadsheets that Stone describes in his essay:

• hit-odds.xlsx
• monsters.xlsx
• skill_categories.xls
• weapon-stats.xlsx

See also: “The World’s Most Boring Excel Spreadsheet” and “Comparable Basis“