# The Art of Game Design: a Deck of Lenses — user reviews > 30 indexed App Store user reviews of The Art of Game Design by Schell Games, rated 4.60/5 from 18 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-art-of-game-design-a-deck-of-lenses/id385531319/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-art-of-game-design-a-deck-of-lenses/id385531319.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 15 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 1 ## Newest reviews (11 of 30) ### 5/5 — Great Companion to the book! *2015-03-03, version 2.1* The book which this App is based off of is a fantastic read, even if you're just interested in design in general. ### 5/5 — Fixed, crashed, fixed *2015-02-25, version 2.1* The new version addresses all my previous issues. Thanks. :Update 1: Was working, but now I can't open open any card. Crashes every time. Might be related to the favorites system? Sounds are annoying. :Update 2: Crash issue appears to be fixed. It is good to have this working again! ### 5/5 — Excellence... *2015-02-12, version 2.0* ...is all you need, my fellow bipedal people! ### 5/5 — Very good book *2014-05-02, version 1.0* Thank you! ### 5/5 — Appreciate it *2012-05-15, version 1.0* Thanks for making it free, though it's worth. ### 5/5 — Great content, average app *2011-09-26, version 1.0* Fantastic content but app interface feels foreign and clunky. ### 5/5 — Very useful info *2011-09-10, version 1.0* Solid well articulated advice for game development of all types. ### 5/5 — Excellent *2011-05-12, version 1.0* Very happy that this exists, the cards themselves are hard to het hold of so this really helps. ### 5/5 — Excellent book *2010-10-27, version 0* I love the book. I was going to copy all the lenses by hand into Evernote but this is so much more useful. ### 5/5 — A perfect companion *2010-10-20, version 0* This app is perfect for people who are trying to design games, as they give you questions you should ask about your game. The app is a perfect companion for people reading The Art Of Game Design by Jesse Schell. ### 5/5 — Gute Fragen führen zu guten Antworten! *2010-09-03, version 0* Diese Karten helfen ein Konzept auf Schwachpunkte abzuklopfen. Entscheidungen müssen allerdings immer noch selbst getroffen werden, aber das will man auch nicht abgenommen bekommen, nicht wahr? Wer auf ein Wundermittel hofft, die einem die Arbeit abnehmen, wird garantiert enttäuscht. Wer aber Hilfe anzunehmen weiß und den Wert von gut gestellten Fragen erkennt, sollte sich dieses "Schmankerl" nicht entgehen lassen. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — No Update in 7+ Years *2024-10-22, version 2.13* Please update this app for modern devices. It’s painful to use, and the UI could be simple and adaptive. ### 1/5 — No Update in 6 Years *2023-11-08* Please update this app for modern devices. It’s painful to use, and the UI could be simple and adaptive. ### 1/5 — No funciona :/ *2016-11-28, version 2.12* Con la Versión 10 se queda directamente en el splash y no entra en la categoría de cartas.. ### 1/5 — No funciona *2016-11-19, version 2.12* No funciona, después de verse el splashscreen se cierra. Tengo iOS 10. ### 1/5 — Bad update *2016-11-17, version 2.12* The app crashes during launching. ### 2/5 — Great information, archaic design. *2021-04-24, version 2.13* The information this app provides (especially when paired with the book) is amazing. However, it desperately needs A) a search function and B) proper display support for iPhone 10. Also, the sound design makes me cry, and it’s far too easy to accidentally favorite lenses. C’mon, you can do better than that! ### 3/5 — Love the Book. This App, Not So Much *2013-11-11, version 1.0* Wish there was something more than a menu-driven-heck of "cards". Can't even do the fundamental act of real cards, toss one aside when I'm done with it. Even a web page of text of this stuff would be better, since I would be able to copy and paste that into a text file and type up notes on a game. As someone else pointed out, I wish the creator of this app had read the book. This takes away from the experience of book (along with Disney Interactive being a money-losing venture for the company). ### 4/5 — Absturz auf iOS 6.1.6 (iPod 4) *2015-02-10, version 2.0* Leider kann ich die App nicht starten. In der aktuellen Version sehe ich den Splashscreen und dann bricht der Startvorgang ab. Kann allerdings natürlich sein, dass aktuellere i-Geräte mit aktuellerem iOS davon nicht betroffen sind. Genaue Modellnummer meines iPods lautet übrigens MD057FD/A, falls das von Relevanz sein sollte. Grundsätzlich aber eine nützliche App, welche eigentlich 5 Sterne verdient hätte. Ich kenne und nutzte auch schon die bis dato funktionierende Vorgängerversion. Deshalb noch die 4 Sterne. Ist der Bug in der aktuellen Version auch für meinen iPod gefixt, gibt es dann 5 Sterne. ### 4/5 — A hundred excellent design questions in you pocket! *2011-01-22, version 1.0* As a game designer with over 15 years in the industry, it's great to have all the cards available on a moments notice. Weirdly enough, I do wish the interface had taken its own content's advice. The design is a bit clunky. Why can't I swipe between cards instead of returning to the menu over and over? Aesthetically speaking, why the extra white space at the bottom of the cards? I'd love to see a way of learning the cards turned into a game in and of itself, utilizing it's own principles. But all that aside, I'm just happy to be able to reference at a moments notice all the wonderful tips, hints, and probing questions of the single best game design book I've ever come across. ### 5/5 — Needs android version *2024-09-27, version 2.13* This is a great tol for analyzing a game design. But with 20 years in the industry I can guarentee you that nobody with an actual job has an iPad unless they have the misfortune of working on ports. ## Most praised reviews (9 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Thank you for making this app *2023-12-14, version 2.13* 🥰 this helps a lot to get introduction to becoming a game designer ### 5/5 — Life changing book *2022-01-19, version 2.13* Thank you for the book. You changed my life ### 5/5 — Awesome *2021-03-12, version 2.13* Thanks for cards and book! ### 5/5 — ❤️ *2019-11-04, version 2.13* Good! ### 5/5 — Good App *2019-10-11, version 2.13* Useful and good app, like a book. ### 5/5 — Great App *2017-07-13, version 2.13* Just from reading the previous reviews, I can tell that the app developer is listening to what people are saying. Several things have been fixed, and you can now swipe between the cards freely, which feels nice, and makes the experience more fluid. Beyond that, all the advice and questions are very helpful, and it's always good to gain a bit of perspective on a project. Some of the tips apply to more than just games, too! ### 5/5 — A must have for any game developer *2016-05-04* This is my go to source when validating and improving any game I'm making. Buy the book "the art of game design - a book of lenses" and use that combined with this app. Your games, users and bank account will thank you. ### 5/5 — Love the book and this App *2015-10-09, version 2.11* Great companion app to the book. Highly recommend reading the book along with this. Many of the lenses (Holographic Design? Endogenous Value?) make much more sense if you've read about them. ### 5/5 — Tremendous game design tool *2015-03-18, version 2.1* Previously having been an amazing physical card deck, the digital A Deck of Lenses is a great tool to hone, adjust, or modify any video or board game design. It's a phenomenal tool for those of us in the field. If you make games, or are learning about / teaching game making, I highly recommend this tool. (Review by a game designer with 13 years of professional experience) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-03.*