From blank page to
games on the table.

The step-by-step system from a Magic: The Gathering World Champion and the creator of Ascension. Design it, prototype it, playtest it, publish it.

Join Design Lab → $399$499Use codeGREATDESIGN

one-time · 14-day money-back guarantee

Created by the guy who madethese worlds.

Ascension. SolForge Fusion. Shards of Infinity. They didn't come from luck — they came from a method. Now the creator of Ascension teaches it, blank page to games on the table.

Join Design Lab → ▶ Watch the intro

Ascension

SolForge Fusion

Shards of Infinity

$399$499Use codeGREATDESIGNone-time · 14-day money-back guarantee

National Champion at 17 · Magic: The Gathering 20+ years · award-winning game design Founder & CEO · Stone Blade Entertainment 104-episode podcast

Endorsed by the architects of modern gaming Richard GarfieldPeter AdkisonJordan WeismanIDW PublishingBrotherwise Games

Justin Gary — founder of Stone Blade Entertainment, creator of Ascension

Justin GaryCreator of Ascension · Founder, Stone Blade

The people who built the industry

The legends who shaped gaming vouch for the method.

The architects of Magic, Wizards of the Coast, Shadowrun and BattleTech put their names to how Justin teaches.

Magic: The Gathering U.S. National Champion — at 17
Pro Tour, Grand Prix & World Championship winner
Designer of Vs. System & DC Comics: Infinite Crisis
Founder & CEO of Stone Blade Entertainment
Creator of Ascension, a genre-defining deck-builder
Co-creator of SolForge Fusion, with Richard Garfield
Host of the 104-episode Think Like A Game Designer podcast

Even experienced designers will benefit from looking at design through his eyes.

Richard Garfield — Creator of Magic: The Gathering Click to see Legend’s Card

Justin Gary went from world champion Magic: The Gathering pro-tour competitor to award-winning game designer and then to multi-million-dollar CEO. He has a lot to teach.

Peter Adkison — Founder, Wizards of the Coast Click to see Legend’s Card

Justin has managed to capture and communicate the process for designing games starting from the blank sheet of paper all the way to thousands of fans playing your game.

Jordan Weisman — Creator of Shadowrun & BattleTech Click to see Legend’s Card

The secret sauce inside Design Lab.

One loop builds any game. Six steps, run again and again — you don't wait for a flash of genius, you turn the crank. Each pass makes the game sharper, and the last step sends you right back to the first.

Step 01 · start here

Inspiring

Decide the kind of game and experience you want to create.

Step 02

Framing

Set your limits and your deadline so the work has edges.

Step 03

Brainstorming

Generate ideas fast and get them down on paper.

Step 04

Prototyping

Bring your best ideas to life in a playable form.

Step 05

Testing

Put it in front of real players and see what works.

Step 06 · close the loop

Iterating

Use what you learn to improve it — then run the loop again.

then back to 01 — that's the loop

The 5-step journey 01 Learn creativity 02 Master the loop 03 Refine 04 Build 05 Make money

Join Design Lab → Run the loop on your own game — start today

Real designers. Real results.

Unscripted — straight from designers who stopped circling and started shipping inside Design Lab.

Design Lab student · on camera

Tap a clip to feature it above · then press ▶ to play

In their words — real Design Lab students

The last three or four weeks have changed the game, for the better, instrumentally.

Konstantino · Design Lab student

If you love games and you want to make them: join this class.

David · Design Lab student

Everyone is so supportive and encouraging. We're all constantly learning and sharing new ideas with one another.

Lucas · Design Lab student

The Think Like A Game Designer Mastery Course has given me the tools, the network and a hell of a lot of inspiration that I need.

Chris · Design Lab student

If you're already a game designer and you want to get better, you should take this class.

Nathan · Design Lab student

If you're interested in making games, at basically any stage in game design, this would be a great course for you.

Jimmy · Design Lab student

And from readers of his book

"One of the better game design books I've read — an easy and engaging writing style."

Jonathan · Goodreads

"A really interesting look into the process of game design — perfect for a beginner."

Leo · Goodreads

"To me, this really explained the magic of gaming."

Tyler · Goodreads

Join Design Lab → Join the designers who finished

Why most game ideas never get finished.

Teaching yourself the hard way is the real fight. Real games take one to three years — most never ship. Here is what a method changes.

Teaching yourself the hard way

Inside Design Lab the method

✕Scattered videos and threads, in no order. You collect tips, never a process.

✓One method — the Core Design Loop — you can run on any idea.

✕Only friends play it. They are too nice to be honest.

✓Pro playtesters who give you honest, useful notes.

✕No one to answer to. So most people quit.

✓A private community and tools that keep you moving.

✕You guess at how to publish. Many funded games never ship.

✓A clear path from prototype, to published, to paid.

✕Years pass. The game stays in the drawer.

✓A finished game — from games on the brain to games on the table.

Join Design Lab →Stop circling. Finish the game.

Justin Gary holding his book, Think Like A Game Designer

A Note From Justin

If you are anything like me, you love the idea of making awesome games to share with the world.

But starting down that creative path can be tough, and you probably don't have time to waste making big mistakes that could cost thousands of dollars and hold your game back for years. That's why, after a 20-year career in game design, a game design book, and a game design podcast, I've decided to create a course.

Introducing the Think Like A Game Designer Design Lab. A simple and effective way to learn game design. This course will not just help you learn to bring your game to life, but teach you to take the first steps toward a career in game design.

The Think Like A Game Designer Design Lab is a step-by-step approach to game design that will give you the confidence to create your game and the knowledge to side-step the design mistakes that every new designer makes. This course is designed to transform you from a person with games on the brain to games on the table.

I'll show you how to come up with ideas, iterate on your design, prototype on the cheap, effectively playtest, and finally, get your game published.

Justin Gary Creator of Ascension · Magic: The Gathering World Champion

Everything you get

What’s Included in Justin’s Design Lab Course?

Four components, one full year of access — here’s the entire stack.

Component 01 · The core of the course

60+ Video Lessons + Assignments

Step-by-step, from a blank page to a published game: idea → prototype → playtest → publish → crowdfund. Taught by Justin Gary with guest speakers and industry experts — with an assignment after every module.

Curriculum includes

The Core Design Loop
Prototyping Principles
Playtesting & iteration
The 3 Big Rulebook Mistakes
The Game-in-a-Box Technique
Crowdfunding strategy
Hiring & directing artists
Maximizing player experience
The Design Motivation Questions
The publishing pathway

Component 02

Justin’s Private Game Design Community

The “Think Like A Game Designer” Discord — trade feedback and ideas with classmates, Justin Gary, and Stone Blade’s design team.

Component 03

Professional Playtesters

Access to professional playtesting for your game — real outside feedback, not friends being polite.

Component 04

Accountability + Encouragement

Tools to track your progress and get team feedback — so you actually finish what you start.

Enroll today

$399~~$499~~

SAVE $100USE CODE : GREATDESIGN

60+ lessons + the Core Design Loop
Pro playtesters + private community
One full year of access

Join Design Lab →

14-DayMoney-back guarantee · zero risk

Try it. If it is not for you, you pay nothing.

Do the work, and if Design Lab is not for you, email us within 14 days for a full refund — and keep the bonuses as our gift. The risk is ours.

Questions, answered.

Access & pace

How long do I have access?

A full year of course access from the day you enroll — long enough to go at your pace and still build momentum.

Getting started

Do I need any experience?

No. You just need a desire to make games. Design Lab starts from the blank page.

For experienced designers

I already design games — will this still help?

Yes. Design Lab is built to take any experience level to the next level — even Richard Garfield says experienced designers benefit.

What's included

What exactly do I get?

60+ video lessons with assignments, the full Core Design Loop method, access to professional playtesters, a private designer community with Stone Blade mentors, accountability tools, and a full year of access.

Finishing what you start

I never finish my projects — how is this different?

That is exactly the gap it closes. A repeatable loop, real outside feedback, and a community that holds you accountable beat solo willpower — people learning alone quit at much higher rates.

Vs. free content

How is this different from free videos and a $20 book?

Free content has no sequence, no real feedback loop, and no publishing path. Design Lab gives you a structured method, professional playtesters, a mentor, and the path from prototype to published.

The guarantee

What if it is not for me?

Do the work, and if you are unsatisfied, email us within 14 days for a full refund — and keep the bonuses.

Your move

Stop circling the same idea. Finish the game.

Maybe it is in a notebook. Maybe it is a prototype only your friends have played. This is how you move it from games on the brain to games on the table.

Become a game designer $399$499Use codeGREATDESIGN

From blank page togames on the table.