First off, yes I did read the Beginner section of the Resources section, but I want some more oppinions. I would like to start programming games for fun, not as a job. Athough it was my dream to be a Game Dev for many years at 25 with a kid shooting out of my wife in a few months I feel too old to start on the path. I have a degree as a web developer and know many web scripting languages. I've done flash and actionscript for many years which has been my outlet for game development but I desire something more powerful. I have dabbled in C++ back in High School for a couple years but never did anything too fancy. Same thing with VB. I'm familiar with OOP and the theory behind programming in such a way that I'm very comfortable diving into any language because I know how to go about things I just don't know the syntax. My question is, What is a good book for someone to purchase who wants to start turning his flash games into desktop games for himself and his friends. I've been reading reviews on Amazon.com and such but I'm not sure what fits for my level knowledge. I'm looking for something so that I won't get lost in the unfamiliar C++ syntax but doesn't spend an entire chapter on If then statements or For Loops and when to use them and such. I want to actually work on a sample project or something where I do build an actual game (not a text based dos game) which I can slowly mold and modify into something of my own design. Any help would be appreciated as well as what software and dev tools I should aquire for making basic games. Thank you for any advice and personal reviews of resources you found helpful.