Episode 3 – Rulebook sins
This time we look at more boardgame terms, co-operative, competitive and gateway games, and also at some cardinal sins in rulebooks.
Music: Black Moons by The 126er on YouTube
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the people featured and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tabletop Inquisition.
Catching up…
I think one of the best decisions a game designer can make is not to write the rulebook themselves. Instead, find an experienced game teacher, ideally one who’s also a technical writer, and get them to lay it out in a way that’s easy to learn rather than a way that comes out of the design process. It’s far too easy for a designer to know subconsciously how the game works, and forget actually to specify eveyrthing in detail.
A FAQ is an admission that you messed up the rulebook / text on components.
Thank you for your comment, Roger.
You’re right. Rulebook writing is a specialized skill. If you have no option, then, by all means, write the rulebook yourself, but you should really invest the money to get it professionally written.
Hi Roger! Lovely to see you’ve crossed platforms 🙂 I completely agree with you. Having someone other than the game’s designer write the rules is the best approach I think. You’re too close to the game to write objectively.
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