One of my biggest passions is modern tabletop games (a.k.a. board games). When you open a box there are a number of things you can find inside: a board, cards, dice, cardboard punch outs, and so many other kinds of bits. But the one thing you will always find are rule books.
I have so many friends that will not read rule books. They prefer to be taught. It’s no wonder when so many of them are in desperate need of organization, clarification, and proofreading.
Organization
One of the worst rule books I have ever read was the first edition of Catacombs. At first glance it’s set up the way a good rule book should be: all parts of the game in an order that makes sense for teaching. It even has play examples! So what’s wrong with it?
Every single time I’ve played Catacombs there has been some question where no one can remember the rule. Someone picks up the rule book and starts looking. Somehow it takes at least five minutes, and probably passing the book to someone else, to figure out the answer.
It didn’t take me long into my first play to realize that the rules were not laid out in an intuitive way. My friend playing as the elf wanted to know if she only got two arrows. I looked under Elf in Hero Setup, she does in fact only get two missile pieces. Easy enough.
She then asked if she could get them back. We checked Resolution Phase to see if she gets them back then; nothing. Scanning the whole rule book looking for the words “elf” and “arrows” finally produced a hidden answer under missile shots in Basic Shot Types. It said she gets them back right away (so why start with two?).
I felt slightly dumb. Then it mentioned that arrows are the elf’s special action. So I tried to find the section on special actions. It mentions them briefly during the section The Battle Phase. That only told us that special actions are used a limited number of times per room. I found nothing else useful in the rule book though it could still be there.
It’s the non-intuitive nature of information placement that brings the organization of this rule book down.
Clarification
I also don’t think you should have to look up an answer online. I’ve had to do this too many times, even with games I love. It’s even worse when you can’t find the answer to your question online.
My worst experience with this comes from one of my top five games: Dinosaur Island. I had no problems with the rule book for the base game. It’s the expansion Totally Liquid that had me scouring the internet.
This expansion adds modules that include Executives that give you special worker/scientist actions and PR Events that give you secret end game scoring that applies to everyone. These are fantastic additions with one problem: they are not clarified in the rule book!
The only reference section in the rule book is for the Facilities boards. These boards have basically everything you need to know written on them! I haven’t found that reference section necessary at all.
On the other hand I have had problems understanding at least two Executive cards and one PR Event card. There is no explanation for these anywhere. I couldn’t even find an unofficial ruling online! I’ve had to opt not to play with those cards and it makes me sad.
Proofreading
Compared to my other two complaints this one might not seem like a big deal. As long as the rule books are organized and clear who cares if there are a few grammar mistakes or typos? Lots of people care! Sometimes without even realizing it.
Grammar and spelling are important for the way people see us. It’s about first impressions and bias. When we come across errors we judge the person responsible by viewing them as unprofessional or not as smart.
That’s why it’s important to have someone go through anything you write. The thing is, even if we check sometimes an error will still slip through. This is most likely to happen with something you’ve written recently. The best ways to combat this are to wait until you’ve forgotten what you wrote or have someone else read your writing.
Now might be the time for me to point out that I will read through your writing for you. Check out my services page or send me a message. I’d be glad to help you perfect your rule book or any of your other writing!
