I never like to judge a book by it’s cover, or in this case a board game. However, after precariously opening the lid, I usually find myself judging games by the coherency of it’s rule book. I should make this clear right now, this is not always a deal breaker for me. There are some examples I will cover a bit later in this article. That said, sometimes the game completely falls apart before you can even digest the surface of a potentially really really good game.
The question comes down to: what exactly makes a terrible rule book, a good rule book, and an absolutely stellar rule book? That got me thinking; lets dig through some of our more popular store games to digest some of the information and set some parameters:
- Rule books must have one clear objective: to teach a game. Lore and background story can be fascinating but can detract from actually learning mechanics.
- Spelling, and grammar does matter. I can’t reinforce this enough with board game rules. Sometimes saying something one way can mean something totally different another way.
- Type face, sizing, spacing, heading sizes and contrast matters. I shouldn’t have to get a magnifying glass to read rules, nor should I have a headache after reading 30 pages of size 6pt font (I’m looking at you Mage Knight). Distinct and logical headings are incredibly helpful for referencing.
- While not always necessary, sometimes having a helpful well-balanced mix of imagery and text can accommodate different learning styles.
- Again, while not always necessary, many of the best games I’ve played have these in common: An outline of components (ideally with pictures), an introduction to the game including how you win, and how you lose, and also an index / appendix.
Let’s start with what I would describe as a good example: Pandemic (2013)
http://www.zmangames.com/uploads/4/7/1/7/47170931/pandemic.pdf
The first page features a very large image outlining all of the contents of the box and an overview of the theme of the game, your objective, and how you lose. Absolutely stellar. The second page is even better. In 2 pages, it clearly outlines your step by step set up for the whole game. Actually, this rule book, probably has one of the clearest outlined setup that I can think of currently. Not only does it indicate the setup in text, but it points to a large scale image of the board showing you where each component goes with arrows. The rest of the rule book is well laid out with very clear and well sized text. The best part of all is that the developer included key examples for the slightly more convoluted rules of the game (some of these examples are arguably required to interpret the rules correctly). If I were to critique one piece of the rule book it would be that it didn’t do a good job explaining eradication. The concept of eradication is mixed and mashed into other paragraphs related to infection and treating disease. Overall, this is a good first example.
Next example is the worst example I could possibly think of from a game in our library: Bedpans + Broomsticks
(Can’t find a PDF link to the rules anywhere off Mayfair Games website or board game geek.)
Trust me when I say this games rules are the worst rules I’ve ever read. There could be worse, but this one would be right up there. I can get past all of the typos, spelling errors, and grammar errors but to this day, I am not actually 100% sure I’m playing this game correctly. I have so many questions about how I’ve interpreted the rules that I don’t actually enjoy playing it. The worst part of all is that somewhere, I can actually see a good game under the surface… If you want to know what I’m talking about it check out the picture below.
There are 3 pages of rules explaining the placement of room tiles. 2 pages of which are dedicated to explaining the special ‘exit’ tiles which tie into the main objective of the residents. Along with the special order to placing exit tiles (creating a multi floor senior care facility), there are 14 additional special rules to remember on this page alone. Oh, and the examples make it even more confusing. And, in case you were curious the next 2 pages contain 19 additional “special – rules” for other tiles and pieces. If there is someone out there brave enough to rewrite the rules for this game I would absolutely love you.
While I wanted to include one Euro as my “hits all the marks” type game, one game that I wanted to give a stellar mention was: Blood Rage
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55f65034e4b0f8a9c68669fd/t/577c37166a4963d30fb695a3/1467758365708/blood+rage+rulebook.pdf (best link I could find to the rules)
The rules in this game are absolutely fantastic. I never once felt like I was reading rules for a medium-heavy weight game. After getting past the first 4 pages it is absolutely smooth sailing. There are minimal contradictions, very clear text, nice font size, very nice referenced images, a clear table of contents and outline of components. The rules summary on the back of the rule book is incredibly helpful, and much of the important action mechanics are highlighted on the individual clan sheets to minimize need to reference while playing the game.
The last game I’d like to mention is a bit of an anomaly to me. It’s rules are not great…however the game itself is absolutely amazing. This game is: Power Grid
http://riograndegames.com/getFile.php?id=698
Power Grid is a heavily mechanical math game. The rules are difficult to read through….rightfully so. There are many rules included in the game that sound like “if this” do this. I called this game an anomaly because the rules essentially just get the job done. There is probably a better way to summarize them however, many of the if/and rules seem entirely required to make the game function the way it does. They are very logical once you digest them and begin playing the game. The main issue I have with the rules is some of the very important “special rules” are italicized as a notation in smaller font making them very easy to miss first or second time through. It is probably one of the more rewarding games once you make it past the rules.
All in all, rules should never feel like an impediment to an experience. An experience that should feel relatively fluid and enjoyable. Some rules I would highly recommend reading before bringing the game to your table top gaming night. Thanks for reading!