A game over 100 years old! Man has the time flown for this classic board game. This celebrated it's 100th anniversary last year, quite a legacy for a game. After talking to my great grandparents about games I have played of this with them I wondered what did the rulebook look like so many years ago?
I did some looking and the oldest rulebook for the game I could find online was the rulebook from the 1963 version of the game. Go see what an old school rulebook looks like by clicking here.
I did some looking and the oldest rulebook for the game I could find online was the rulebook from the 1963 version of the game. Go see what an old school rulebook looks like by clicking here.
Were rules better "back in the good old days"? I can't say they were. There were major walls of text and very few diagrams. The writing feels clunky, though some of that might be just living and speaking in this day and age.
There are good things as well though: All of the varients are towards the end, a good organization choice. There are at least some examples of play and pictures. Some old rulebooks have NONE and deliver gameplay instructions only through text something we know is very bad. Players being referred to as A, B, C, and D, everything in numbered lists, it's just so different then what we see today.
It's interesting to see how things were done in a different time compared to now, everything from the layout to how the instructions are ordered all does have an old feel to it and it's amazing to see where we've come in all of these years not just in games, but in rulebook quality as well.
If you happen to have a new copy of Flinch or an old one laying around, give it a look and see how they compare. What do you think this rulebook did well and wrong, and how does it compare to rulebooks today in your opinion? I want to hear what you have to say so be sure to drop a comment. Until next time: Every Game Deserves A Good Rulebook.
There are good things as well though: All of the varients are towards the end, a good organization choice. There are at least some examples of play and pictures. Some old rulebooks have NONE and deliver gameplay instructions only through text something we know is very bad. Players being referred to as A, B, C, and D, everything in numbered lists, it's just so different then what we see today.
It's interesting to see how things were done in a different time compared to now, everything from the layout to how the instructions are ordered all does have an old feel to it and it's amazing to see where we've come in all of these years not just in games, but in rulebook quality as well.
If you happen to have a new copy of Flinch or an old one laying around, give it a look and see how they compare. What do you think this rulebook did well and wrong, and how does it compare to rulebooks today in your opinion? I want to hear what you have to say so be sure to drop a comment. Until next time: Every Game Deserves A Good Rulebook.