Hey everyone, Susan the Mustache! I'm willing to bet most of you recognize this iconic image made famous by Star Wars. Today I'm going to use Star Wars to help you write a better rulebook.
Yes I'm serious! Now that picture and the famous scrolling explanation at the beginning of the movie really can teach you about writing a good rulebook!
There was a game I wrote about quite a while back called Beneficiary. I had helped the creator make the rulebook better while it was entered in a game design contest on BoardGameGeek. His very first draft of the rulebook was missing something quite vital: the introduction.
Now, the introduction might not look vital to a rulebook at first glance. The rulebook still had all of the rules necessary to play the game so you might wonder why missing the introduction is such a big deal, it just explains the theme right?
WRONG! The introduction to a game does more then give us the theme, it gives us a frame in which to put the mechanics of a game so we can better understand them.
Take a look at Star Wars as a perfect example. Let's compare how this would work side by side.
Yes I'm serious! Now that picture and the famous scrolling explanation at the beginning of the movie really can teach you about writing a good rulebook!
There was a game I wrote about quite a while back called Beneficiary. I had helped the creator make the rulebook better while it was entered in a game design contest on BoardGameGeek. His very first draft of the rulebook was missing something quite vital: the introduction.
Now, the introduction might not look vital to a rulebook at first glance. The rulebook still had all of the rules necessary to play the game so you might wonder why missing the introduction is such a big deal, it just explains the theme right?
WRONG! The introduction to a game does more then give us the theme, it gives us a frame in which to put the mechanics of a game so we can better understand them.
Take a look at Star Wars as a perfect example. Let's compare how this would work side by side.
It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy.. | Instantly you see space. A spaceship is being shot at, you have no idea why. There are a bunch of people running around with guns, probably defending the ship from what? Are these the good or bad guys? Now there are two robots? Why are we watching robots talk now? Why are they important? What the heck ship is this anyways? Okay now we some some guys in armor! they look pretty tough, perhaps they are the bad guys! OH! A guy in a black cape! What is he after? |
Okay, maybe I exaggerated a tiny bit, but look at the beginning of that movie with no context and try to imagine it from the point of view of someone who has never seen a single Star Wars film. It would be really weird to be thrown in that way!
It's the same for your board game. If you know the context for what you are about to do the mechanics and rules of a game can make MUCH more sense and be a lot easier to learn because of this.
It's the same for your board game. If you know the context for what you are about to do the mechanics and rules of a game can make MUCH more sense and be a lot easier to learn because of this.
Now there are things to look out for as well with this. Let's use the game Uno as an example. The game isn't exactly overflowing with theme. Adding some sort of story to Uno (like saying it was an ancient game played by a mysterious tribe) wouldn't add anything to the game at all. It might even make it weirder to learn for people as they try to associate the theme with the mechanics. For Uno something as simple as explaining the win condition works best.
So remember when you sit down to work on your rulebook that a strong introduction, even if it is just how to win, is important. Until next time: Every Game Deserves A Good Rulebook.