Rule-Writing Post 1

Rule-Writing Post 1

Halsningar, mortals!

That's some real metal nonsense right there.

So, anyway.

Yes, I'm behind on the blog posts, but I'll fix that soon. You have my word.

But that's not important! What's important is writing rules well. I've been asked to do two short blogs posts about this, so I'm going to do the first short reading in this one, and the other short reading in the next, k? K.


So, first reading was by J. Seigel; How to Write Rules (Without Confusing People).

Rules of the game, Seigel says, are the most important thing for players to understand about a game; in a non-digital game, if they don't understand the rules then they can't play at all.

Therefore, the rules should be well-written to enable players to play the game.

Firstly, according to Seigel, rules should leave no stone unturned; players should not be questioning meaning or be unsure about interpretation of something. On the other hand, rules should be concise; players don't want to read books here, that's not what they came to do.

Seigel then offers these pointers to help write good rules:

1. Flavour First: If a game has a narrative binding the mechanics together, make the narrative clear immediately, as this offers context for players to better understand the mechanics.

2. Get the Boring Stuff Out of the Way First: After narrative, list the materials the game needs, and any pre-game setup instructions. If this gets too wordy or overly complex, slim the text down and include illustrations to help explain.

3. Begin with the End: The first rule you should give is the win condition. This helps players to understand how the other mechanics build into victory.

4. General to Specific: Describe the broader, more general rules first, and then get into details about exceptions and instances. Explain what happens most often before what happens least often.

5. Tell Players What They Can do Before What They Can't: Always explain the least constricting rules before the most constricting.

Finally, Seigel gives us a few tips. For example, it's best to use short sentences and low-end vocabulary, as well as illustrations when necessary. Also, a page of text is intimidating. Use white space and breakers such as bullet points and short paragraphs to stop things from getting too heavy. Seigel also tells us to be friendly to the reader, and use a light-hearted tone if it doesn't contradict the theme of the game.

Overall, these are some damned fine points he makes. They generally make sense and I feel they could really add to my ability to write rules for non-digital games.

My only issue with this is the third major point: begin with the end. In my experience of many games, the winning condition is heavily reliant on mechanics that need to be explained before using them to explain something else. That's more or less my only concern with this otherwise decent, concise piece of reading.

The second post will be up momentarily, mortals!

In a bit! Praise the Emperor!