Thursday 27 October 2016

Publishing Advice #15: Green and Red Zones


There is quite a lot written about Green and Red zones. Some people will add a Yellow, Blue or Purple zones. There are available long psychological articles and books on the subject. I really, do not want to go there. However, I'd like to write about this from the perspective of a board game designer/publisher using quite a lot simplifications. This article will not be a scientific analysis but more my personal view.  Anyway, awareness on the subject is crucial. It will help to maintain our stamina, to work in a peaceful, joyful and efficient way. Otherwise, we can start hating our hobby, passion and finish with a breakdown.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Publishing Advice #14: How to Write an Excellent Rulebook


Imagine you got a new game. Before you bought it, you read and watched a few reviews. It looks like you going to have a lot of fun! The box is big and heavy! In excitement, you are quickly unwrapping the game and opening it to see high-quality components: thick game board, loads of cards, wooden tokens and miniatures! Wow, if the gameplay is at least half good as your first impression you gonna have a great time with your friends!

Next day your mates came around to play the game for the first time. So you are opening the rulebook, and that's how your great first impression is gone! You can't get through it, and everyone gets annoyed. You can't figure out how to play the game from the manual! So you are trying to interpret the missing bits with your team. You play, and the experience is horrible. Your game drives you mad! Rubbish, you think!

But does that mean the game was so terrible? Maybe it is one of the best games on the market? Because of the poorly written rulebook, you can't say. You can only say the rulebook is rubbish!