Mike Selinker’s 10 rules for rule writing – Kobold Guide to Board Game Design page 90-98
- Don’t use intermediary terminology – just call items what they are
- Use real words – Once you have a real word for something, don’t call that something anything else
- Make no more work than necessary – Players shouldn’t be required to exert themselves to learn the game – remove any unnecessary rules
- Add Flavor – but not too much
- Rules should be no smarter than your reader
- Don’t include a rule you can’t write – meaning if you can’t explain it don’t include it
- Take a breath – keep it short and be succinct
- Go easy on the eyes – rules should be legible and formatted to be easy to scan
- Playtest – every version of the rules, and (visit the writing center for editing if needed)
Your rule sets should use the following outline:
- What is the objective of the Game
- Define the required materials for play
- Describe the Setup
- What goes where
- Who goes first
- What resources do they get
- How & when do they get them
- What happens on a players turn
- What actions can the player take
- How can other players respond to those actions outside of their own turn
- If necessary describe what happens at the end of a turn/ round
- Define Winning and or Losing
- Outside of setup, turns and winning/losing give us the details on specific cards, token movement, etc. Provide visual examples for clarity.