By Monte Lin, Associate Editor
Image courtesy of Unsplash
I’m the one who teaches how to play a boardgame. I also say this is why I often lose; a lot of my brainpower is used making sure I understand the rules so everyone else understands, leaving little brainpower for me to actually play. And if all of my brainpower is focused on untangling a confusing rulebook, then it’s less fun for everyone.
A rulebook blends both creative writing and technical writing, and a good editor must have skills in both. Not many people enjoy dry, legalistic writing but unclear terms and descriptions can confuse and frustrate. And a confusing or frustrating rulebook prevents the fun a game promises even before starting play.
So here are some guidelines I go by when editing game rules:
A) Think like a software QA tester. A good QA tester simply doesn’t “play the game” but thinks about odd strategies or strange decisions, imagining edge cases to see what breaks. Rules editors have to keep an eye out for how wording can be misinterpreted or where vague language can lead to people playing the game incorrectly.
For example, if your rule to score points mentions “gem cards,” “gems,” and “jewels” and each gem card has an image of multiple gemstones, do you gain points based on the number of cards or gemstone images if it says you get “10 points for each jewel”?
B) Keep an eye on word choice. While consistency in terms is important (see my previous example with “gem,” “gem card,” and “jewel”), the verb usage can change the context. Some game rules act like programming scripts: If this happens, then this other thing happens. But some game rules present choices to the player. Make sure the language reflects choices versus instructions to follow.
For example, may is optional, based on player’s choice, such as “You may purchase a card at the end of your turn.” Must is mandatory, so a player must follow this rule, such as “You must move your pawn into a new space.” So how about “use” or “spend”? If a rule is “Use a token,” does it go away, return to you, or remain on the table? Do you have to do it, or is it a choice?
C) Watch your word use, its repetition, and capitalization. If you have a game term, like “token,” make sure you don’t refer to something else as a “token” unless you mean it, especially if you have multiple kinds of tokens: for currency, to keep track of your score, to represent your pieces, and so on.
Some rulebooks use capitalization to denote Important Game Terms, but beware of overcapitalization. (I’d avoid capitalization entirely.) Imagine reading nonstop sentences like “Place a Money Token on a Gem Card in order to Score a Scoring Token for each Jewel.”
Lastly, look out for over-repeating words: “Take a token on your turn, place the token on the board, leave the token at the end of your turn, but remove the token if another player counters the token.”
D) The format itself can cause confusion. Imagine a gathering of tired, distracted adults (i.e. parents) trying to read the rulebook. Are there huge blocks of text where tired eyes can easily get lost? How tiny is the text? Is the example or diagram in the correct paragraph? Do the diagrams change the direction of reading? Even an orphaned line or word can cause a reader to miss vital language.
E) Be wary of rules exceptions. Is a rule really four rules in a trench coat? Are those four rules scattered across different sections of the rulebook? If you have discovered a bunch of exceptions, maybe they need to be compiled together into one place. Or maybe the initial rule needs a rewrite.
Many players forget rules when there is too much information, and a simple rule becomes complicated if players can’t remember it. Exceptions, overcapitalization, and terminology increase this information overload. Diagrams placed oddly or rules in different places increase the brainpower required. Brainpower needed to play the game in the first place.
I hope this gives a good overview of what it’s like to edit for games. (And this doesn’t even cover the differences between a rulebook, a reference document, and a tutorial!) So when editing for games, keep these points in mind to help players keep that information overload low, and to help me save my brainpower for winning a game for once!
While being rained on near Portland, Oregon, Monte Lin edits, writes, and plays tabletop roleplaying games and writes short stories. His credits include Magpie Games’s hits Avatar: Legends and Urban Shadows, and other games from Angry Hamster Publishing, Paizo, Green Ronin, and Fantasy Flight/Edge. He is managing editor of Uncanny Magazine and can be found posting on Asian American diaspora discourse and his board game losses on Bluesky @montelin.bsky.social.
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