How to Write Clear Rules (and game design documents)

Learn how to write clear and effective rules for tabletop games to ensure correct gameplay and enhance player experience.

  • Overview
  • Curriculum
  • Instructor
  • Review

Brief Summary

This course teaches you how to write clear and effective rules for tabletop games, crucial for ensuring players enjoy your game correctly. It covers the do's and don'ts, aiming to help you create a solid rulebook through playtesting and insightful tips from an expert.

Key Points

  • Importance of clear rules in game design
  • Differentiate rules writing for tabletop and video games
  • Playtest and polish rules based on feedback
  • Identify common mistakes and how to avoid them
  • Elements of a good game design document

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the key elements of writing effective game rules
  • Recognize challenges faced by rules writers and solutions
  • Learn the importance of feedback from playtesting
  • Gain insights into creating comprehensive game design documents
  • Improve your rule writing based on best practices

About This Course

Poorly written published rules can ruin a tabletop game. Rules/design documents may be the hardest part of game design.

If you're doing it right, one of the hardest parts of game design is writing clear rules. If you mess it up, your game will be a dud, no matter how good the actual game is - because it won't be played correctly. How to write rules varies with your audience - of course. Polish the rules as you playtest.

If you're designing a video game for other people to produce (program, art, sound, etc.) then you have to write very clear game design documents if you want things to work as you envision.

This course is primarily about writing formal rules for games, usually tabletop games, but writing a game design document requires similar skills, as it must explicitly describe every possible interaction between player(s) and machine.

Review:

A other great course from Dr. Lewis Pulsipher. This is an one of a kind course on Udemy (the internet) about how to write rules for tabletop (board) games. All the do's and don'ts are discussed and more. From this course you will get some great tips if your planning to make a tabletop game your self. Highly recommend to watch. The teacher talks very clear and is easy to follow.

Jimmy Voskuil

Recommendation (from email to me):

"Last year I entered one of my games in the international Hippodice boardgame competition in Germany. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the final but did make it through to the first 33 (out 150) which meant it was playtested.

They were so good as to give me some test results feedback a few months later. One of the most positive points was with regard to the rules!

So I just wanted to thank you because by following your rules course, I picked up many things which improved the rulebook before I sent it off. Now I just need to use their feedback to improve the game some more - its overall score was good just not good enough for the final!"

Mark Bethell

  • Understand the purposes of rules writing

  • Recognize "the enemy" of rules writers and what you can do about it

  • Understand all the details involved in rules writing

Course Curriculum

Instructor

Profile photo of Lewis Pulsipher
Lewis Pulsipher

Dr. Lewis Pulsipher (Wikipedia: "Lewis Pulsipher"; "Britannia (board game)"; "Archomental" ) is the designer of approaching a dozen commercially published boardgames.  His game "Britannia" is described in an Armchair General review "as one of the great titles in the world of games."  Britannia was also one of the 100 games highlighted in the book "Hobby Games: the 100 Best".  He...

Review
4.9 course rating
4K ratings
ui-avatar of Glenn Fredric
Glenn F.
3.5
4 years ago

Speaker is clear and concise with interesting points of view.

  • Helpful
  • Not helpful
ui-avatar of Nils Julnes
Nils J.
5.0
8 years ago

Very clear and simple. Each video is in essence contained and refers generally to past videos only; sometimes other lessens but seldom.

  • Helpful
  • Not helpful
ui-avatar of Jimmy Voskuil
Jimmy V.
5.0
11 years ago

A other great course from Dr. Lewis Pulsipher. This is an one of a kind course on Udemy (the internet) about how to write rules for tabletop (board) games. All the do's and don'ts are discussed and more. From this course you will get some great tips if your planning to make a tabletop game your self. Highly recommend to watch. The teacher talks very clear and is easy to follow.

  • Helpful
  • Not helpful
Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ratings

Courses You May Like

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet elit
Show More Courses