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I used to rewrite board game rulebooks as a hobby. I was getting good at it, but something still felt wrong about it. Then I took grad school classes in technical writing. And then I started to hate all rulebooks. And I had to write 90 pages and a new rulebook about it. Latest draft on my site.

boardgametextbook.comboardgametextbook.com

Fetish's Barely Disguised Author

@lynnlandra.bsky.social

18 Jan 2025

This is a fascinating thought. I'm in the RPG side more than board games, but I feel like RPGs are just as bad, if not worse. Many of them basically assume someone will teach you in person.

Dean Ray Johnson ⚪

@boardgametextbook.com

In my essay, I deliberately said at one point "Tabletop RPGs have their own problems that are beyond the scope of this essay." I have no idea how people even manage to get into TTRPGs in the first place. At what point did we decide to just sit down and decipher that entire tome of details?

19/1/25, 1:23 am0 reposts3 likes

Fetish's Barely Disguised Author

@lynnlandra.bsky.social

19 Jan 2025

In my experience it's just been a tradition that experienced people teach the new people in their group. It's a mixed bag IMO. On one hand you get a kind of "passed down lore" that adds a whole hell of a lot to the vibe. On the other hand some people are bad teachers, or are hard to find.