That overheard comment about rulebooks got me thinking at the coffee shop

I was sitting at a Starbucks downtown yesterday and heard two guys talking about how modern board game rulebooks are way too long compared to the ones from the 80s. One said he missed the old Avalon Hill days where you got a single page of tiny text and had to figure the rest out yourself. It made me realize how much I actually enjoy those dense, confusing rulebooks from back then even though they drove me crazy. Has anyone else noticed the shift toward 30 page full color manuals and do you prefer the old way?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanpalmer8d ago

Did you see that post from a game designer on BGG last week? They were talking about how old rulebooks were basically just a list of legal moves and you had to guess the spirit of the rules. I remember my dad's copy of Squad Leader had a rulebook that was literally just a single page of instructions and we spent hours arguing about what counted as a legitimate move. There's something about that frustration that made winning feel more earned, you know?

maxhart7d ago

Yeah, that Squad Leader thing is a classic example. My advice if you're stuck with a vague rulebook from that era is to grab a marker and write your own quick notes right in the margins. I did that with an old copy of Diplomacy and it saved so many arguments later. The frustration is part of the charm, but you can cut down on the wasted time by just making a tiny reference list for yourself on the back page.