Stop Changing Board Game Rules
Ever notice that every time you play classic American board games there are disputes? Regardless of how clearly you lay out the ground rules, or when you are playing with/against, you will ultimately disagree with an action.
I know it’s “only a game,” but without consistent rules and enforcement, it’s not a game, it’s anarchy.
- You can’t put random amounts into Free Parking during Monopoly.
- ‘Triple Word Score’ only gets used once.
- Trading tiles mid-game is unacceptable.
And so on. Find the game of your choice and I’ll bet you find a problem each and every time you play. There are a few ways to clean up this game-playing mess.
1) Games should come with simple and clear instructions. I don’t need diagrams or 17 different different languages. Just give me concise and clear bullet points of what can/can’t happen.
2) There should be a single Web site that houses rules for every game. It can be sorted by version and release date. If there’s a game, this online destination will have the rules. When there’s a dispute, you will always have a 24/7 resolution center. Kinda like this site).
3) The person who botches the rules and causes a delay of game should be penalized. Perhaps there should be an international standard punishment that works across all games.
There is one rule you most definitely should keep in mind: If you’re playing against Jack of All Blogs, he’s always right. So don’t question me. Ever.
Actually, there’s a much better site for that type of information out there already – boardgamegeeks.com. It has vastly more games with a lot more information including recommendations, rule variation suggestions and general information.
Board Games Canada said this on December 30, 2008 3:16 am