Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Just a quick poll... wondering what you folks think... If you were getting into a new game, how would you like the rules presented in this day and age?

Traditional Printed Rulebook?

Full color high quality PDF? Maybe with print-on-demand options so you can get the printed book if you want

Interactive PDF? With "high tech" things like "how to play" videos embeded in it, or modeling & painting tutorials, etc, mostly for tablets and smartphones?

Mostly plain text ePub file for Kindles and other e-readers?

One big website with everything online, including army list building & sharing and other community stuff?

It's a multiple choice poll so pick whatever you want

Any other ideas? Explain please

It might be expensive, but I love my 5th ed. 40k book. Worth the 50 bucks when I bought it.

Printed and ebook. Nice to read and have a solid book, ebook transportable and easier to update.

Printed mini rulebook.

I like my BRB.

While I love my iPad and have started using it for things like army lists, I am still a big fan of printed rulebooks. I find them easier to search through in-game (especially if there is an index!), and I still enjoy paging through a nice color book in my free time. Plus, there is no need to worry about battery life .

I have a strong suspicion that the future of rulebooks is in some form of app, with interactive exapmlpes of play. The advantage of an app over a standard rulebook would include less piracy, notifications of updates (faqs) and in the case of codexes you can bundle them with an army list builder.

You might have noted that GW's IP hammer has struck against those list programs that are based on mobile devices recently...

Printed mini rulebook.

PDFs are useful but I do like having a physical reference point that doesn't depend on having a computer or tablet to hand.

I think interactive examples of play are a great idea. They will require a new set of production skills to create.

hmm looks like most folks are liking printed books better. I would have thought all us computer nerd would rather have PDFs. I like having a book to flip through, but I also like the idea of having it be electronic, and never having to worry about errata and stuff like that, since you could always just download the latest version. Or even have it be like an App that updates itself. I don't have an iPad or tablet but if I did I think I'd really like having that for my rules and army lists all in one place.. with a remote themonuclear self destruct option, in case anyone steals it.

Printed, full color, and hardback.

I may be of the younger generation, but I'll always take a book over a pdf or e-book.

I voted simply for printed, but I do have a kind of caveat.

I want printed with a registration key that can be redeemed online for an eBook or PDF with an option for "Full" or "Condensed" rules that can be chosen by the user.

Bestest lol.

Other, but you don't have that. My preferred option would be a mini rule book / codex with just rules, for cheap of course.

I guess internet would be cool if they could get it to work well with mobile browsers and had a decent search function.

Articles are fine on screen, all else is printed.

I spend all day looking at a screen, its nice (and healthier) to not have to look at one for everything.

The only gaming pdf rulebook I ever got is the Mordheim one, and I printed that off the second it finished downloading.

Books are actually more portable, for me, since my laptop weighs as much as a small child and has the footprint of a cafeteria tray at sumo wrestling camp. That said, I do like having PDFs available. I don't need serious widgetry like embedded videos and whatnot, but they can be a bit painful if they don't at least have internal links (at least from a table of contents). Nothing beats a good book, though, as far as I'm concerned (including GW's mini-rulebooks, which are terribly convenient, if a tad unfulfilling if they're all you have).

What I really like is Corvus Belli's approach for Infinity. They've got big, pretty, fluff- and picture-packed hardcover rulebooks which include weapons and army lists (no codices for different factions - just the one book,then the expansion) you can buy. If you want to check the system out first, or you want an extra copy for transport/backup/quick reference, they've got the full rules (minus the pretty pictures and background, like a GW mini-book) available as a free PDF (which you could, of course, print out as a light and expendable copy). If you need to double-check a particular rule quickly, there's a wiki for that. For more ambiguous questions, you can go on the official forums to get answers from the source (after a while, of course, so head to the book/PDF/wiki while you're playing). From the same site where you'll find the free PDF and the forums, you can also find a Flash army list builder, as well as links to 3rd party programs users have recommended. Oh, and they have a bunch of introductory and tutorial videos, which are being expanded, thanks to the partnership with BoW.

I'd say that's more or less all the bases are covered. The only shortcoming is the quality of the PDF, itself - no table of contents or index is included and, while the file is nice and small, the compression shows (it's more than legible, mostly the diagrams just look grainy). Hope I don't come off sounding like too much of a fanboy, but I really was impressed with the whole system, even ignoring the gameplay and models.

oadie wrote:Books are actually more portable, for me, since my laptop weighs as much as a small child and has the footprint of a cafeteria tray at sumo wrestling camp. That said, I do like having PDFs available. I don't need serious widgetry like embedded videos and whatnot, but they can be a bit painful if they don't at least have internal links (at least from a table of contents). Nothing beats a good book, though, as far as I'm concerned (including GW's mini-rulebooks, which are terribly convenient, if a tad unfulfilling if they're all you have).

From your description i'd guess your laptop is either elderly or a big desktop-replacement gamer laptop.

In either case, won't you eventually reach a 'tipping point' as far as the weight issue? I.E. eventually the stack of books is going to outweigh your laptop, especially if you play 2-3 games.

(For a while I needed a couple different books for my Sisters of Battle. I think it was Chapter Approved, ImpGuard, and either Assassins or Daemonhunters. Ugly combo, admittedly one reason GW doesn't write codices with dependencies anymore. And don't forget the rulebook, which ways more than a lot of laptops.)

I do prefer books for general reading and absorbing material... But PDFs are great for quick reference.

I like my Rulebook to be a book.

Really not interested in PDFs or virtual media right now.

Printed full-size A4 format for army books, mini format for the main rulebook.

Printed rulebook.

People cheat with dice and I have already on two occasions met people who used printed-out rules that they had modified the words so they could cheat. I would never trust or accept an electronic codex mid-game. The only way I can confirm the rules is with a printed book.

And I am not a technophobe or and old Fuddyduddy, I use my Ipad all the time, it has no place in a FLGS or a tourney. It is distracting and takes more time in an already short gametime than a book. Also, it is more prone to get damaged or stolen. I see the way people shoplift and I already have to make sure 100+ of my minis don't walk when I game, I am not going to have time to focus on my Ipad from disappearing.

Also, Phones are dirty... I would never want to touch your phone to read your screen to verify a rule. It is all on your face, near your mouth, your fingers dragged all over it and in your butt pocket. No thanks.

Besides... what people really want is an electronic army list creator with the rules built-in. No one uses a codex for anything but rule disputes while playing. Even if we had electronic codexes, we would still need our paper armylists. And if you are so driven to have electronic armylists, you can do that now with PDF and armybuilder. Most times the Codexes can stay on the shelf or in the bag.

Mini rulebook being cheap and plentiful was the best thing GW did. I love my little book.

I like printed books, something about owning a digital anything bothers me as I only have a file on a computer, it just does not feel real to me.
I also like the feel of a real book, flicking thru a e-reader looking for the right page would be strange, and PDF's are going to be little use mid game unless i always have my computer next to my gaming board.
So for pratical reasons i want actual books i can hold.

Printed rulebook. I like the feel of flipping through a book. And I like collecting things. A stripped down pdf version of just rules without the pretty pictures would be great alongside the book.