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For the most part miniatures game rulebooks are all pretty much the same, give or take a few things they might change the order a bit.

- Story Intro
- Basic Game Terminology and Concepts
- Game Summary
- Basic Rules
- Advanced Rules
- Army Information
- Lore

Ultimately the rulebook and how it is laid out is important. It is one of the first things gamers look into, both new and old. Even though the 'Basic Game Terminology and Concepts' aren't usually need for the majority, they have to have it for new players. For the most part the rulebooks are the same, but there are some things that rulebooks do that tend to drive me crazy. IE: RPG rulebooks can be written similar to miniatures game rulebooks, but they tend to contain a lot of "(refer to page xxx-xxx for more information)" or something similar.

Some rulebooks are written to be read in order from start to finish, you can read along as you play the game in each phase. Others might give the basics, for example what a short action (shoot, move) or long action (sprint, suppression) but more advanced rules and choices are further in the back (grenades, stealth, cover).

Is there a particular layout or order of information that is fed to you, that you prefer?

Is there something that a particular rulebook did that you liked and why?

Star Fleet Battles, one of the best books I've ever learnt a game from. Modular design, clear definitions, fluff and rules separate, cross referenced, indexed, illustrated, defined and consistent terms. Not an easy 'read' but a very good rule book

All rules are numbered, logically into sections for cross referencing easily and makes finding stuff reasonably simple.

Then packaged with basic rules to get you going as one volume, more advanced rules in another then more specialist stuff in further expansions.

Rules that are 'optional' are very clear, with an indication of what you gain and at what cost for using them

For any rulebook (miniatures, RPG, etc.) I prefer brief introduction, followed immediately by the core mechanic(s) of the game, even if it's just one or two pages. Nothing worse than reading the section after the introduction and not knowing what you're reading because you don't yet know how that relates to the game ("Oooo...Elves get a +1 to be Pointy Eared! That rocks!" <fifty pages later> "Wait...that's a +1 on a D100?!? That's crap!")

leopard wrote:
Star Fleet Battles, one of the best books I've ever learnt a game from. Modular design, clear definitions, fluff and rules separate, cross referenced, indexed, illustrated, defined and consistent terms. Not an easy 'read' but a very good rule book

All rules are numbered, logically into sections for cross referencing easily and makes finding stuff reasonably simple.

Then packaged with basic rules to get you going as one volume, more advanced rules in another then more specialist stuff in further expansions.

Rules that are 'optional' are very clear, with an indication of what you gain and at what cost for using them

SFB did have the best rulebook ever for a wargame. Clear, concise, well organized, modular, and cross-referenced to the gills. I think I kept mine in a 4” D-ring binder. Once you added some of the advanced options, like fighters etc. it ended up thicker then the yellow pages. However, if you had any rules issues come up in a game they could be solved quickly, without argument.

But it was a massive, impenetrable wall of text. Not very user friendly. A lot of my group’s learning to play experience involved people doing research into obscure aspects of the rules and then springing them on each other to lethal effect. After a while we had everything down pat.

I think a lot can be learned from boardgame rulebooks and from colour coding.

I want an index,

the longer the rule book is the more I want an index

I also want all tables/templates and preferably a quick reference sheet in one place to refer to or copy

that said

basic introduction


basic rules with an play example
advanced rules with a play example (although if the game is fairly straightforward don't split it up)

tech/things/armies/equipment for game play (you can add a bit of flavour/background here)

story/background etc (or this could be after the basic introduction, less common but I get hooked by worlds rather than mechanics so I prefer it there)


I don't like being referred all over the place when learning the game so either make sure every concept is introduced in order, or duplicate stuff in brief (referring for a more detailed explanation is ok as long as there's enough ti be getting on with)

and an index!

I like the stories in the Wrath of Kings book, if you can get a good enough writer it really helps set up the world compared to more 'instructional' text

There is no excuse to not have an index these days, I prefer the fluff and the rules separate.

I actually hadn't listed an Index because I kind of believe an Index is a given. Most games there are a lot of actions that can be done, having an easy reference that someone can just look up and then go to a page is much easier than having to skim a section. Are there actual books that don't have indexes these days?

Diagrams.

Especially for an RPG, I think the setting and background should be first - it's the most important part of the thing, after all.

The SFB numbered sections and sub-sections idea sounds good; I think the problem with SFB was the sheer length of the rules, rather than the layout as such. Perhaps a greater use of diagrams and colour would help there.

Also, examples. And make sure such examples cover a good few edge cases (or at the very least, put up explanations of those edge cases online, if they'd take up too much room in the book).

Make sure Index is right at the back. OK, a one-page advert for the rest of the game line is OK, if you must, but otherwise, I want to open the back cover, and there it is. the Infinity rulebook puts the Index before the quick reference pages, and it's incredibly annoying.

The basic structure of the 40k rules isn't too bad, in my opinion; basic intro to wargames, then to 40k specifically. Then the basic rules, in the order you use them, with the special rules at the end of each section, then on to the next section. The setup/scenery/scenarios part of the book is the messiest, I think; that could do with some work.

 AndrewGPaul wrote:
Make sure Index is right at the back. OK, a one-page advert for the rest of the game line is OK, if you must, but otherwise, I want to open the back cover, and there it is. the Infinity rulebook puts the Index before the quick reference pages, and it's incredibly annoying.

That is good to know that I wasn't the only one that thought that then. I like reference pages, but in most casts don't most people already have those printed off separate from the book. I mean having them in the book is good, but if I have to look something up I'm normally referring to the rulebook so I want easy access, quickly to the index.

Duly noted. I shall be amending my rulebook forthwith

I'm starting to really dislike the Basic Rules and Advanced Rules division, especially for cases like Infinity where the Advanced Rules contain things like Hacking which are considered integral to the rest of the game.

Army information is probably better placed in a supplemental booklet, and another supplemental booklet containing a tutorial or game play lessons (like the booklet in Malifaux's new starter set) are really useful. I hear really good things about the new dual booklet style that Fantasy Flight Games has introduced for things like the Star Wars box for the new movie--one book for teaching people to play, another book for the reference book and all of the special rules and such.

QuickStart steps and a simple turn breakdown diagram very early on make me happy.
I'm a learn-through-doing person, I prefer getting into the swing of it rather than reading dry theory.

Agree on index at the back, and a _useful_ index, which is not an easy thing to get right.

SFB is amazing, however that book is somewhat on the large side, but its a complex game so perhaps they style they used means it has to be - results in a very workable document, but one you will read when you have to.

Its a game you can love, with a rulebook only a lawyer or accountant will love, everyone else will just use it. Guess it helps they don't need much 'fluff' in there.

I know that I hate the way Fantasy Flight do rules. They always manage to take something quite simple and make it seem insanely complicated. There has been more than one occasion where we've sat down to try a new game and had to give up because it was taking too long. It's only later after studying the rulebook cover to cover in the quiet of my own home that I realize the rules are quite simple.

I think what I really want, and what I believe most people want (based on my extensive experience of having people stare expectantly at me as I struggle with a rulebook), is a basic overview of how to play the game. Ideally, this should be as short as possible, and try to cover the core concepts of the game, what makes it a game, what I am aiming to do in order to win etc... I wouldn't call this "basic rules", more like a "big picture". Too often reading FF rules, it feels like I'm putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and I have no idea what it's supposed to look like when it's finished. Hopefully, when you have enough of the parts down a picture will emerge, but that's little comfort when you're just starting out with a new game.

I also really enjoy the FAQ format. I think it gets straight to the point of many issues without needing to be wrapped in any convoluted grammar or narrative, and I think it mirrors most closely how people actually learn games. It also leaves less room for ambiguity.

Look at the Bolt Action Rulebook for an example of one of the best looking rulebooks ever.

 snurl wrote:
Look at the Bolt Action Rulebook for an example of one of the best looking rulebooks ever.

I will second this, the BA rule book looks amazing.

At the moment the cable of contents will look like this (generally):

Small intro
Basic Game Rules
Players Guide/Char Creation
Items/Magic Items
Game Runners Guide
Bestiary


That is a fairly basic overview. I have the Rules/Players Guide/Items part finished but got hung up on the GR Guide. I have a template for the Bestiary as well and notes on it but that damned GR Guide.

Non-vague rules language or "authors notes" to confuse people.
Simple keywords that dont step over each other.
a proper table of contents.

So basically GW with all the fat trimmed out and about as far away from D wars rule book table of contents.

 Dark Severance wrote:
I actually hadn't listed an Index because I kind of believe an Index is a given. Most games there are a lot of actions that can be done, having an easy reference that someone can just look up and then go to a page is much easier than having to skim a section. Are there actual books that don't have indexes these days?

Age of Sigmar.

It's only 4 pages, so the index and table of contents are both wasted.