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Looking for Feedback on Rulebook

8 replies [Last post]
Thu, 11/03/2011 - 15:31
lodus
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Joined: 10/22/2011

Okay, so I've been through quite a few playtests and I believe at this point I can start designing the final rulebook. Obviously my goal is to have it easily understood and organized. So here's what I was hoping for:

Every 1-3 days I'm going to post another 1-2 pages. I would be extremely grateful if people could give pages a read through and give me some feedback here; is the wording working for everyone, does it flow okay, does it logically move from one subject to another?

The pdf can be viewed here https://sites.google.com/site/kingscourtgame/downloads So please let me know what you think and don't hold back.

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Thu, 11/03/2011 - 19:17
#1
NativeTexan
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Nice Work

Great work so far. The rules look really well thought-out and have a nice flow to them. Also, the artwork for the game is excellent. Kudos!

A couple of suggestions:
- The gameboard gets lost in between the card graphics / descriptions and the 'Preparing the Game'. A visual of the map and some indication of how the terrain is identified and the distinction between provinces and territories would be great. I'm sure it is one of those things that is easy to point to on the board, but harder to describe. But consider it from the perspective of someone that has just opened the box!
- Somewhere in the rules I would like to see a 10,000ft overview of the game. Maybe this should go at the very front or maybe it goes at the start of 'Playing the Game', but I feel as though I am trying to divine the overall structure and flow of the game. I would have preferred to have something that gave me a 3-5 sentence walk-through at a high-level. For example: "Within each of the 20 rounds, there are 5 phases. Players will be making critical choices each round regarding how to invest their gold and maintain a balance between army size and territory controlled. Furthermore, hand management is essential as Unit Cards, Tactic Cards, and Noble Cards each provide important strategic advantages and you must be careful not to over-invest in any one category." I'm not even certain that the statements I just made are accurate, but hopefully it gives you the flavor of what I am going for with this comment.
- I'm sure you will get to this in a later update, but the next thing your rules really need is a complete round walk-through.

Keep up the great work!

RK Gabhart
Driftwood Games
www.driftwoodgames.com

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Thu, 11/03/2011 - 19:37
#2
Geikamir
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Impressive Art

I love the art and style/feel of the game. I am most impressed. Did you do the art yourself?

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Thu, 11/03/2011 - 19:51
#3
lodus
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Joined: 10/22/2011
graphics

thanks =) The pictures on the cards are just placeholders for right now. I have an artist working on the finals, but she's a college student so it's progressing slowly.

I made all the other graphics though (the player tracker sheets, the cards themselves, etc.)

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Thu, 11/03/2011 - 19:58
#4
lodus
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Joined: 10/22/2011
Thanks for the feedback =)

Thanks for the feedback =)

I'm glad you mentioned the terrain, provinces and territories because I wasn't sure if I was going to add graphics for those. As you said, once you see the gameboard it's easy to tell everything apart, but I'll add them into the rulebook as well if you think it's a good idea.

Also, the overview is a great idea. I knew I was forgetting something big and that's probably it. Thinking back, those have really helped a lot in other rulebooks I have. Coupled with the walkthrough you mention, I'll definitely add that.

And as you say, I'm going to make sure to bring everything together at the end =)

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Fri, 11/04/2011 - 05:36
#5
SLiV
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Joined: 10/21/2011
Some minor remarks

I've looked through the four pages, so here are some remarks. Some of them aren't really important, but I guess it can't do harm telling you.

In the section about Raze Tokens, a sentence ends with "rebuilt.", but there's another "rebuilt." on the next page. Also, in the section about Provinces and Territories, it says "controlls" instead of "controls".
In Preparing the Game, you mention army and lord figures, but they're not in the components list.
The board overview, right after preparing the game, mismatches 1. - 4. with a. - d. At the start of Playing the Game, you mention 5 different fases, but there are only 4.
Am I right that a player who has 3 cards draws only 1, but one who has 4 cards draws 2? Is there a specific reason for that?
What happens when a player has to pay 12 upkeep but has only 11 gold?
What are Dominance Cards? You hadn't mentioned them until the End Phase.
What happens if the Yes total equals the No total during Noble Voting?
You mentioned Noble Loyalty and bribing at the start, but you haven't explained them in the rest of the rules.

And I agree with NativeTexan, a summary would be nice.

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Fri, 11/04/2011 - 11:17
#6
jojodio99
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Joined: 10/30/2011
Rulebook Layout

The rulebook design is pretty good from what I have seen, the images are clean and colorful, which is a huge plus. I feel that the descriptions in the beginning are a little sparse, I understand you may want to conserve space, but one sentence descriptions are too short, I think you should elaborate a little more so each heading has at least a couple of sentences, it makes the game look more "complete". I really like the voting aspect at the end of the rules, its a nice touch. Overall, I appreciate the way you presented the rulebook, and the short nature of it is something more games should strive towards, as really long rules sheets are annoying, this is just my personal opinion.

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Fri, 11/04/2011 - 12:00
#7
lodus
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Joined: 10/22/2011
Thanks a lot sliv, I needed

Thanks a lot sliv, I needed those corrections =)

I'll definitely fix all that up, usually when I write down the rules I get so focused on explaining one phase or action that I miss a ton of other stuff.

A player who has 4 cards draws 2, and a player who has less then 4 draws until they have four. I must have left that out, sorry.

The lack of funds for armies, dominance cards and a tie during voting are just things I forgot to add, I'll fix those sections up, but the rest of the Noble and Royal Court system will appear on the next page.

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Fri, 11/04/2011 - 12:02
#8
lodus
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Joined: 10/22/2011
Thanks for the reply jojodio,

Thanks for the reply jojodio, I'll add more description at the beginning. You're right that I was trying to conserve space there, but it's more important to have everything fleshed out and understood.

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