The Game is the Thing

Tom Stearns

(gohrns)

United States
Houston
Texas

Does anybody read designer notes at the back of rule books anymore? I have noticed that many new games lack designer notes all together. One of the things I loved about Dean Essig games were the designer notes.

A brief check of 3 of my latest acquisitions from GMT Games, Normandy '44, Clash of Monarchs and The Conquerors: Alexander the Great revealed that 2 of the 3 had designer notes. Normandy 44 had a brief 1 1/2 page designer notes section. Clash of Monarchs was by far the most detailed. Alexander had none. COM and NORM44 have detailed examples of play that go on for pages. TC:AtG has examples through out the rules.

I love designer notes. Many times I skip reading the rules and head straight for the back of the rule book to find them. After reading the rules, they really help clarify aspects of the rules that may be confusing. Putting them into a context of reasoning. Avalon Hill and SPI were really good at including detailed designer notes for their games. For me they also give insight about how best to approach a game. If playing a game with an unfamiliar system or about an unfamiliar battle or campaign, designer notes can guide you through the learning process. Lose a game because you had bad strategy, okay; but lose a game because you made mistakes related to the system or mechanics, well that is just plain unacceptable.

In my opinion, the advent of CDG's calls for a return to detailed designer notes. One of the reason's I don't enjoy Dominion is you have to have an understanding of how the card combinations interact. You can only learn this through experience. If I am not going to play it 100 times, then I am always going to be behind the eight ball against most other players of the game. One friend asked me before we began playing if I had played Magic: The Gathering CCG. I said no. He said well, too bad because that would help you play this game better. Now with the CDG's I notice that the rules include detailed information about the cards in the game, their description and their relation to real life events. What I don't see is much information about how they are best utilized, in combination with units or other cards.

Some people will say that they don't want to know up front. They want to learn through play of the game. Some of these games are not quick playing (see COM). I don't want to spend an entire day or weekend playing a game, only to learn I screwed up my game play. Give me more to work with. I'm not asking for it on a silver platter. Just give me more information about card interaction. I saw on COM forumn a question about not rolling well with the play of the Karl von Zinzendorf card and how it will effect the economy of Austria. How can you know what strategy to utilize in the game without better information about how the cards impact the strategy?

A big thank you to the publishers and designers who continue to give us designer notes at the back of the rule books.

Designer Notes....Gotta Lov'em

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