But must there be rules?

When players start a game they implicitly agree on the goal, but also on the rules. The rules are limitations (self-imposed by the players) for the duration of the game. The goal of a game might well be achievable in an easier way without the rules - but that would be cheating, which means the end of play.

The rules themselves should be clear from the start. It is possible to encounter fresh interpretations during a game, which can only be resolved if all players can agree on the new interpretation. Otherwise, again, it results in the end of play.

This post is part of a series, the first installment is found here:

Terrible Games

Lessons learned from breaking the rules of game design.

Ramon de la FuenteRamon de la Fuente

Boundaries

It is important to note that the rules do not mandate specific behaviour from the players. They merely restrict the options available. This means that the rules make the space for creative action smaller, but not small per sé (depending on the game).

In a game like tic-tac-toe the options for creative action are indeed very small, but in chess much much greater and in a game like Pictionary almost unbound. As long as you can draw it on a 2D plane, anything goes.

In some games, the rules exclude the most obvious routes - actually fostering more creative thinking. For example, in a game like Codenames you are forced to come up with a single word connecting as many different cards as you can. You might describe a single card perfectly but this is not a good strategy for winning.

Limitations in the context of a game are embraced and enjoyed.

The Magic Cirlce

The magic circle is a boundary surrounding the game itself. A game starts and ends, so it is bound by time, but can also be bound by physical location. In all cases, the magic circle is accepted by the players a a place where new and specific rules apply.

It constitutes a safe space where failure does not directly impact the “real world”, where otherwise frowned upon behavior is accepted and even encouraged. But it is very possible to find this playful state and envoke it outside of the context of a formal game.

It basically boils down to not taking yourself (or whatever your current activity is) too seriously. To take on a playful approach to your surroundings and discover the boundaries, to push and prod against them, to investigate the world anew.

​Try this game (the link should open in another browser tab)

Questions for the player:
- Did you manage to get to the end?
- Did you try it multiple times? What was your fastest time?
- The fastest time is about 15 seconds. What if I told you you could be very close to that?

Breaking the rules

When I say “pushing against the boundaries”, in a game that means breaking, or at least bending the rules. While we usually think this is not a good thing, there are different levels of bending or breaking.

When you cheat at a game you do this for the purpose of winning. This means you do not want to get caught, and you are breaking the rules on purpose. But professional athletes are constantly looking for an advantage that is as close to (or maybe over but in a grey area of) the edge of the rules as possible. They are working with the rules as flexible material, not as a boundary but as part of the game itself.

You can also spoil a game completely - in which case you deny the existance of the rules and the magic circle. In a game this is disastrous because it ends the game, but in real life it can be beneficial to point to the rules and say “why the heck would we follow these at all?” and question the nature of the game. Some rules are just entrenched behaviour.

Try this version of the previous game (the game should open in another browser tab).

Questions for the player:
- What was your fastest time now?
- Did you even make it to the end? Was it fun though?
- Really?? (I hate this version)

Uncertainty is good

The rules must allow for enough freedom to make a game’s outcome uncertain. Again, in tic-tac-toe the outcome is fixed before the first move (given both players have enough experience the game will end in a draw). If a goal is not yet reached - which it must not be at the start of a game - uncertainty is what makes a game interesting.

In a lot of games, part of the rules are meant to keep information from us. A deck of cards is placed top-down and we are not allowed to peek. In a game like chess, the opponent keeps the information about their next move(s) from you. If you knew everything there would not be a game at all.

Uncertainty is what makes a game (and the world) interesting!

[My kids gave me some insight with regards to the marvel superhero Hulk. In his normal form of Bruce Banner, he is super smart. When he turns into Hulk he’s super strong and full of rage, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. After the movie Infinity war, Bruce Banner had found a way to be Hulk in form, but Bruce in mind, effectively combining the best of both worlds. Super cool, right?

Except, so said my kids, he’d lost his appeal as a superhero. Because we could now count on super strong Hulk to do the smart thing - all uncertainty was removed from his role.]

Bounded rationality

A lot of what we do in our work is meant to reduce or attempt to remove uncertainty. Take estimations for example: we attempt to make predictions in order to plan for the future.

But when we take these estimations as fact we are only fooling ourselves. The importance of a deadline (what’s in a name!), the dread and stress of being late. But consider the opposite: what if all your predictions where 100% correct. Would you still be interested in your work?

In games, surprise comes in various ways. We plan and re-plan constantly as new information emerges. In real life we do the same - and most of us do this rationally. Based on the information that we have we make a decision related to our goal(s). But this rational decision might not be so rational if we knew more about the larger system around us.

In most games, our bounded rationality still gives us enough information to make meaningful decisions because the system of the game is itself closed. You might not know which card will be drawn next, but you know the limits of the possibilities and you can make a decision based on that.

In real life, there is a lot more potential to deal with. But stepping out of the limited information that you can see from your current perspective and gaining different perspectives from other parts of the system can be a huge advantage.

[You can discover some more about systems in Feedback Fountain]

Questions​

Consider your current job.

• Can you name a few rules that apply there?
• How are the rules an aid to achieving your goals?
• How are the rules an obstacle to achieving your goals?