"Attention Rules Publishers and Retailers!" Topic

Please, please, please, provide some USEFUL information with your announcments of new rules.

Like many gamers, I love buying and buying and reading rules whether or not I ever get to actually play them. I have to tell you all that yu drive me CRAZY with announcements propounding how great these latest and greatest rules are, that they will make all other gaming seem like plodding plunkers, that they will cure world hunger, etc. etc. etc.

However! The announcements don't contain any useful information. No scale. no basing, no overview of the mechanics, no table size, no figure count, no ancillary equipment needed, no anything of use!

It would seem to me that all this information is going to come out in reviews, so why not make my life (and others like me) who might like to order or even preorder a little easier. Just tell us what's between the covers. You published the rules, it would seem to me that you could write a couple short paragraphs about what makes them tick. BTW, if do decide to do this for your "press release", then put it on your webpage and on the back cover of the rule book too.

Whew! I feel much better…

And once you've written this, send me a copy and I'll publish it at the New Rules Directory:

link

I agree many of the books & rules I sell have free sample pages available.

--
Martin Stephenson
Vexillia: Wargames Miniatures & Accessories
vexillia.ltd.uk
vexilliagallery.blogspot.com
pikeandplunder.blogspot.com

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with the hobby right now. In this day and age of digital publishing there is no excuse for not providing a PDF with a sample page, the table of contents, or a link to a web page/blog that describes the system. Yes, this was common back in the 70s and 80s(I've got the hobby magazine ads to prove it!), but come on, how hard is it to do a professional PDF sample for prospective buyers?

I don't feel sample pages is enough. Like Xray,,, says, I want to know the mechanics. You don't have to give away the whole thing, but I'm not buying any rules until I know how the command, combat and morale systems work.

With so many rules out there, what makes yours exciting, new and different?

Publishers and retailers need to take a look at Sam Mustafa's website and take note. The particular samples provided clearly demonstrate the scale, unit composition, production qualtiy, etc. I viewed all the examples and placed my order with great confidence and no hesitation.

Good job, Sam. That's the way to market rules.

(BTW, I don't know Sam from Adam. My opinions are based solely on the contents of the website.)

We find that a detailed overview is too long for press releases. We put a couple paragraphs about how the game plays in the announcements, but its really not the place to get into a discussion of mechanics.

Instead, we direct people to our website where all that information is readily available:

navalthunder.com

Page count… please list the PAGE COUNT of a rule book in press releases and on the web site.

Snappy Nappy, published by OMM, has posted number of SN files available for your viewing. The files are:

Overview (bullet points with description, scale etc)
Introduction (from the rules)
Table of Contents (from the rules)
Designer's Notes (from the rules)
Feedback and Magazine Reviews (excerpts)

You can go to our site:

onmilitarymatters.com

and click on the link (left side of page) "On Military Matters Rules-Reviews, Notes and Feedback" and then click on Snappy Nappy (or Warfare in the Age of Napoleon, our other rules set).

Or, the link below should bring you there direct:

link

Dennis from OMM
onmilitarymatters.com

I play Shattered Lances. I bought it on the basis of the design notes written by the author. It was exactly what I was looking for and, without those notes outlining the focus of the game and its mechanics, I wouldn't have been able to distinguish it from its rivals.