"How long to wait before revising your rules?" Topic

Assuming that a designer has released his new ruleset in 2016, in what year should he release his revised second edition?

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
etc.

When needed due to flaws being found during play which are not correctable by a free errata sheet.
Of course, for those of us who release our sets free online, new version whenever an error is found or an improvement is added!

When sales of the current edition begin to wane, release the next edition.

In our digital age, where updates can be provided to everyone, immediately, and for free, updates should happen as soon as a problem is identified and solved.

Never. If you have to update and revise them you didn't playtest them enough.

What does "revising" mean in 2016?

In the past two years, I have:

A: Fixed typos or outright mistakes.

B: Added new optional rules.

C: Added whole new chapters with extra material.

D: Changed wordings to be clearer.

E: Changed a few rules that worked but proved unpopular with the player base.

F: Updated layout to make the game read or look better.

G: Added additional game examples.

It's not like I have to delve into Moria to retrieve mithril tablets to push out an updated PDF.

Depends on frequency of use and overall expense. If I'm printing out two page rules for a friendly game, I fix any ambiguities or errors in time for the next game.

If it's seriously published--a print run of X many copies, sold--then there should be a new edition as as soon as anyone discovers the cheap unhistorical trick and there's no point in postponing the inevitable past the time everyone knows the cheap unhistorical trick. (Is it Bolt Action which is currently mounting flame-throwers on motorcycles for extended range?)

Well, I don't really subscribe to the software mentality of rules publishing. There shouldn't really be new editions, updated versions, whatever. When I buy a set of published rules, I expect that it is complete and correct. If errors turn up, it is easy enough for the publisher to make a list of corrections available. But, I don't really expect that either.

Why should I buy a set of rules that I already have, which only gives me the ability to game what I already can game, when I could buy more figs, which would expand the range of things that I can game.

My vote is for "Never".

Should be working on them all the time, right?

As soon as the profits and inventory starts to get low.

Oh wait, did you want to know what year *I* thought it should occur or what they aim to do?

Anytime is ok by me….I have never been a rules stickler…rules are only guidelines anyway….

OK, here is my true story of working on multiple editions of game rules.

A nice little miniatures company had a set of free rules to use with their product. The rules suffered from a few problems, and so they were revised and re-released. The miniatures had been packaged with unit cards for the old rules. The new rules invalidated the old cards, but there was a lot of inventory in the market with the old cards. So all the new cards were released for free as .PDFs on the company website.

Are you with me so far? Good.

The company owner decided that the miniatures range was not doing well in stores because we did not have a physical rulebook to go with them. And so the third edition of the game became a paid book that had to be bought (and was retconned as "1st edition." But it had all the new unit cards in the back of the book, at least. And miniatures began to be re-sculpted to better fit the rules. After two additional supplements, it was decided to publish another edition. This was decided primarily because it was thought a new edition would generate more interest and additional sales (and this is where I personally exit the story.)

Apparently there is yet another edition of the game out now (although I could be wrong, I stopped paying attention six years ago) and I see here on TMP that we are now into thrid and fourth sculpts for older units without necessarily having gotten any of the newer stuff onto the market yet.

And that is how a first edition of a game winds up with grandchildren.

Best, perhaps, to use "should" in the sense of "the bus should be by soon"--normative, but not prescriptive.

But if the question is when I'll pay the author to get something (maybe) right he obviously screwed up last time--well, it doesn't happen very often. Twice in 50 years is my rough count.

Oh. And if the new edition changes the basing, I think we should strongly consider shooting the author as the humane solution. After the most recent DBA, I'm thinking of extending that to army lists.

Peter pig usually does a re-write after 10 years. This gives plenty of time for rules to be used and enjoyed without the fear of obsolescence.

We've got five years, stuck on my eyes
We've got five years, what a surprise
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
We've got five years, that's all we've got

Seconeditions can come for two reasons:-

The good reason is that the autor has had time to corrcet the inevitable errors and update the main text to avoide new readers frome having to resort to the errata and additional rules.

The second reason is entirely commecial and not in the interests of the hobby. Is sole reason is extract money from players for a second edition which often withraws the use of the original figure so to extract even more mone for no good reason. Unfortunately the latter is the usual reeason for second third and subsequent editions.

Too often (but not always) for my liking we get the tail (commercial interests) wagging the dog (the hobby).

It all depends on the goals of a 2nd edition.

Player satisfaction?
Selling more books?
Reinvigorating the fanbase?
…

Usuallly none of these have anything to do with the rules themselves.

Being in business for 18 years there's been revisions.

Corrections are clarifying rules and posted for free online and added to existing rules sets.

Updates are posted the same way when they improve one or more mechanics.

Revisions occur when multiple ways to do things are changed and this is usually by listening to what the players want to see such as changes to streamline melee or reaction tests.

When a revision comes out anyone that has bought the current edition within the last year gets a free PDF.

Just how I do it.

It depends on what needs doing.

Phil

As needed.

The same year as the designer sends refunds for the first edition.

The same year as the designer sends refunds for the first edition.