POLL: Shiny Versus Plain Rulebooks

429 votes were cast.

Mako11

writes:

Ratbone, I have paid far more than that as well, for many rulebooks, over the course of the last 40 years, or so, and have found that higher prices don't mean better rules.

Usually, the direct inverse is true, e.g. the higher price for the rulebook, the lower quality of the actual rules provided in them.

Very few of the rulebooks I have purchased over the years have been hardbound, since the added cost doesn't justify the value, in my opinion.

Conversely, some of the best, and most playable rules come in a plain paper format (some with simple drawings, others with not), with perhaps a thicker, cardboard/paper cover, and almost all were sold for less than $10 USD – $20 USD, depending upon when they were purchased, and what was included inside.

In today's pricing, $10 USD – $15 USD for a set of PDF rules seems pretty good, from the best bang for the buck standpoint.

If a PDF gets beyond $15 USD, or so, then I tend to scrutinize the reviews of the rules more, since in many instances, above that price, the value for the dollar diminishes quickly, especially when you start factoring in costs of paper and ink to print them off at home.

Hardcover rulebooks of $50 USD – $100 USD just don't interest me, in most cases.

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VOTING RESULTS
Answer	Votes	%	Chart
plain paper rules	64	15%
rules with glossy cover	93	22%
rules on glossy paper	56	13%
hardbound rulebook	60	14%
a PDF	88	21%
other (explain)	12	3%
no preference	56	13%

POLL IS CLOSED

POLL DESCRIPTION
Allen57 muses... On Bleaseworld, Steve Blease commented on his attendance at a game con and the skyrocketing cost of games rules. I was involved in a thread on the Wessex Games Yahoo! Group where it seemed the consensus was that if you don't have a shiny cover and pages with lots of pictures, rules will not sell very well. What would you rather see?
plain paper rules	Plain paper rules editions with all necessary diagrams but no pictures. These rules would be relatively inexpensive.
rules with glossy cover	Slightly higher quality paper and perhaps a glossy cover with photograph for more money and slightly more expensive.
rules on glossy paper	Glossy paper with lots of pictures, but bound inexpensively for the next higher price.
hardbound rulebook	Hardbound rulebook with all the associated bells and whistles. (really expensive)
a PDF	In place of a cheap rulebook, you would prefer a PDF.