Best and Worst Rulebooks - Top Best and Worst Board Game Rulebooks - SBGK

[@Paper_Smith]

I’m just starting, but I’m placing my bet that Batman is gonna get dragged again in this video 😂😂

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Spoiler-Alert! I’m still working on that one! I’m guessing you know something I don’t know…I must brace myself!

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

This has been a video that I’ve been working on for quite some time. Thanks to Chris W for being such an active subscriber! This video was chosen by Chris W as the next video to be uploaded to my channel! Enjoy! Timestamps below: 0:00 Thanks to all of you! Shout-out to Chris W for being awesome! 0:27 The Journey of Board Games 0:55 Rulebook Impressions THE BEST 1:40 There Will Be Wrath 2:56 Scaling the Tower 4:26 Adventures of the Players 5:51 Fake Tron THE WORST 7:11 Circle Back 9:13 Knowing Is… 11:52 Those Hats… 12:09 The Knight Thank each and every one of you for being so active on my channel! I love, absolutely love, having conversations with you all. It’s what keeps me motivated in sharing my journey through this board gaming hobby with you all! Chris W, I hope you enjoyed the video! I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. It’s always fun reading your thoughts! For everyone that visits my channel, if I ever reach out to you, you get to choose the video I upload to the channel next! It’s a fun way to engage with you all. Thank you all, once again for always contributing to the comments and creating conversations that often lead me to finding new board game experiences. Until next time, Solo Knights! Take care. Sincerely, Solo Board Gaming Knight

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Thank you man. I hope we can play some day.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@boardsandstuff5008 You never know. When I go out to visit my parents in P.R., I’ll let you know. We’ll get together to talk about and play a few games.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Awesome let me know.

[@chrisw942]

Aww, thank you for mentioning me in your video and for showing so much appreciation for your viewers, always! You are a heartfelt storyteller, which makes your videos so good! I have not yet played a deck building game because I have a learning disability, and having a game board to add structure is helpful, so I'm glad you outlined why G.I. Joe, and potentially other deck builders can be confusing! I will play one eventually. Thank you for clearly explaining why World of Warcraft Wrath of The Lich King has the best rulebook, while Mage Knight's rulebook is a mess--very helpful! The easiest rule book I've come across was for Forbidden Games Raccoon Tycoon--you literally can set it up and play. The worst rulebook on my list is The Godfather: Corleone's Empire--too many unanswered questions arise. I usually write the rules down since too many illustrations can be confusing, then I look online for revised rules and house rules, and take notes, there also! Thank you for a stellar video!!!

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Thank you for your kind words! I never knew there was a Godfather board game. One point you made was writing notes for your board games. That’s something that I tend to do with every game I own. Creating an outline of all the rules and important notes (or questions) that usually arise helps a lot. That is a very useful and helpful technique. Once again, thanks for being such an active subscriber. You bring a lot of conversations and interactions to the table and to me, that is very valuable.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

The attack on titan deck builder and gi joe deck builder are my top deck builders. They are ton of fun because they go beyond just deck building with movement, dice and objectives that ramp up the challenge and tension. Making every decision meaningful.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Too many bones complexity reminded me of the defense of Procyon 3. In that game you have five different rule books. One for the general flow of the games and scenarios. Then one for the human space fleet, one for the alien space fleet, one for the human ground infantry and one for the alien ground troops. My first three games where nightmarishly long. Time spent shifting through the rules was way too long. By once I got the hang of it I enjoy it a lot. I enjoy strategic battle games and fighting and coordinating two battle arenas, one in space and one in the ground, for me is fantastic. The ultimate strategic battle.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Not going to lie, that game sounds awesome! I understand what you mean about having to flip through the rulebook during play and making game times really long. That’s rough but I’ve noticed that the games that are the most difficult to learn end up being the most satisfying to play. When I have a chance after the move, I have to look into Procyon 3.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Hey, man! I hope you’ve been good! It’s been a while and I just wanted to make sure you’ve been good.

[@mikeysboardroom]

"It felt as if I was alone on this earth" 😂 That is a hilarious take on reading a bad rulebook and yet, so accurate to how it feels in the moment.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Almost got me out of board games, it was that bad!

[@kosterix123]

Exactly how I often feel.

[@ronan3394]

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one to get a copy of Mage Knight with the rulebooks flipped. So SO confusing. Yet one of the best board games I've ever played.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

MK was one of the first board games I played when I started this hobby. I’m glad I stuck with it because it helped lead me to experience what board games can offer! Worth it!

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Thank you man. I know is a lot of work editing but I love it. You have introduce me to many games I would not found otherwise. Again thanks.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Thank you! It’s the conversations that make it worth it. I’m glad I was able to help you find some games!

[@kosterix123]

Crap that isn’t even a rulebook: Ass on Doomrock Ultimate. 4th edition. Pure garbage. Terrible rulebooks that were so bad I sold the game: pursuit of happiness, dungeon brawler, Mistfall heart of the mists, space hulk death Angel. Bad rulebooks that I ended up rewriting: Friday, viticulture, Shephy, Zerywia, Diceborn heroes, under falling skies. Best rulebooks are those I edited of course: Direwild, The Phantom The Card game, Dungeon Flee, Build a Cure, The King’s Guild and some others. Most rulebooks are bad, Some even don’t have an index. All NSKN games have inadequate rulebooks, avoid those products. Most designers are exact science types and often dyslexic. Others are primarily artists who really can’t handle the rigors of writing properly. Then there’s plain idiots that use familiar mechanisms but call them weird names. Kilforth products are a prime example.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

There are a lot of rulebooks that could be written/done better. Sometimes, it feels like too many words are used to explain something that’s actually rather simple to explain. Other times, too few words are used when more words would be extremely helpful and explain what is required in a more cohesive way. I haven’t played the games you mentioned except for UFS but I believe you. Great read and fun comment.

[@kosterix123]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight it's meant as a warning like the signal from the planet where Alien resided. Do not land.

[@jbo2471]

Worse rulebook was deliverance for me. But the game is good 😂

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

I haven’t played it but I have heard good things about it. Rulebooks are very important. What I dislike the most is having to search online for answers. I don’t mind searching the rulebook but it really takes me out of the experience when I have to search online.

[@jbo2471]

Unfortunately, prepare to read their discord for edge cases. Or wait second print. 😅

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Wow was my first pandemic game too. Ever since I got the original, and cuthulhu one.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

I’ve heard of the Cthulhu Pandemic but I haven’t played it. I did get the original on Black Friday for $15 which was a great deal!

[@boardsandstuff5008]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight yeah I paid 18 on a Amazon flash sale. I want to get into the legacy ones. I keep reading good things about them.

[@NikoTeaJay]

Thankfully my Mage Knight rulebook was as it should be. Lots of text and little rules sure, but it was all quite clearly written. Gotta say I enjoyed that one. Good rulebooks? Not sure but maybe Battlelore 2nd edition. It has the separate "walkthrough & rulesbook". Actually it has a "reference book". It has pretty much every rule in the game, in alphabetical order. Not good for learning (that's what the walkthrough is for), but for referencing things in the middle of the game it's excellent. And it's a fairly simple game so learning it is a breeze anyway. I don't have many experiences with bad rulebooks per se, but I might mention Race for the Galaxy and Chaos in the Old World. Race was weirdly formatted, and I found it hard to figure out what was actual rules text and what was helpful but (as is always the case) unnecessary example text. Thankfully it too is a simple game so once you get going you're going. Chaos in the Old World's rulebook is way too big and convoluted for what it is. Ultimately a fairly simple set of rules but it's just a long, meandering rulebook.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@NikoTeaJay My biggest pet peeve, next to bad box inserts, is a rulebook with a lot of mistakes. Like you mentioned, a well organized rulebook helps a lot and an Appendix in the rulebook is always welcomed. There have been a few games that I’ve played that had rulebooks with a lot of errors in it. Some errors have even been found in the setup portion of the rulebook. That’s rough! Others have been in the examples shown and given. That’s really rough! Overall, for the most part, my experiences with rulebooks have been pretty good.

[@NikoTeaJay]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight I like a good insert when I bump into one. But it's really common for me to just ditch the insert and ziplock bag almost everything. So I don't really mind bad inserts. Probably the most satisfying insert has been for Mysterium. It fits the expansions and it's juuust right once you have everything in. Place for every deck and a notch for every piece of cardboard.

[@NikoTeaJay]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight now that I think about it, I tend towards bigger publishers and established designers. I'm sure that has helped me avoid rulebooks with errors. New designers, or publishers without established proofreading and fact checking surely have more errors on average.

[@NikoTeaJay]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight I've heard bad things about Ghost Stories rulebook, but that wasn't my experience. But I also had like... I don't know, maybe fifth English printing of it. I've always assumed it was just the first English print run that was full of badly translated French.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@NikoTeaJay Thunderworks Games makes good inserts. Chip Theory Games does, too but lately, they’ve been slacking off a little bit. I buy craft boxes that I find at craft stores and they work perfectly for tokens. They’re not too expensive at all and they really help with setup and teardown. I show those boxes off in several of my reviews because I use them often. I couldn’t recommend those boxes enough!

[@cubsnextyear17]

I agree GI Joe is a terrible rule book. I have Star Trek Frontiers which is just space Mage Night and it makes the game so much more complicated than it needs to be. The best rule book for myself is Jaws of the Lion. It takes a pretty complicated game and breaks it down and teaches the game a little at a time

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

I should’ve included Jaws of the Lion. If you see the video intro, you’ll notice it shows up but I didn’t include it. You’re right, it takes an incredibly complex game and makes it easy to understand with the rulebook. I wasn’t aware that Star Trek Frontiers was like Mage Knight. I still can’t believe Mage Knight was the 3rd game I played when I first joined the hobby. Having the issue I had with the way the rulebook was put together, I’m glad I didn’t give up! I’m still loving this hobby as much as I did, if not more, than when I started. Such a great hobby. Rulebooks are actually one of my favorite parts of gaming. It feels like a puzzle that I have to put together before I can see the full picture and appreciate what it has to offer.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

I recently got Star Trek frontiers and I agree is like an over complicated mage knight in a futile attempt to make the game feel different. I prefer mage knight. For me mage knight is a very satisfying game. Those that after a while you crave to play. I think is the only game that hits my table at least once a month. And I don’t win that often. Mostly partial wins. I tend to have myopic thinking sometimes.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@boardsandstuff5008 I don’t win Mage Knight often either but it’s always fun to have a go at it. Not long ago, I had a day to myself without the wife and kids. I ended up playing Mage Knight 3 times in a row! That was 9 hours straight of Mage Knight! Never once did I feel bored.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight I feel you. The exploration, the deck building aspect, the level up is just so well done. And someone made a file in bgg with all the scenarios converted for solo play along with fan made scenarios and they are great.

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Adventure tactics where a good game but replay ability was lacking for me. Aside from the level up and the very different feel of each character the story got stale. But the rule book was great.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

I still want to go through it again. I backed the expansion and they’re also adding a solo-only option to the game, as well. I like how every character plays differently like the Necromancer. Once you play the story, you do know what’s coming. The leveling-up mechanics is still addicting. Hopefully the expansion adds a lot of content. Let’s see.

[@kosterix123]

I refuse to play 3 handed so AT not for me.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@kosterix123 to get the best out of it, you need to play all 5 at the same time. It takes a lot of space on the table and it’s definitely not for everyone. The amount of options available are insane but it is a lot to ask. I did enjoy it, however.

[@kosterix123]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight forget it. My brain size is too small for that!

[@mabos555]

Mage knight is a terrible game and rule book, don't want to play it or learn it at all Also the gijo game sucks anyway haha I enjoy most of the rule books at least for my games, I need to see if some of them are bad but not know yet

[@boardsandstuff5008]

Many will disagree in regard the game. The rule book yes is a nightmare. But the game for me is awesome.

[@toomanybarts]

Watch the Ricky Royal play thru’s it will click much much quicker

[@slimk3836]

I think the spirit island rulebook is quite good, they have a lot of examples showing how different iconography and powers work. Another great one was for Jaws of the Lion. Mage Knight was a tough learn and now I play it at least once a month if not more to keep the rules fresh for me so I never have to go back to the rulebook. Another poor one was Imperium Classics/Legends, not very clear and some rules were straight up missing from the book

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

Spirit Island is still on my list of must buy games. It looks really interesting and I’ve only ever heard really good things about it. Jaw of the Lion has a spectacularly written rulebook. Mage Knight I definitely a difficult game to learn but playing it once a month will make it almost impossible to ever forget how to play. I’ve never played Imperium Classics/Legends but missing rules from a rulebook is a big “No, no!” Thanks for sharing your best and worst rulebooks. It’s always fun to hear what you all have to say! Take care.

[@slimk3836]

@@SoloBoardGamingKnight Yeah, I too was busy googling the best solo games a few years back and decided to give Spirit Island a go. For me it really lives up to the hype surrounding it. It's a really complex puzzle taking place that will have you feeling like your one round away from doom, and yet if you think through each of the abilities in your hand and play the most efficient way you can you do manage to survive again and again while becoming more and more powerful... it's a really rewarding game once you get the hang of it but it will take a few plays before you begin to grasp the pathway to victory, but I highly recommend it especially for people who really enjoy solo gaming. Take care, hope you have a great day/night.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@slimk3836 You have sold me on it! It sounds great and you are one of many people that really enjoy it. I’m pretty sure I will, as well. It definitely seems to be the type of game that rewards patience and determination. If you noticed, none of the worst rulebooks I mentioned are bad games. They just take more effort to understand and sometimes even a little bit of research. You have a good night/day, as well!

[@boardsandstuff5008]

I agree spirit island is one of those games that solo works beautifully. Very satisfying. You must be I top of your game mximinzing resources, maximizing your attack effects each round or you can get overwhelm quick. But feels so good each time one play. And the expansions add spirits and game play. Very very fun.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

@@boardsandstuff5008 I’ll definitely pick it up with the expansion.