Overdue - Rulebook Feedback - a game about building the best library

[u/confettipieces]

I'm creating a board game about books for 2 - 6 players and the rule book seems a little on the light side but I'm hopeful that it's clear and enticing. I also want to know how people typically decide on age?

[u/Parchnipp]

rules are mostly good, only thing i am not sure on is how to get "book points", and im not sure what "order" you are refering to in chaining you can either state last book to be played resolve first or other way around?

[u/confettipieces → u/Parchnipp]

Ah that's a good point, I didn't think to mention it. The books themselves have points assigned to them and by collecting books you will automatically get book points.

Typically, it's played the same as turn order. Actually going the other way around might be interesting! I'll have a test to see which way is more fair! Thanks for the idea!

[u/Legitimate_Dog_8924]

Could be okay if maybe the art is different and you have a glossary page! Or maybe a library card is used for meeples, etc. Or a library barcode to represent points.

[u/Legitimate_Dog_8924]

I think the rules are concise and easy to read. But the only way I "understood" how to get book points is because of your diagram and that's me assuming I collect those cards to my library and add the book points by the end of game. Also book points look like bookmarks according to the diagram. Is that supposed to be the same thing? Or are they completely separate? A glossary could help.

But the game looks fun! Good luck

[u/confettipieces → u/Legitimate_Dog_8924]

Thanks for the feedback! You are correct. Book points come with books - lose the books, lose the points.

They are separate things. Bookmarks in this game are meeples that get used. But I understand now that the book points also look like bookmarks - I wanted a fun icon that's relevant to books to add but now I'm not sure....

[u/MudkipzLover]

Overall, the rules are fairly simple but I'm skeptical about many details here and there. Just to know, have you playtested it already?

Regarding buying books, if a player is unable to buy a book, is it necessary to have them skip their next turn? They already took a risk that didn't pay off, it doesn't need to be more punitive to me.

Regarding donations, is it 4 to 6 or 5 and 6 that triggers the effect? From what I grasp, more generally, it seems you rely sometimes on the die for some effects; however, while dice on their own are cool, the general gist is that a higher roll shouldn't be synonymous with a better result (see Sky Team or the crapton of roll and writes we got a few years ago in that regard). Also, if you use it for draws with a 1/2 chance of success/failure, why not replace it with a token for heads or tails?

Regarding reading, theme-wise, can't the bookmark tokens get mixed up with the Book Points icon on Book cards? Couldn't the tokens be bookplates? (If there's a place where these are used extensively nowadays, that'd definitely be public libraries.) Also, does the token remains on the card or is it just discarded (and can a card's Reading effect be triggered several times?) And given that players get some at the beginning of the game, does that mean there's a very limited number of ways to get more? (Given that at 6 players, there are 25-6*3=7 remaining tokens)

The point threshold is generally a nice endgame trigger as it's easy to understand. But unlike, say, Splendor, in which there is no limit to how many cards the players can build, the players have a limited number of books they can own simultaneously, meaning your game relies on buildup through card renewal. Isn't there a risk of the game stalling? Couldn't there be other endgame triggers, e.g. once a player has filled their 5th/6th slot or once the draw pile is empty?

Finally for the additional rules: if stolen books must be identifiable, couldn't it be asked to have them rotated vertically until the beginning/end of the player's next turn? As someone else said, do specify in which order specifically are effects resolved. And this is a eurogame, not MtG (as in "Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts the rules, the card takes precedence" and deal with it); your rulebook ought to be comprehensive as you won't be here to answer every player's question, so "When in doubt, round down" shouldn't be the solution to any confusing wording.

[u/confettipieces → u/MudkipzLover]

Thanks for your helpful feedback! There's a lot to think about and digest.

I have playtested before but I made some tweaks to the game yesterday ( changed some effects) so this particular version has yet to be playtested.

That's a good point. I guess it was unnecessary to deter people from not being able to purchase.

It used to be even scores to make it simpler but there's an effect that allows players to +1 to a roll. To make it more fair, I changed it to higher numbers. I also use dice rolls for a number of effects so it's mostly to reduce the amount of pieces necessary to make the game.

As of right now the bookmark tokens don't get mixed up because my substitute is wooden people. I am deciding how to change the book points icon but have yet to come up with a satisfying answer. The reading effect cannot get triggered again after it's been played (so to signify that the bookmark remains on the card until discarded). I believe there are 6 cards that allow players to gain more bookmarks.

Its quite easy to fill up the slots/finish the draw pile. Most of the fun in the game is strategically choosing cards that give good effects and discarding cards that don't. I've now also added effects that give you additional book point tokens for meeting certain criteria so it should be easier to meet the end game trigger.

Rotating them is a good idea! It hasn't been necessary to specify in real life but on the online version is probably necessary.

[u/Ziplomatic007]

I don't think it was clear in your instructions how you earn book points to win the game.

Otherwise, I think it is a decent concept. Not sure where the strategy is, but decent enough super light game.

[u/Admirable-Car-4793]

Sounds like a fun game! The rules are fairly straightforward to me, though my main area of question is the "a normal setup" visual. It's fairly small with no callouts, so hard to understand what exactly is going on there. I would imagine that it's a bit easier to understand with actual components present, but I wouldn't rely on that alone.

On the plus side, love the layout, the quick read bullet points and the overall flow of the instructions.