36 thoughts on “Philosophical question: can someone hack a game by only reading the rules, but never playing it?”

  5. That’s funny. But I suppose if the answer is ‘yes’, then you can also hack a game by not reading it at all! I suppose that you begin with near total drift and only become compliant with the rules through effort, rather than the other way around.

  6. That’s funny. But I suppose if the answer is ‘yes’, then you can also hack a game by not reading it at all! I suppose that you begin with near total drift and only become compliant with the rules through effort, rather than the other way around.

  11. I used to try this, but nowadays I play the original or at LEAST some celebrated hacks of the originalbefore I try to hack. Some things (both things I like and things I’d do differently myself) just don’t become apparent until I see them at the table.

  12. I used to try this, but nowadays I play the original or at LEAST some celebrated hacks of the originalbefore I try to hack. Some things (both things I like and things I’d do differently myself) just don’t become apparent until I see them at the table.

  13. I think it’s much more important to playtest whatever hack you come up with than it is to play whatever you’re basing it out of.

    I mean, really, any original system is going to be built without playing anything first, so I don’t see why you suddenly need play experience for a hack just because the provenance is a bit different.

  14. I think it’s much more important to playtest whatever hack you come up with than it is to play whatever you’re basing it out of.

    I mean, really, any original system is going to be built without playing anything first, so I don’t see why you suddenly need play experience for a hack just because the provenance is a bit different.

  15. I think you need to understand why the original mechanics are the way they are. And you can’t really know that or how important they are until you see them in motion. Once you’ve pulled it apart and tinkered you can test but you won’t know what you did to the game. You’ll just know if the new thing works. Anyway I’ve read lots of mechanics that seemed dumb/awkward until I saw them in play.

  16. I think you need to understand why the original mechanics are the way they are. And you can’t really know that or how important they are until you see them in motion. Once you’ve pulled it apart and tinkered you can test but you won’t know what you did to the game. You’ll just know if the new thing works. Anyway I’ve read lots of mechanics that seemed dumb/awkward until I saw them in play.

  19. James Etheridge I guessssss? I mean yes, but then why are you hacking instead of building from scratch. One would assume you want to lean on the strength of the original and yet without playing it one wonders if you know what that strength is. You might have tossed out or broken the best part and not know it. But yeah, in a totally mercenary way you are right.

  20. James Etheridge I guessssss? I mean yes, but then why are you hacking instead of building from scratch. One would assume you want to lean on the strength of the original and yet without playing it one wonders if you know what that strength is. You might have tossed out or broken the best part and not know it. But yeah, in a totally mercenary way you are right.

  21. Yes, you can. There’s no secret design police who are going to stop you. Well, unless they’re so secret that I don’t know about them. o.O

    So much of the RPG experience is subjective, though. I think the success of hacking a game in general is tied to how well you can extrapolate the text-to-ideal-game-experience and then communicate that with potential players and GMs. Experiencing the original game in motion is a tool that can aid design. You playtesting the hack is a tool (because, hey, releasing without playtesting was a topic on Twitter recently). Throwing your game to the general public and seeing what happens is a tool (again, gaming is subjective).

  22. Yes, you can. There’s no secret design police who are going to stop you. Well, unless they’re so secret that I don’t know about them. o.O

    So much of the RPG experience is subjective, though. I think the success of hacking a game in general is tied to how well you can extrapolate the text-to-ideal-game-experience and then communicate that with potential players and GMs. Experiencing the original game in motion is a tool that can aid design. You playtesting the hack is a tool (because, hey, releasing without playtesting was a topic on Twitter recently). Throwing your game to the general public and seeing what happens is a tool (again, gaming is subjective).

  23. Very interesting thoughts from everyone. I guess I get Ray Otus point about knowing how the thing you want to hack behaves in actual play. But as Rach Shelkey mentions, gaming is subjective. So maybe some mechanics can easily be understood by reading the rules only. Other’s may need actual play to grasp.

  24. Very interesting thoughts from everyone. I guess I get Ray Otus point about knowing how the thing you want to hack behaves in actual play. But as Rach Shelkey mentions, gaming is subjective. So maybe some mechanics can easily be understood by reading the rules only. Other’s may need actual play to grasp.

  27. You can definitely design without play but it requires a different approach. Lots of reading, not just the text but also actual plays and session reports, commentary, reviews, etc.

  28. You can definitely design without play but it requires a different approach. Lots of reading, not just the text but also actual plays and session reports, commentary, reviews, etc.

  29. Eadwin Tomlinson People consume and engage with rpgs in many different ways, all of them valid. If you mostly buy games to enjoy reading and thinking about, you can totally make a game that’s enjoyable to read, maybe you’re an artist with the skills to make a beautiful game. A big part of design is developing your strengths and networking to find collaborators that fill your skill or interest gaps.

  30. Eadwin Tomlinson People consume and engage with rpgs in many different ways, all of them valid. If you mostly buy games to enjoy reading and thinking about, you can totally make a game that’s enjoyable to read, maybe you’re an artist with the skills to make a beautiful game. A big part of design is developing your strengths and networking to find collaborators that fill your skill or interest gaps.

  31. I’m not saying it’s not possible, in fact it’s fine, you want to do it, do it. I just think you get a lot out of actually playing the game. There’s a lot of games I appreciate on paper but only when you play them will you understand the ebb and flow. Additionally I’m a player of games so I would put my energy into playing and once moved I would hack.

  32. I’m not saying it’s not possible, in fact it’s fine, you want to do it, do it. I just think you get a lot out of actually playing the game. There’s a lot of games I appreciate on paper but only when you play them will you understand the ebb and flow. Additionally I’m a player of games so I would put my energy into playing and once moved I would hack.

  35. There are lots of games that feel different when played than they look on the page. If you’re not playing it, you may be missing what makes the game sing.

  36. There are lots of games that feel different when played than they look on the page. If you’re not playing it, you may be missing what makes the game sing.

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