It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Johan Huizinga on beauty
Many and close are the links that connect play with beauty.
Bruno Faidutti on written rules
If we want to make some progress in the recognition of the cultural nature of games, everyone has to get involved, especially publishers, by having their rules written and corrected, if not by professionals, at least by people who have a minimum command of the language. There’s no shortage of such people in the hobby.
Raph Koster on board game stories
By and large, people don’t play with game systems because of the stories. The stories that wrap the systems are usually side dishes for the brain. For one thing, it has been rare to see a game story written by an actual writer. As a result, they are usually around the high-school level of literary sophistication at best.
Peter Olotka on theme
Theme is more than window dressing, and less than fanatical immersion. To be true to theme, a design should strive to capture the essence of the setting or construct by creating a system in which players naturally adopt behaviors that fit their circumstances. Success is when a player is surprised to act in a way that is not in keeping with their real life personality, as though it were normal.
