(Topic ID: 173814)

Why doesn't Stern publish full, clear rule set info?

By UNCgump

7 years ago


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  • Latest reply 7 years ago by CrazyLevi
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    #1 7 years ago

    Why doesn't Stern publish full, clear rule set info?

    It would be soooo useful, since games have only grown more complicated and the opacity of the rules makes many games less accessible to anyone other than an owner or obsessive player.

    #5 7 years ago

    I get the fun of figuring things out. But that's probably appealing to a minority of total players. I think a little clarity might be good to attract less devoted players. Those who like to explore don't have to read the rules.

    And how are they "too busy." It's a limited set of info that must already be clearly outlined somewhere for the sake of making the game.

    #17 7 years ago
    Quoted from Circus_Animal:

    Maybe a better question would be "why don't Stern publish a general outline of the basic rules and game progression?". At least then new players would have a vague idea of how to get into the game rather than trying to decipher something like this:

    Agreed! And while "instant info," live DMD animation, and the playfield do give a lot of info, it's missing a certain wholeness which could tie together a player's understanding and appreciation of a game. As far as updates with code, all that text could be embedded as reviewable on a DMD scroll.

    1 week later
    #48 7 years ago
    Quoted from Circus_Animal:

    ...except that I don't. If I've played two or three games and still have no idea what I'm doing, then I won't keep putting more and more money in. I'll go and play a self-explanatory Williams, Gottlieb or JJP.

    The key words were "readily available". There's a massive difference between a player failing to learn the rules and the rules not being available for a player to learn. I can't think of a single sport where players have no choice but to learn how the scoring system works by trial and error.

    Stern's current formula did not exist even 15 years ago. With few exceptions, pinball machines used to have instructions written on the playfield, inserts that clearly depicted game progression and instruction cards with useful information. The game itself told you what to do. Stern have gotten rid of all of that and have not replaced it with anything.

    Amen.

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