Game Rules as Player Tools: Introspective Rulebook Method

Abstract

The rules we play by carry a structural role in our gameplay experiences as they shape the context and the agency we play through. While rules have long been part of scholarship around play and games, an overwhelming majority of these works carry an implicitly formalist approach, framing the rules as an unchanging part of the artifact. In this article, we highlight works that contribute to a diverse notion of rules and argue that a conscious and reflective understanding of rules can be a tool to shape and experiment with our agencies in games. We also introduce a novel game research method, Introspective Rulebook Method, a living document where the researcher-player reflects on and transforms the rules they play by, as a tool to invent alternative play-practices and metagames. Overall, our work here contributes to a broad understanding of game rules, and the capacity we carry in shaping the games we play.