In the group Simulation.
Idea from Dhruv Jani.
The rules themselves make a point about the world. If a game about a city rewards only building roads, the game is saying something about cities. The writer Ian Bogost calls this procedural rhetoric.
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The rules for what characters can do say something about the world they live in.
The feats are made to say something, such as stacking harder for some players than others.
The rules for what can be drawn say something, such as roads only to cities.
The rules show what it takes to keep something going, such as care or sharing.
The impossibility is the argument, such as a system nobody can beat alone.
The game master runs rules that make a point about the world, and players feel it from inside.
The rules of a public game make a point about the place, such as who gets to use it.
What is on the tables makes a point, such as which events are common for whom.
What the hidden map holds makes a point, such as who already lives in the land players explore.
The spaces on the track say something, such as some players starting further back.
What can be picked, and by whom, makes a point about who gets choices in life.
The bidding rules make a point, such as richer players always bidding first.
Who can afford to take risks is built into the rules.
The rules for holding land make a point about who gets to own it.
The action spaces make a point, such as some jobs paying more than others for the same work.
The patterns that score make a point, such as neat grids scoring more than winding paths.
Who gets which cards makes a point about who starts with what.
The trick rules make a point, such as one suit always winning.
The rules for deals make a point about who has power in a negotiation.
What counts as a set makes a point about what is valued.
Where tiles can go makes a point, such as roads only reaching some places.
Who is allowed to answer whom makes a point about who gets heard.
The silence itself makes a point, such as people who cannot speak up.
Who is allowed to change the rules makes a point about power.
The race is set so that some start ahead, making a point about head starts in life.
What earns points makes a point about what a society rewards.
Who gets knocked out first makes a point about who is most at risk.
The rules show what it takes for a group to survive together.
The rules for reaching the goal make a point about how groups succeed.
Secret goals make a point about hidden interests in public life.
The way the story can end makes a point about what endings are possible.
Having no winner makes a point about why people compete.
Letting players set their goals makes a point about what success means.
Who ends up losing makes a point about who carries the cost.
Playing alone side by side makes a point about isolation.
The rules for attacking make a point about violence and its costs.
How players affect each other through the board makes a point about hidden harm.
The rules make a point about what people can do together.
The rules make a point about self-interest inside a group.
Unequal teams make a point about how sides are formed.
The traitor's role makes a point about betrayal from inside.
The slow exchange of letters makes a point about distance and delay.
The empty seat makes a point about who is left out.
Leaving outcomes to luck makes a point about how much of life is chance.
Who can soften an unlucky draw makes a point about safety nets.
The balance of skill and luck makes a point about merit.
Rewarding only skill makes a point about who gets to practise.
How signs are read makes a point about belief and interpretation.
Needing to stay in step makes a point about cooperation without words.
Showing everything makes a point about transparency.
What players can and cannot see makes a point about unequal information.
Hidden roles make a point about who people really work for.
What the clues allow players to work out makes a point about evidence.
Rewarding lies makes a point about honesty and power.
Hidden rules make a point about systems newcomers cannot see.
One player who knows but cannot speak makes a point about silenced knowledge.
A model of a real system makes its point through how its parts behave.
The powers each role has make a point about who decides in real life.
How the shared resource behaves makes a point about the commons.
Effects that arrive late make a point about consequences we do not see.
Players try changing the rule that makes the argument, to see whether the point still holds.
After playing, players talk about what the rules were arguing.
Lasting changes make a point about choices that cannot be undone.
The slow pace of play makes a point about how long change takes.
The argument reaches beyond the table, such as a game about a local issue played with people affected by it.
Points that stand for real values make a point about measuring what matters.
The rules of a future world make an argument for or against it.
The rules make their point turn by turn as players follow them.
The rules make their point through everyone acting at once.
The rules make their point through free, real-time play.
The clock is part of the argument the rules make.
The slowness itself is part of the point the rules make.
The speeding up is part of the point the rules make.
rules make an argument works against the feeling excited.
rules make an argument supports the feeling clever.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling silly.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling tense.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling together.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling sneaky.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling lucky.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling in charge.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling surprised.
rules make an argument supports the feeling thoughtful.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling fast.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling unfair in a fun way.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling careful.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling daring.
rules make an argument neither supports nor works against the feeling friendly.
A game made entirely of chance that still carries a meaning, because every square is labelled. It shows how a board's words can make players read luck as a lesson, and how rules can make an argument.