Cactus Game Design Message Boards

This is an excellent suggestion!

Very soon a minor REG update will take place to add FoM and a few rules updates. After Nationals the next major REG update will take place (v6.0). This is something that is more likely to be an improvement for 6.0.

Definitely a great idea. Maybe we can keep it Biblically thematic and do something like this:

Paralyze 6:32

Oh that would kind of neat.
Not sure how that would look as some of the sections have quite a few sub points, and what if the need arrived for a sub-sub point?

Please do this! Great idea SEB!

6:23a-i 

Going off Watchman's example, is it sufficient to number each level individually (like below) and refer to them as 1:1a(i) (or whatever the standard becomes), or does the REG need to put it all together?

Cannot be Interrupted

• How to play
  
  • The cannot be interrupted modifier modifies an ability, making it so that the modified ability cannot be targeted by any interrupt or negate effect activated after the card the modified ability is on is played.
  • The granting of cannot be interrupted to any ability cannot be negated.
  • An ability cannot gain cannot be interrupted retroactively; it has cannot be interrupted when the card it is on is played or not at all.
• Special Conditions
  
  • An Enhancement with an ability that has been modified by a cannot be interrupted modifier remains on the playing surface if it would otherwise be cascade negated to a previous location.
• Clarifications
  
  • When a sentence in a special ability includes the cannot be interrupted modifier and does not specify what abilities the cannot be interrupted modifier modifies, it modifies all abilities on the card that appear before the sentence containing the modifier.

Cannot be Negated

• How to play
  
  • The cannot be negated modifier modifies an ability, making it so that the modified ability cannot be targeted by any interrupt, prevent or negate effect.
  • The granting of cannot be negated to any ability cannot be negated.
  • An ability cannot gain cannot be negated retroactively; it has cannot be negated when the card it is on is played or not at all.
• Special Conditions
  
  • All abilities on Dominants are cannot be negated.
  • An Enhancement or Dominant with an ability that has been modified by a cannot be negated modifier remains on the playing surface if it would otherwise be cascade negated to a previous location.
• Clarifications
  
  • When a sentence in a special ability includes the cannot be negated modifier and does not specify what abilities the cannot be negated modifier modifies, it modifies all abilities on the card that appear before the sentence containing the modifier.

The only bad thing about this example is that there is not a unique identity to each rule. The REG is more like a law code than anything else. So, each rule should have a unique identifier with each sub point unique too. This example doesnt help us much more than the bullets (because we can currently say 2nd point). You want to be able to point people to a specific line, like in my example.

Which is where you use the name of the ability - so CBN 2:1 is the rule that Doms are CBN. We can number the modifiers and effects, but the names are usually short enough (and some of them are empty/redirect to others) that I'm not sure we gain a lot.

I don't think we gain much by only changing bullet points to numbers. If we assign a number to each rule then we can reference them by name or number. Reference by name will click better for some people, by number better for others. Let's say for example that CBN is #8. You can say CBN 2:1 or you can say 8.2.1 (or 8:2:1).

I think referring to REG references like Bible verses is just a bit strange... I like the unique numbered method like SEB originally suggested.

It may be unconventional when it comes to how other rule or laws are written but a numbering system that mirrors the Bible would be familiar to the vast majority of players in this community, and it has a nice thematic and somewhat unique element to it as well.

Quote from: tripleplayNa1 on May 20, 2018, 07:06:39 PM

I think referring to REG references like Bible verses is just a bit strange... I like the unique numbered method like SEB originally suggested.

It may be unconventional when it comes to how other rule or laws are written but a numbering system that mirrors the Bible would be familiar to the vast majority of players in this community, and it has a nice thematic and somewhat unique element to it as well.

I agree that it would be great for a "thematic" affect, but the more I think about it, the more I think it should more practical. It's mostly for the visual of a long list of Rules. Starting back at "1" for each section does not give us much more than the current bullet points give now (except they are numbers instead of bullet points).

The system of "Book CH:VV" in non-legal literature works well because of chapters and paragraphs. Law Codes dont have chapters and paragraphs, they have a list of rules. Those works were not intended to be read starting on page 1 to  the end; need to reference specific rules; and help the reader distinguish logically the demarcation of the rules and sub-rules (like: 221.2 is not 211.2) with clear visual breaks.

Let me restate it this way: The "rule number" of a law code would be similar to "chapter numbers" of non-legal literature. How hard would it be on Sunday Morning if you heard from the pulpit: "Turn your Bibles to Joshua Battle Of Ai:13" people would have to comb through their Bibles to find that section. So, if a judge is helping a player during a rules question in a tournament and says, " Well, according to the REG Cannot be Negated:2, we see that . . ." if that player wants to reference that rule later it is much more difficult than, "Well, rule 221.2, we see that . . . "

When it comes to "rules" in a card game (especially TCGs), you have to approach it more like a lawyer approaches a Law Code. Often, on the forums and at tournaments, it's a battle of semantics and the hairline difference between an article ("deck" vis-à-vis "a deck").

Who really reads their state's law code? Lawyers, judges, and law makers. The average player will only interact with the REG when tournament players, judges, and card designers tell them about it.

I went to you and cant