Reviewing Roleplaying Books on Epinions
Sep 06 '02 (Updated Feb 21 '03)
The Bottom Line Writing for Epinions requires special considerations, as does reviewing roleplaying books.
Reviewing roleplaying game (RPG) books is a bit different from reviewing regular books - there are special considerations, and certain things that roleplayers will expect to see. Reviewing them on Epinions is further complicated by the fact that, unlike on an RPG-specific web site, people who have no idea what you're talking about will be reading your reviews. So I'll start with a few basics on reviewing RPGs for those more familiar with reviewing books. I'll move on to the ways in which writing these reviews for Epinions is different than writing them for, say, RPGNet. And then, for those members who read RPG reviews and have no idea how to rate them, I'll include a few rating guidelines that you might find useful.
PART I: Writing Reviews of Roleplaying Books
I have a fair amount of experience reviewing RPGs. I've reviewed them for RPGNet, InQuest Magazine, Epinions, and my own web site. I sometimes receive review copies of books from various gaming companies.
Reviewing an RPG isn't like reviewing a book of some other type. When I review a "normal" fiction or nonfiction book, it doesn't take very long. I read the book. I write down a few thoughts about the plot (or the topic and theories), what I liked and didn't like, how good the writing was, and whether I think the book is worth reading, and for whom. Reading the book might take a day or a week depending on how much time I have, and writing the review takes an hour or two.
RPGs are different. Reading the book often takes longer, and I find I need to take notes as I go. An experienced roleplayer will want to know specific things about how the game works - not just what you think was interesting or not.
What to Include
Main Rulebook: If you're reviewing a core rulebook, there are certain things you should address. What sort of rules system is used, and how well does it work? What kind of setting is included, and how interesting and useful is it? What other information is included? Do you need other books as well in order to play? Is the book organized for easy reference during game-play? If you have experience with a variety of games, then how well does it compare to other, similar games?
If you only review either setting or rules, you aren't reviewing the game. If the game you're reviewing is a generic system with no setting, say so. If it's a setting that uses a licensed rules system, say which one it uses.
Supplements: How well does this supplement mesh with the game line? How necessary or helpful is it? What's included? How much use will you get out of it? How well is it written? What other books do you need in order to use it? Is it organized for easy reference during game-play?
Playtesting
Reviewing RPGs is a little like reviewing cookbooks. You shouldn't review a cookbook without making some of the recipes, and you shouldn't review an RPG without playing the game at least once. Recipes and rules that look good on paper can turn out to be completely unpalatable or impractical in practice.
At the very least you should roll up a character to get the feel of character creation, and run a couple of mock combats utilizing as many of the odd rules and corner cases as possible. If there are other specialized rules (for example, ship construction rules), then try to play around with them a little as well - enough to get the feel of them and see how much sense they make.
For some supplements this isn't necessary. A book on the background of an in-game group doesn't need much playtesting. An adventure does.
Review the Whole Book
Be familiar with the whole book. That sounds obvious, but too often people skip chapters they don't care about. You don't need to read every last paragraph, but you should at least skim those things you don't read in detail. If there's a section on combat, read enough to get the gist of how it works. If there's fiction, read enough to know whether it suits the game and is well-written. Take everything into consideration. Is the artwork good and appropriate? Did the cover rip the first time you picked it up?
Strong Opinions & Bias
Strong opinions in a reviewer are good. They make reviews more interesting. Having secret biases, however, is not good. If you think vampires are trite and you write a review of Vampire: the Masquerade, you should explain this bias so that readers can better understand your review in relation to their wants and needs. Inform readers of your prejudices, and try to take into consideration whether the book would be useful to people who don't share your opinions.
The Details
Structure: It helps to structure your review a bit. Most good RPG reviews take up more space than your average good book review. If you don't structure things a little (like with those bold section headings I'm using in this article), people will easily lose their place and get confused. It also makes it harder for them to skip ahead to the things they care about.
Explanation & Examples: Many of your readers won't share your views, and you have to give them enough information to decide whether they would like the game - so explain the value judgments you make. After you've explained, try to give an example. What made the combat system too complex? What made the fiction trite? (If your review is getting way too long, then leave out some of the examples.)
Familiarity with System: If you're reviewing a supplement or adventure for a game line, it's important that you be familiar with the game. Otherwise, how can you possibly judge how well the supplement works for that game?
The Purpose of the Book: Understand that the book might not be aimed at you. If you're reading a hack-and-slash adventure and you hate that sort of thing, you should still take into account whether what you have in your hands is a good hack-and-slash adventure. (If you don't feel qualified to do that, then pass the book on to someone else to review.)
Supplier: Remember that many RPG books are not available from places like Barnes & Noble and Amazon. If epinions doesn't provide a sales link, then try to include a link to the publisher's website (or some other supplier) in your review.
PART II: Reviewing RPGs for Epinions
On Epinions, plenty of people who have no idea what on earth roleplaying is like will read your reviews. You could stick your head in the sand and say you don't care, and that your review is just for roleplayers, but that's rather short-sighted. It ignores the reality of things (these people will read & rate your review, whether or not you aimed it at them). And it misses an opportunity: to interest new people in roleplaying. So with that in mind, here are a few things to think about when you review RPGs on Epinions.
Explain Roleplaying... Just a Little
Prep a brief paragraph that explains, to the best of your ability, in simple terms, what roleplaying is. Include it toward the beginning of all your RPG book reviews. Label it clearly so people who know what roleplaying is can skip on to the meat of the review. (Heck, if you like mine then I hereby give you permission to use it. Just put it in quotes or something so other people don't think you stole it.)
Explain the Relationship Between Book and Game... Explicitly
Here's a very Epinions-specific hint: Many readers here have no idea how RPGs work. You know that if you're reviewing the core rulebook for a game, and you review the game, then you pretty much are reviewing the book. But a lot of people here don't know that, and they might get confused, believing that you're reviewing some mythical other game-thing instead of the actual book itself. So:
#1. Explain the relationship between book and game. If this is the core rulebook and IS the game, then say that. If it's a supplement, say so and briefly explain what that means.
#2. Ground this by mentioning parts of the book. If you talk about the cool quirk & flaw charts, then mention that they're in chapter 6. If you talk about player character races, then briefly address how well they're covered in THIS book.
#3. Talk about the book itself. Make sure you address some things that are very book-specific. The writing in RPGs is often designed to NOT display the "voice" of the author, but talk about the writing anyway. Typos, clarity, artwork, binding - these are all things you can address that will make it clear you're reviewing the specific book in question. And they're useful anyway.
Avoid Hobby Shorthands
On RPG-specific web sites you can use shorthands. Things like, "this is a D&D-like level-based system, with similar races and classes." On Epinions you'll need to expand that, so it makes some sense to people who haven't roleplayed. When using acronyms, write them out the first time ("player character (PC)"), and preferably briefly explain them ("gamemaster (GM, the guy who runs the game)").
Add More Detail
Add a bit more detail in general. Assume your potential reader isn't familiar with the wide range of RPGs out there. Explain your terms, particularly when reviewing a supplement that requires previous knowledge of the game system. Yes, this means a little more work and a longer review, but it's worth it. You don't have to go overboard; just go back afterward, think about what someone who isn't familiar with roleplaying would get out of your review, and clarify anything that needs clarifying.
PART III: Rating RPG Reviews
A lot of people here on Epinions read an RPG review and they have no idea how to rate it. Most of them make their best guess, and they do a good job of it. But I've also seen some pretty weird ratings. Reviews that completely fail to address the rules system that get "Very Helpfuls." Or reviews of a main rulebook that cover the game (which is what a main rulebook is) that get labeled "Off Topic" on the grounds that they cover the game and not the book. So, here are a few helpful bits of information that might help you to rate RPG reviews.
The Main Rulebook
Any books labeled "main rulebook" or "core rulebook" or just with the name of the game (like Vampire: the Masquerade) are probably THE GAME. (Technically some games are presented in several books, but usually there's one that's designed to be read first, which presents the basics of the system.) Roleplaying game rules sets and settings are presented in books. When someone reviews a main rulebook and reviews the game, they are reviewing the book. They might be missing some details, like the artwork, or the quality of the writing, but that's grounds for labeling the review "helpful" or "somewhat helpful," not "off topic."
Note: For some games, like Dungeons & Dragons or HackMaster, the "Player's Handbook" is considered to be the main rulebook.
Setting & Rules
Most games include both setting (the fictional world in which the game takes place) and a rules set with which to play. There are exceptions to this; there are "generic systems," like Fudge and GURPS, that include rules but no setting. Lately several companies have licensed their game systems, which means that there are some main rulebooks that are technically just setting, because they're based on a licensed rules set such as d20 (the Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition rules set) or Fudge or the Action! system. Also, some games (like D&D) have a sort of quasi-setting: they're aimed at a particular genre (in this case fantasy), but they don't contain much in the way of setting beyond that.
Any decent review of a main rulebook should address both setting and rules, in some form. It should give some idea of how the rules work, what genre and feel the setting has, and so on.
Generic and licensed systems: A review of a generic system should explain that it's a review of a generic system, and so you'll know that it's okay that there's no setting information. A review of a setting that uses a licensed system should say so, and say which system it uses, so you'll know that it's okay that there's no information on the rules.
The quality of the writing is (usually) of minimal importance in main rulebooks, because it's designed to be as generic as possible in most cases. Not to mention that many main rulebooks are written by committee, with a good 5 to 15 authors in the credits list. (There are exceptions to this rule.) What matters most is whether the rules are clear and understandable, and information is easy to locate at a moment's notice.
Length: Main rulebook reviews that are short are suspect. It's much harder to write a short, comprehensive review of the main rulebook of your average RPG than it is to write a short, comprehensive review of a fiction book. (Particularly for games that include both rules and setting.) There are a few mini-games that break this rule.
Supplements
Once the main rulebook comes out, the company has to support itself (and the game world). It does this by putting out "supplements." Supplements might contain further information about the setting, new settings, more rules for different situations, adventures to play, and so on.
It's hard to say what should be in such a review because there's such variety. Certainly you should come away from the review with a decent feel for what the book is about, which game system it supports, which other books are needed to make use of it, and what's included in the book. Also, quality of writing tends to be more important in these books, as the writing is usually less generic.
Since the supplements are designed to go with specific game lines, however, you should expect that there will be terms and names that you won't understand; many of these books aren't designed to be used by or useful to people who aren't already familiar with the system. Also, it's reasonable for the review to be much shorter; there's a lot less you can say about most supplements than about most main rulebooks.
Ultimately...
If you aren't sure how to rate an RPG review, then don't. There's nothing wrong with not rating a review you don't feel qualified to rate.
IN SHORT
Hopefully this has given you some idea of what to think about before writing RPG reviews, how to write them for Epinions, and how to rate them. So far this place hasn't attracted many RPG reviewers; personally I expect that's because the expectations are so different here from other RPG review sites. Most people accustomed to reviewing RPGs have no idea how to alter their reviews to suit the Epinions community, and get confused and scared off when they receive weird ratings. Hopefully this will help to make Epinions a little more RPG-friendly, and help to make RPG-reviewers a little more Epinions-friendly.
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Epinions.com ID:
owling
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Member: Heather Grove
Location: Maryland, USA
Reviews written: 600
Trusted by: 262 members
About Me:
Too many boxes to unpack, too few shelves...
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