Charles the Bald - what is it?
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:35 amIn Rossum's review of Charles the Bald, he says: "Either I'm missing something, or this isn't an RPG". Rossum complains that "the text quickly drops off into pure mechanics (effectively rock-paper-scissors)".
The Judgebot says: "This game gives me an uneasy feeling, like it's better than I realize, like playing it would be surprising and awesome. Some kind of click between the subject matter and the action of play that isn't apparent. Or maybe not - that's the thing."
Neither the reviewer or the judge have tested the game. I'm not complaining about that; very little time, and it's no secret that I haven't tested it myself.
But what are they reviewing and judging?
Some games - like Capes, Dogs, Universalis - have to be played to be understood. It's kind of pointless to try to say what they're doing just from reading them. From the rules of Go, you can try to guess how the game will play, but judging it as a game without playing it would be ridiculous.
Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that reviewers or judges have to spend weeks playtesting every half-baked concept (like mine) to the bitter end. But I am saying that the results of this contest can't say a heck of a lot about what games will be fun to actually play.
The Judgebot says: "This game gives me an uneasy feeling, like it's better than I realize, like playing it would be surprising and awesome. Some kind of click between the subject matter and the action of play that isn't apparent. Or maybe not - that's the thing."
Neither the reviewer or the judge have tested the game. I'm not complaining about that; very little time, and it's no secret that I haven't tested it myself.
But what are they reviewing and judging?
Some games - like Capes, Dogs, Universalis - have to be played to be understood. It's kind of pointless to try to say what they're doing just from reading them. From the rules of Go, you can try to guess how the game will play, but judging it as a game without playing it would be ridiculous.
Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that reviewers or judges have to spend weeks playtesting every half-baked concept (like mine) to the bitter end. But I am saying that the results of this contest can't say a heck of a lot about what games will be fun to actually play.