Can any game system ever truly be balanced? Part 5

The imperfections of communication and Language

Well it might not seem like the most obvious of things to talk about in article based around game balance but it is nevertheless an important part of the inherent inconsistencies that exist within all game systems. You see the point of language is to communicate the thoughts and ideas of one person or a group of people to another person or group, and here's the rub... the message as read, or heard and interpreted by those that receive it can be different from what the sender initially intended and, more importantly for a wargame, the message can be interpreted differently by every single person who is a recipient of the message. A very clever chap called J.A. Austin actually managed to come up with an equation for miscommunication in an article entitled 'How to do things with words' in 1962, an interesting read if you're a nerd like me, otherwise stay clear. However Austin also noted later that some people can 'intentionally' misinterpret communication too their own benefit. Yep I'm taking about errata, FAQ's and those delightful individuals we all like to refer to as rules lawyers.

So while I might say the topic of this article is language its not entirely true. No its more about the extent to which we as gamers go in bending, twisting and outright cheating when 'interpreting' the rules. Have you ever had such a heated debate about game rules that you've not been able to finish a game? Have you both been so perplexed by a situation that neither person knows how to resolve a rules conundrum? Has an argument ever made you so angry you shouted at your opponent to 'fuck the shut up'? Well two of the 3 have happened to me, while the third I witnessed, during a game of 8th Edition Fantasy, I watched two gamers get so enraged by the awful wording of a rule that one of them got so tongue tied that they screwed their lines up badly and invented a humorous retort.

You see though I once didn't complete a game of Battletech with a friend because we just could not agree on a way forward. Both of our arguments at the time seemed incredibly plausible and neither would back down, I offered a dice roll but my opponent said no way, he was adamant about being 100% right and wouldn't trust that to fate. Turns out after an FAQ neither of us were right. This episode though very early on in my gaming life emphasised to me how a badly worded rule could lead to huge imbalances in games but also open the door for us gamers to abuse the rules. Sadly though its a thing that's here to stay. Sure games designers can make things easier by using clear and consistent language and to be fair they normally do. Visual aids such as diagrams etc. can also be a great help, but the thing that no game designer can ever do is actually govern the way their rules are received and interpreted by all the brains of the great unwashed masses (that's us gamers if my language is a bit too colourful).

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