Player and GM Reference Sheets

I know that over the years D&D and similar RPGs have been successful with creating GM screens that have condensed rules and guidelines on them. Has anyone seen anything like this specifically for players? I know that that is somewhat the purpose of the character sheet, but the assumption is that a player has a fairly firm grasp on how to actually read the sheet and understand how it applies to the game (and what that even means.)

I'm trying to streamline the rules as much as possible so that a player can pick up the OMEN book, skim it for fifteen to twenty minutes and have a pretty good grasp on what they can and can't do, even if they are brand new to RPGs. Unfortunately that still requires that every player either have a copy of the book, have read it at some point before game play (and then remember what it said), or have a handful of players who are more experienced explain what's going on to the newbies.

I don't want that.

I want to hand a single sheet to a player that has everything that they need to know smack on the page and that can be used as reference in between players' turns. Now of course the details of each mechanical aspect of the game can't fit on a single page, but just the overarching general rules that apply to everything.

For example, for D&D4e it might have something like describing in and out of encounter actions, how to select which skills the player wants to use for a specific action (or combination thereof), how many actions and what those actions mean in combat, the difference between at-will, encounter and daily powers, etc.

I've been drawing some inspiration from wargames, card games (like M:tG), and board games as they can convey a large amount of rules often in a very small booklet or on a sheet of paper. I have a collector's edition box of Risk, and the summary of the game's primary rules are on the front page of a laminated sheet while more detailed rules are listed on the back.

How easily do you think this could be accomplished for an RPG? I understand that entirely depends on the system, as games like Dread or Fate are very simple, but assume an RPG of low to medium complexity (less than Pathfinder or D&D) with brand new players. If you were a new GM, would you want a reference sheet to quickly grok the system? Would you want to give it to your players so you could start in less than 10 minutes?

Let me know what you think. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

How easy depends on the game.

I routinely create sheets with information for players who are new to the game (or the whole group for a new system). Those often focus on important charts they need regularly, which usually means combat charts. In some systems, I put in step-by-step for procedures that people are having trouble with or for which they only use once in a while.

A cheat sheet for players can be a real benefit to keeping things running smoothly at the table. It has to be designed well, though. Just like a lot of badly done GM screens I've seen, a poorly done cheat sheet doesn't really help and can hinder. It needs to be as minimalist as possible but also contain enough information to solve most issues without cracking the book. If it's more than one or two pages, it's probably either too much or it's a problem with the system.


Sometimes, however, a more extensive document is needed for people new to the system or new to gaming. As an example, I ran a Shadowrun game where I created a number of pages of basically step-by-step lists for everything you do in the game. It was things like, "How to take damage: 1) Grab your Body in dice; 2) Apply these modifiers to your target number." Those were not intended to be permanently used, just until someone got the system down. (Though a few were kept around for things the characters rarely did.)

I've seen several games over the years that included a good one or two page combat summary that covered the major steps and could be referenced by players at the table. This makes getting the game mechanics down a lot easier.