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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 3936153" data-attributes="member: 15999">Well, I was responding to the idea that games must continually &quot;improve&quot; or die.That isn't true for board games; there are several long-lasting ones that are popular because their rules are standardized and stable.&nbsp; The non-commercial games (chess, checkers, backgammon) most clearly so, but the commercial ones as well (such as Scrabble and Monopoly).Sports tinker with &quot;official&quot; rules in a minor way, but any group of people can put together a pickup game of basketball, soccer, softball, or football, and know basically what the rules are going to be.&nbsp; There are no major revamps that make your old knowledge and equipment obselete.Card games remain popular because they are standardized.&nbsp; I can call &quot;5-card draw&quot; and everybody around the table will know what the rules are.&nbsp; There won't be some schism where the &quot;Poker 2.0&quot; enthusiasts declare that a straight should beat a flush.RPGs and miniatures games are different; they insist on constant and significant rules churn and an edition treadmill.&nbsp; Computer games also insist on constant &quot;improvement,&quot; though I admit to being a grognard here as well (I'm current re-playing Might and Magic 4 &amp; 5, and I would love playing Civ 2 just as much as I love playing Civ 4).Edition churn and splatbook sales didn't have to be the business model for D&amp;D.&nbsp; I think that it fell into that pattern, and away from the goal of a standardized game, rather by accident.&nbsp; I could be wrong.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 3936153, member: 15999"] Well, I was responding to the idea that games must continually "improve" or die. That isn't true for board games; there are several long-lasting ones that are popular because their rules are standardized and stable. The non-commercial games (chess, checkers, backgammon) most clearly so, but the commercial ones as well (such as Scrabble and Monopoly). Sports tinker with "official" rules in a minor way, but any group of people can put together a pickup game of basketball, soccer, softball, or football, and know basically what the rules are going to be. There are no major revamps that make your old knowledge and equipment obselete. Card games remain popular because they are standardized. I can call "5-card draw" and everybody around the table will know what the rules are. There won't be some schism where the "Poker 2.0" enthusiasts declare that a straight should beat a flush. RPGs and miniatures games are different; they insist on constant and significant rules churn and an edition treadmill. Computer games also insist on constant "improvement," though I admit to being a grognard here as well (I'm current re-playing Might and Magic 4 & 5, and I would love playing Civ 2 just as much as I love playing Civ 4). Edition churn and splatbook sales didn't [I]have[/I] to be the business model for D&D. I think that it fell into that pattern, and away from the goal of a standardized game, rather by accident. I could be wrong. [/QUOTE]

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