Bryan and I had the opportunity to lunch together this week. Don't you just love it when people use "lunch" as a verb? In any case, our conversation inevitably turned to game design, and I continued my "why are games so damn long" rant for the benefit of Bryan, our waitress, and all the fortunate souls at the tables around us.

Then I said something that might be useful. I had an idea I thought novel at the time (Bryan has since unearthed an RPG that makes use of my "original" idea). However, I think it bears exploration… and rather than share it verbatim, I want to share it with you in the spirit it was conceived.

So, here's the only background you need. You're at the gaming store, and see a box for the new game "Pedants and Postings." The box states that it is a game based on the fast-paced world of blogging, and that players will take on the role of co-editors as they develop a site and try to build it's following. Weirdly enough, this interests you, and you buy the game.

Opening it, you find a small handful of oddly-shaped dice, along with three volumes that look like magazines. The first is short, about 16 pages, and helpfully labelled "Read This First!" in a font right out of 1982. The others are larger than the first, but no more than 64 pages. You pick up the first book, and this is what you begin to read…