Sanity Test for Wormhole!

80/100
Final Score
Epic Penguin crushes it with these compact, visually appealing rules.
Completed July 3, 2016 by Steven Dast

Rules 65/80

Structure 9/9

Superbly organized. Generally the list of game components should come earlier, but with everything immediately visible on one page, that's a largely irrelevant concern.

Requirements 3/3

On bottom of box. Would be helpful as a set of icons near the top of the rules as well.

Introduction 2/3

Almost as scant as possible without actually disappearing altogether. Nevertheless provides just enough of a backstory that I'm prepared to buy in.

Overview 2/3

Also minimal, providing a goal only and no sense of how game play works. However, the goal is clearly stated and a game that can fit its rules on a single page can probably get by without a summary.

Component List 4/5

All components listed with counts and clear names or descriptions. List indicates 6 ship pawns, but there should be 8, shouldn't there?

Component Pictures 2/3

No pictures, but not needed.

Setup 8/10

Very simple setup, clearly explained. "Die" is the preferred singular form for "dice"

Setup Pictures 5/7

No pictures, and while you could show the mouth of the wormhole rather than describing in the text, the description works fine.

Game Play 10/15

Basic steps of the game are clearly explained. The description of what happens when someone goes out was initially confusing and should be re-worked. The eliminated player is referred to in the third-person (someone/they) at the start of the paragraph, but then in second-person (you) in the middle of the paragraph. At first I assumed that if one player was eliminated then (for some reason) other players shuffled and distributed their cards. Context eventually makes this clear, but using a consistent reference style (either second-person or third-person) throughout will make this obvious from the get-go.
House rules are likewise clearly expressed and should be easy to apply, for those that choose to.
See note above about 'die/dice'

Game Play Pictures 5/7

No pictures are provided, but shouldn't be needed.

End Point 6/6

Clear and straight-forward

Overall Comprehension 4/4

Very clear

Clarity 3/3

Language is clear and easy to follow. Minor concerns noted above

Presentation 2/2

Feels very minimal, but with lots of subtle touches to enhance readability and reinforce sections. Really quite excellent.

Shop Presentation 15/20

Ad 3/3

Graphic is crisp and conveys the theme well, while the blurb expresses both the core of the gameplay and the basic goal of the game.

Backdrop 1/1

Nice composition and use of actual game components in the image.

Logo 1/1

Same graphic from ad. Looks good, however, as this logo also appears twice in the backdrop (one standing alone on the left, and one on the box top on the right) is starts to feel overly repetitious.

Action Shots 5/5

Excellent variety with good lighting

Description 5/5

Compactly covers the theme, provides a good overview of gameplay and mixes in a bit of fun and marketing flair.

Video 0/5

No video


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