Wikibooks:Game Books
 | This page documents a rejected Wikibooks policy or guideline proposal that should not be followed. It is documented here for historical reasons. If you would like to open up this proposal for reconsideration, do so on the discussion page. |
Books relating to some games are encouraged on Wikibooks, while others are not.
Sports
editBooks about sports (including the rules, strategies, etc.) are encouraged, and should be written in a style which would be suitable for use in a Physical Education class.
Card Games, Board Games, etc.
editBooks about card games and board games are encouraged, so long as the games have some social or historical signifigance. Rulebooks and guides to newly created or released games and very obscure games are in many cases inappropriate.
Young Children's Games
editBooks about educational and social-skills building games for young children are encouraged.
Video Games and Role Playing Games
editBooks about individual video games (VGs) and role playing games (RPGs) are not considered appropriate content for Wikibooks. In the past, these books were permitted and even encouraged, but have fallen out of favor for two important reasons:
1. VGs and RPGs are not in any strict sense academic in nature, and with few exceptions are not played professionally.
2. VG and RPG books generally address copyrighted works, and tend to go over the reasonable limits of fair use in regards to images.
Books about Video Games or RPGs in general (as opposed to books about any particular VG or RPG) are perfectly acceptable, due to their cultural and sociological significance in society at large. Books about programming video games are of course encouraged as well.
The change in policy came about after comments from Jimbo Wales, the founder of the Wikimedia Foundation of which Wikibooks is a part. The Wikibookians who had been involved in writing these books before the policy change created a new wiki, StrategyWiki, as a place to move the books to. Users interested in writing books on this subject are encouraged to write there.