Dichotomy of RaW vs. RaI

I understand that there have been hundreds of millions of people kicking and screaming, forum posts, blog soapboxing and the like about what is referred to as Rules as Written (RAW) vs. Rules as Intended (RAI).

This is my soapbox, damnit, and I’ll touch what topics fancy my super classy wine and cheese loving palette.

I believe a balanced approach to RaW vs. RaI needs to be taken into consideration when gaming in a competitive atmosphere.  The reasons for this school of thought are varied and universal to any game system I’ve partaken in, but firstly, let’s cover the basics:

Rules as Written (RaW) – RaW is an interpretation of a given rule or set of rules that do not escape the boundaries of verbage used.  Words such as “can,” “may” and “or” can potentially result in havoc on a scale that’s both at times embarrassing and ulcer-inducing.  RaW is a simple matter of black or white, with no middle ground.

Rules as Intended (RaI) – Often times you’ll see reference to the “spirit of the game” in relation to Rules as Intended.  RaI asks an argument to be settled in an amicable way that all parties can agree upon.  RaI in a competitive environment injects the element of subjectivity, where often times the losing party of a rule dispute can feel slighted.  As opposed to RaW, RaI occupies almost exclusively the gray area that RaW leaves unoccupied.

I firmly believe that taking advantage of semantics and awkwardly worded rules or sets of rules does nothing but spoil what should be an otherwise pleasant gaming experience.  In my experience, people that take the Win At All Cost (WAAC) approach to games generally have a hard time finding games around their Local Gaming Store (LGS).  Tournaments and organized events, on the other hand, are an entirely different beast:

            - I’ve paid to enter this event.

            - I’ve optimized my army/armies and playstyle through thorough playtesting to fully take advantage of strengths and negate weaknesses.

            - I understand that entering into a tournament I will encounter WAAC players.

            - Hopefully there has been a FAQ with common rule misconceptions/exploits addressing how this particular event will handle these issues.

Understanding the environment you’re gaming in is essential.  A social game against a friend or new acquaintance will end badly if you go into the game intending to lawyer your opponent on every measurement, dice roll, or otherwise trivial task that happens throughout the game.  Making corrections is absolutely fine and more than welcome, letting someone do something illegal to whatever game system you’re involved with is worse than making a simple spot correction.  For me, “Spirit of the Game” is fully realized in an atmosphere that is less competitive than a tournament or otherwise organized league/event.   

Don’t get it twisted:  If you act like a complete douche in a tournament atmosphere, good luck getting a game with me again.  I’ll shake your hand and as far as I’m concerned we just had our first and last game together.  No I won’t call you out by name and spread electronic hate for you throughout the internet, but we won’t be gaming again in the near future.

Currently I fall into the school of thought that the bigger events are doing a relatively good job at clearing up rules issues with FAQs released months before their respective events.  Generally these FAQs tread a nice middle ground between RaW and RaI and are even-handed with rulings when these issues come up during the event itself.  I know people will kick and scream and have to go on medication about this rule or that, but if it’s honestly that game-changing for you, there isn’t a damned thing stopping you from NOT paying to participate in said event. 

I’ve reserved myself to the fact that there are always going to be rule interpretation issues.  I’m not jaded enough to think that a rock solid ruleset can’t be written and implemented smoothly that leaves no wiggle room to exploit or misunderstand, but I’m not holding my breath for that system to be unleashed.

Besides, if the “perfect” system came out, what would people on the internet complain about?