Writing a Good Game Description

So you’ve written a game and are excited for people to play it. How do you get them interested? How do you get them informed about what you’ve created? Writing a good game description is a more challenging feat than it sounds, but can make all the difference between getting excited players for your game and getting the wrong crowd with the wrong expectations… or nobody at all.  

Writing the description/blurb first, before you write a game, can also serve as a valuable roadmap for when you write a game. Don’t be afraid to write descriptions for games you haven’t even written yet! This can be a great first step to figuring out what your game is… and what your game isn’t. 

• Figure out your premise. A setting isn’t a premise. A mechanic isn’t a premise. A venue isn’t a premise. What’s the plot, what’s the game about, who is the game about? 

  • Find 3-5 words to sum up your game’s premise. Humans who believe they’re vampires. Horny clown orgy. Ritual, revelry, and religious intrigue. Polycule game night social deduction. These few words should color the rest of your blurb and steer the promotional direction for you. If you’re not sure what to say next, or if something should be included, think about how it relates to these 3-5 words. 

    • Make these words prominent. Put them up top. Put them in the preview, maybe even in any promotional images you make. They should be the first thing that potential players see. 

• What is your game’s tone? Figure this out and state it plainly. Is it a goofy comedy? A straightfaced satire? An intense, bleak emotional gut-punch? A low-stakes, high-energy romantic melodrama? Let players know explicitly what kind of gameplay they can emotionally expect, so they can figure out if the game is for them or not. 

  • Do not hide the tone of the game. Do not lie about the tone of the game. Do not be sneaky about the tone of the game. This will lead to a bad time, for both you and your players. 

    • Yes, even if you have low transparency. Tone is one thing you really do need to telegraph to players clearly, even if you’re vague about everything else like plot or game structure. 

  • Examples: 

    • Neurosis is a game of psychological horror, examining ethical failures and interpersonal struggles within an experimental psychology program. 

    • This is Not a Vampire LARP is a game that blends humor and satire about people you’d find at a goth club with the politics and intrigue of something along the lines of Vampire: the Masquerade. 

• What are the content warnings? Even lighthearted games can have content listed out that can be polarizing or potentially distressing, even if it’s not likely to trigger a trauma response in most people. 

  • For example, Honk! has a very prominent warning for loud noises, including sudden loud noises like popping balloons, along with warnings for clowns, sex mechanics, and clown sex mechanics. 

    • This can serve as both a warning and advertisement for the game. Some people will see “tags/content warnings: death of a loved one, suicidal ideation, toxic codependency, cycles of trauma” and realize very quickly it’s not a game they can safely play. Other people will see that and realize it’s everything they’ve ever wanted in a LARP. 

• What does gameplay look like? 

  • What will they be doing? Will they be dancing? Standing around in groups politicking? Sitting at a table arguing? Hitting each other with foam swords? Covering each other in paint and clay? Give people a vague idea as to the physical demands of the game to help them decide if it’s something they want to physically engage with. 

  • What sorts of mechanics should they expect? Will they bring their own character sheets that feature dozens of stats and abilities? Will conflict be solved via OOC calibration? Is playing chess a required part of the game? Will they be trying to max out some sort of stat or objective measure of success over the course of the game? A quick overview of what kind of mechanics are involved is always helpful. 

    • Avoid getting too into the weeds if you have more complex mechanics. Simply stating that it’s a homebrew system that uses stats to measure XYZ things should be enough. 

• What isn’t your game? Telling people what not to expect can be just as helpful as telling them what it is. It helps set expectations very clearly. 

  • Examples: 

    • This is Not a Vampire LARP is not a game of Vampire: the Masquerade, and is not set in the World of Darkness. The characters are not actually vampires. 

    • Blood Trust is not a game about combat and stats; the results of all fights between characters will be calibrated and negotiated off-game rather than using mechanics. 

    • The Bacchanalia Affair is not a sex party; no actual sex will occur within the game space. It is not a LARP that is only about sex and being sexy. While it is an erotic LARP, the focus is more on the elements of altered states of consciousness and political intrigue. 

• Optional: List out inspirations. Tell your players: if you liked this one show, you may like this game. This LARP is inspired by this show, this movie, and this video game. This is a reimagining of this beloved classic novel through the lens of this pop culture phenomenon. 

  • State whether familiarity with the source material is required. If it is, make that very clear that players will be expected to go in with that required reading/viewing/listening under their belts. 

  • Don’t worry about being seen as unoriginal. LARP is iterative, and all parlor LARPs exist in conversation with other LARPs and other media. 

    • Shakespeare told familiar tales in extraordinary ways. Well-known inspirations aren’t too good for The Bard. They’re not too good for you or your players. I promise. 

  • Something doesn’t need to be explicitly “A game about XYZ media” to be listed. Is it similar in tone to Succession? Is it in a post-capitalist futuristic society like Star Trek? Does it have elements of intrigue similar to Vampire: the Masquerade? Giving people the cultural touchstones and reference points can be helpful, even if it’s only a loose similarity or vague inspiration! 

    • Just make it clear that it’s a point of reference and not explicitly the same plot or setting. 
      

Lastly: A good blurb will not only get people excited for your game, it should also have people enthusiastically opt out of your game, realizing it’s not for them. If somebody says “thanks but no thanks,” that means you did good in showing the tone and content clearly enough that somebody realized this game wasn’t the right fit for what they want out of a game. It’s not rejection, it’s embracing information and clearly setting boundaries with that information. You can’t write a game that appeals to everyone. There’s a game out there for every player, but not every game has to be for every person. Tailoring your game to the right audience will lead to a stronger piece of art, and lead to a better experience for the players the game is geared towards. 

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