Paul Beakley – I voted reach out, but I agree that “If the RAW can’t support functional play it’s terrible and broken…” kinda. Like, I wouldn’t be that harsh. But the book you give someone should tell them how to play. If it doesn’t, the book has failed.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a good game that’s worth playing. That’s why it’s worth it to reach out and check in with the author if you can. As you say, indies don’t really have the resources to get everything right the way that a company does.

Actually, writing this made me realize that I am far less likely to give the same benefit of the doubt to a company’s game, especially something glossy. They should’ve spent money on making the book better (copyeditors, editor editors, etc.) rather than make interior art color (or whatever).