A game is a series of interesting decisions, and a decision is interesting only when no option dominates.
The definition doubles as a test: if one option is always right, or all options are equivalent, the decision is not interesting and the game has a dead stretch. It gives a designer something to check for, which most definitions of games do not.
In practice
- A build order that is optimal in every game has removed the decision it appeared to offer.
- A form whose fields have one sensible answer each should have been filled in already.
- Subject
- Play & Game Design
- Essay
- Small worlds with visible rules