PM Tabletop

Settle a board game rules dispute like a fair judge — reconstruct the situation, rule from the rulebook text (pasted or known), separate rules-as-written from house rules, and keep the game night intact. Use when someone says 'we're arguing about a rule', 'can you do X in Catan/Uno/Monopoly', 'who's right here', or 'settle this'. Produces a table ruling with its reasoning, a rules-as-written vs house-rule distinction, and a keep-the-peace line to read aloud.

Build a 5-minute teach script for any board game so the table starts playing instead of listening — theme first, goal second, a turn third, exceptions only when they come up. Use when someone says 'how do I explain Catan/Wingspan/this game', 'teaching my family a game tonight', 'my rules explanations kill the mood', or 'make a teach script'. Produces a spoken-word teach script with a first-turn walkthrough and a what-to-skip list.

Plan a game night that actually works for the specific people coming — the right lineup for player count, weight tolerance, and time, sequenced from icebreaker to main event, with the fallback for when someone bails. Use when someone says planning a game night, what board game should we play, games for six people, my partner hates long games, or we always end up arguing over what to play. Produces a sequenced lineup with reasoning, teach-time and play-time estimates, swaps for the non-gamers, and a plan B.

Take a board game idea from 'wouldn't it be cool if' to a playtestable prototype — core loop, tension source, components you can make tonight, balance starting-points, and a real playtest protocol with kill criteria. Use when someone says 'I have a board game idea', 'design a game about X', 'my game drags in the midgame', or 'how do I playtest this'. Produces a design one-pager, a print-and-play prototype spec, and a 3-session playtest plan.

Practice the table-talk that wins negotiation board games — play out a Catan-style trade, a Diplomacy-style alliance, or a Monopoly-style deal against an opponent with a hidden agenda, then get an out-of-character debrief scoring your moves. Use when someone says 'I always lose the trading part', 'practice Catan trades with me', 'how do I get better at Diplomacy', or 'roleplay a trade with me'. Produces a played-out negotiation plus a debrief with the reads you missed and one habit to change.