# Boardgame Rules

> Answer board-game rules questions from the installed boardgame-rules plugin, or validate a specific play situation against a pre-authored worked example. Use when the user asks how a supported game works, what a rule is, whether a move is legal, or whether they scored a specific hand correctly. Call boardgame_list_supported_games for what is installed.

- Skill: `vellum-ai/boardgame-rules` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vellum-ai/boardgame-rules`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vellum-ai/boardgame-rules/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: vellum-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/vellum-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vellum-ai/boardgame-rules

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Answer from the installed `boardgame-rules` plugin. Do not invent a ruling.

## Which tool

- `boardgame_ask_rules` — user asks a general rules question ("how does the birdfeeder work?"). Returns evidence entries with citations, or abstains.
- `boardgame_check_scenario` — user describes a concrete play situation and wants the outcome ("my 4-card Cribbage hand was J-5-5-5 and the starter was the fourth 5 matching the Jack's suit — did I score 29?"). Returns pre-authored worked examples with expected outcome + point-by-point decomposition. **Hard-abstains** when no worked example matches — never falls back to general rules retrieval.
- `boardgame_list_supported_games` — enumerate installed games.

The two retrieval tools do different jobs on purpose. `ask_rules` returns rule paraphrases with citations. `check_scenario` returns concrete worked examples or nothing. Do not mix results between them silently.

## Steps

1. Call `boardgame_list_supported_games` if the game is not obviously installed.
2. Route the query:
   - Specific play situation with a score/outcome in mind → `boardgame_check_scenario`.
   - General rules question → `boardgame_ask_rules`.
3. Pass `game_id` explicitly (there are many games installed and `ask_rules` requires a game — either from `game_id` or from an active sitting).
4. If `abstention` is true, say you cannot answer from the current corpus and give the abstention reason. Do not guess. Do not fall back from `check_scenario` to `ask_rules` unless the user asks. If an `ask_rules` result carries `web_fallback` with `used: true`, you may then relay its answer and sources, clearly labeled as live web information rather than a corpus ruling.
5. If `abstention` is false, answer from the top evidence (or top match) only. Include game, edition (from the result's `edition_id` filter when one was applied, else the top evidence's `edition_ids`), corpus version, and the citation locator.
6. Stay inside `coverage_boundary`. Limited documents are not complete rulebooks.

Never reproduce rulebook, card, or artwork text. The plugin stores original interpretations only.