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In Stackexchange.arqade, people can't ask questions about "why" developers made certain decisions (ex: "why is the max level in Final Fantasy 99?" would be considered off topic).

Therefore, my question is - should similar questions about board games be considered off topic?

The example I have is here: Building Limit in Lords or Waterdeep

Now, I personally think the asker intended on asking about the rules of the game, rather than asking why the game was made that way. However, others disagree.

If the linked question is about why the game was made that way, isn't that off topic? I mean, the answers are endless:

  1. Developers thought 9 would be the maximum feasible number
  2. Manufacturers only had room on one cardboard sheet to make tokens.
  3. Developers all picked an arbitrary number and went with an average.
  4. 9 was the lead developers favorite number.

etc..

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The question asked and the argument presented are completely unrelated.

Is game design on topic?

Game design in general is clearly on topic. The first paragraph of the Help Center will back me up, and there's also this old meta post. If game design is on topic, then a specific game's design is on topic.

Are primarily opinion based questions on topic?

No.

Are questions that ask "why" on topic?

I can only demonstrate this through examples.

  • Why is the earth round?
    • Objectively answerable
  • Why you gotta be so rude?
    • Not objectively answerable

Do you see the difference? "The earth is round." is a fact. "You are rude." is an opinion. The "why" really had no part to play here.

"The game was designed this way." is also a factual statement. You should let the question stand and just downvote the bad answers and upvote the good ones.

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  • "Why was a game designed this way" could have many answers, is the point I'm trying to make. There may rarely be a factual answer, but "because that's the way it is" isn't an answer. Otherwise, I could ask "why does 7 wonders come with only X gold tokens?", or "why aren't there more crisis cards in Battlestar Galactica?"
    – Othya
    Oct 28, 2014 at 12:59
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    @Othya The potential for many answers is not automatically a bad thing. "Why does 7 Wonders come with only X gold tokens?" may have an authoritative answer, or the best answer might just be "The developers did not explain their reasons." If the top voted answer is just speculation and opinions, then the voters are at fault.
    – Rainbolt
    Oct 28, 2014 at 14:14
  • That's fair, and you make a good point.
    – Othya
    Oct 28, 2014 at 17:12

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