Editorial policy

Source hierarchy

Choose the most direct source that applies to the exact ruleset and edition. A governing body for one game does not define every local variant. Use secondary references when primary material is unavailable or needs context, and make that limit clear.

1. International governing bodies.
2. National governing bodies and recognized associations.
3. The official game publisher or official rulebook.
4. Primary historical and rule documents.
5. Academic and established reference sources.
6. Secondary sources where primary sources are insufficient.

Rule verification workflow

1. Identify the exact game, variant, ruleset and edition.
2. Locate the applicable primary sources.
3. Check movement, captures, special rules and game endings against the relevant clauses.
4. Cross-check ambiguous cases and record unresolved differences.
5. Check diagrams and interactive examples against the explanation and the implementation.
6. Link the supporting sources and identify important clauses or pages.
7. Record the scope and date of the review; update the content date when the content changes.

Accuracy and ruleset transparency

Keep factual rules separate from advice and teaching shortcuts. Cite important numbers, special rules and differences between rulesets. Do not invent missing rules, expert reviewers, credentials or affiliations. Explain uncertainties rather than presenting a disputed interpretation as settled.

Interactive examples and platform limits

A lesson may cover a tournament rule that needs a claim, a scoresheet or an arbiter. The online game may automate a result or implement a different variant. State those differences beside the explanation, preserve source references and test the example with the relevant game engine.

Dates, translations and revisions

Published is the original publication date. Last updated records a content revision. Rules reviewed identifies a separately recorded editorial check against the named sources; a new layout or successful build does not count as a rule review. Translations share the same author entity, while language-specific errors can still be reported and corrected.