Has it been officially confirmed by FFG that the Rules Reference is not included in the Retail Version of the game?

I could not find this addressed anywhere in these forums. I also ask because it was not included in my lone core box from GenCon.

If it is not going to be included in any of the final release day core sets, this is a major disapointment. Sure, it can be printed off, but I have come to enjoy the ease of rule clarification through their reference books. The Learn to Play Guide is difficult to look up answers to situational questions.

The Rules Reference is only available online. I guess it's because they want to update it when needed (they already did once).

1 hour ago, Khudzlin said:

The Rules Reference is only available online. I guess it's because they want to update it when needed (they already did once).

Exactly this. They want to be able to constantly update it and not have multiple versions from different printings floating around.

1 hour ago, Malraza said:

Exactly this. They want to be able to constantly update it and not have multiple versions from different printings floating around.

Right, why do that when you can make your player base reprint them every time they get updated! Makes perfect sense. #sarcasmface

If they're going to keep the rules online only, the least they could do is have a non-pdf version that's easier to pull up on phones, so you can look up the rules any time you need to. IMHO.

I'm confused, what makes a pdf version difficult to pull up? I've never had any difficulties accessing it from my downloads, are pdf files an issue for some phones?

PDFs are big and clunky and not exactly made for 5" screens. Something plain-text, or HTML, or even an official rules wiki would be far easier to pull up and search on mobile devices.

I'm not saying they should stop with the PDF. Printed out, it's beautiful, and I'll definitely be bringing it with me to events. But something else, more suited for on-the-go reference, would be more convenient.

Something easily searched would be better. But I don't have an issue with reading PDFs on my phone. I hope they just don't keep the whole box shape aspect ratio.

It costs FFG far less to have their customers reprint their rules instead of doing it themselves. And do you really want old/incorrect copies floating around?

https://fiveringsdb.com/rules/reference

A handy HTML version.

22 hours ago, Zesu Shadaban said:

I'm confused, what makes a pdf version difficult to pull up? I've never had any difficulties accessing it from my downloads, are pdf files an issue for some phones?

FFG makes their pdfs big and fancy with lots of extra graphics. They take a while to load if you have a slow connection. A simple plain text or html version would be nice.

I enjoyed having the extra art and physical book for both Warhammer 40,000 Conquest LCG and Arkham Horror LCG. I seldom play in any large tournaments. Table games and store fun OP kits are where it is at for me. If something isn't clear in the book, I then look online and see if there is an update to the rules reference. If they did a very good job at the clarification between rules writing and play test questions, I would not expect much if any clarifications needed. I can live with it the way that it appears to be. I am just expressing my disappointment. They have stated that the majority of the sales of LCG games go to in home coffee table players. Are they expecting that trend to continue? If so, why not print it? Not printing it is something you do if you expect the majority of end users to change to ultra competitive tournament players.

Oh, and thanks for the fiveringsdb link. That's great. I'd love to see FFG do something like that with card images as part of descriptions. HTML>PDF Although having it offline is quite nice too.

Edited for a spelling goof.

31 minutes ago, DarwinsDog said:

FFG makes their pdfs big and fancy with lots of extra graphics. They take a while to load if you have a slow connection. A simple plain text or html version would be nice.

If you download it to your phone while on Wi-Fi, pulling it up later doesn't really take too long.

Personally, I've never really had any issues with PDFs on my phone. Easy to zoom; easy to scroll. No problem.