Wzorzec gatunkowy instrukcji gry planszowej
Board game instruction’s genre

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the genre pattern of contemporary boardgame instructions, also considering earlier texts. The study material con-sists of 100 instructions issued from 1861 to 2021. The methods of genologi-cal, stylistic and cultural analysis were used, emphasizing the importantrole of situational context due to the instruction’s practical character. Fouraspects of the text were examined: structural, cognitive, pragmatic andstylistic, which, according to Maria Wojtak, make up the genre pattern. Thestudy of the texts showed that there is a genre pattern of this type of text,which distinguishes it from others of the instructional variety. It wasproven that despite the ludic aspect inherent in the game (and fundamentalto it), the most important purpose of a board game instruction is to explainthe rules of the game. All components, whether textual or visual, are sub-ordinated to the functional nature of the text. The instruction servesthe player to understand the game mechanisms quickly. For this reason,means of shortening instructions are used, and illustrations are intendedto depict the text first and foremost. Distinctions and structure help to findthe most important information, and the style is conducive to reading. Thespeaker usually plays the role of the teacher and the receiver – the laymanwho wants to learn the game. The author of the instruction often shortensthe distance by using second-person forms and the imperative mode.

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