Docs & Rules is the durable home for the decisions that should not live only in a chat or a card effect. Use it for the rules a player will read and the design documents your collaborators need to make consistent cards, components, and artwork.
Create the right kind of document
Open Docs & Rules and choose New. Give the document a title and select a type that matches its job. ShuffleKit supports documents for:
- Theme and Lore
- Rules and Keywords
- Card Types, Sets, and Distribution
- Art Style Guide
- Resource System and Balance Rules
The type is an organizing label, not a limitation. A rules document can link to a keyword document; a set document can explain how its cards use a resource system. Split a document when readers need a different audience or a different revision cadence.
Organize by project and type
Use the project filter to view one game's documents, and the type filter to narrow a busy library. Create rules in the same project as the cards and components they govern. That shared project context is what makes the workspace navigable when the game grows beyond a single deck.
For an existing draft, use Import. Docs & Rules accepts .md, .markdown, .txt, and .docx files. Filter to the target project before importing when possible so the new document is attached to that game from the start.
A practical rules-doc structure
Start with a short statement of the game objective, then write the turn or round sequence. Define each keyword once, include examples for exceptions, and keep unresolved questions visibly marked for the next test. Link cards by their exact names so your team can find them in Cards.
Use separate design documents for things players should not see yet: rarity/distribution, a faction matrix, balance targets, image direction, or a card-type contract. That lets the public rules stay readable while the project retains its working notes.
Revise with help, then keep history
Open a document and use Docs AI to improve a passage, find contradictions, create a concise summary, or rewrite wording for a player-facing rulebook. Review the suggestion in context—especially numbers, timing words, and exceptions—before you keep it.
Use the document's version history when you need to compare or restore earlier wording. It is especially valuable after playtests: record the observed problem, revise the rule, and preserve the older version so you can tell whether the change solved the right issue.
Connect documents to the rest of the game
Before a playtest, make a short rules version that players can follow without you narrating every turn. After the session, update the balance or keyword document, then carry those decisions into the card data and layouts. For game-level discussion before writing, start with Shufflo Ideator.
