Aesthetics and readability in Borg RPGs: when layout truly matters

Pubblicato il 31/12/2025

What matters more in a tabletop RPG in the “Borg” style? A spectacular layout or immediate readability? In recent years, the discussion around Mörk Borg has centered on this very issue, highlighting how thin the boundary between artbook and game manual really is.

In this context, a game like Borg of Pripyat shows that you can choose a strong aesthetic without sacrificing the simplicity of consultation.

When the manual becomes an artbook

Mörk Borg has become a reference point for artpunk aesthetics. Pages saturated with color, extreme fonts, layouts that look more like metal concert posters than regulations. All of this strikes immediately, makes the book memorable, and has opened the door to an entire family of “borg” games.

But not all players experience this approach the same way. In online discussions, a recurring criticism often emerges:

• The manual is beautiful to flip through
• But difficult to use at the table
• Text gets lost in the background
• Information is broken up
• Tables aren’t always easy to spot

In short: the object works perfectly well as an aesthetic manifesto, less so as a practical tool.

What do players really want?

Listening to the Reddit community, one thing becomes clear: Players aren’t asking to give up on graphics.

Instead, they want the manual to remain above all readable and usable:

• Find a rule in a few seconds
• Recognize sections at a glance
• Use the PDF or book without having to “defend” themselves from the page

In many discussions, the same concept is repeated: A good layout isn’t the most spectacular one, but the one that helps the reader orient themselves.

The risk of overly extreme manuals is simple. The game gets talked about, but is played less often, precisely because consulting it is tiresome. This leads to an important insight: “A bad layout can ruin a great game.”

Borg of Pripyat as an answer to the problem

Borg of Pripyat enters this debate with a precise choice. It wants to remain recognizable as a “borg” game, with a strong setting and a clear artistic direction, but works to keep the manual:

• Clear
• Readable
• Practical

The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic 1991 Soviet Union, amid radioactive ruins, desperate factions, and missions on a knife’s edge. This tone emerges immediately from the graphic presentation.

The difference lies in how aesthetics and information are organized.

The ruleset is described as simple, straightforward, and easy to learn, with distinct sections for:

• Rules
• Characters
• Equipment
• Hazards
• Tools for the game master

Graphics accompany the content instead of overshadowing it. The pages remain evocative, but the text maintains sufficient space, hierarchies, and contrast to be read and used in session.

The heart of the work on Borg of Pripyat is precisely this balance. The choice wasn’t “less style,” but “style guided by a clear objective.”

The illustrations support the atmosphere of decadent Soviet times. The maps and graphic elements tell the world’s story. The layout is built to remain consistent and predictable: when you look for a table or a rule, you know roughly where to find it and how it will be presented.

It’s an approach that takes into account what players increasingly ask for: manuals that are beautiful to flip through, but that can be used without effort by the game master and at the table.

In this sense, Borg of Pripyat works as a concrete example of how one can maintain a strong visual identity while simultaneously offering a fluid reading experience, both in the printed version and in the PDF version.

Why this balance is the future of Borg games

Experience from recent years shows that high-impact aesthetics are incredibly powerful for getting noticed. But it’s readability that determines how long a game remains on the table.

Projects like Borg of Pripyat demonstrate that it’s not necessary to choose between the two. It’s possible to design manuals that are simultaneously works of art and functional tools.

For those who create and play in the world of “Borg” games, this is perhaps the most interesting direction:

• Harness the power of the artpunk vision
• But with constant attention to text structure and reading flow
• Of those who, at the table, must roll the dice, make decisions, and consult the manual in a few seconds

In this space, Borg of Pripyat proposes itself as an example of how aesthetics and simplicity can coexist without canceling each other out.

Blog Borg of Pripyat, Borg RPG, game mechanics, layout design, MÖRK BORG, readability, tabletop gaming, TTRPG design