You're on a need to know basis

The hardest part of writing Itza was boiling the player's handbook into two sheets of paper. That's it! Four pages going from 1 to 4.

Get your stats, write your character out, understand the skill system and get down to playing. You're on a need to know basis, and the less you know the better off you are.

That is the basics of old school gaming I grew up with and the basics of the games I want to design from now one (at least for the foreseeable future). The less you know about the rules the more creative you'll be as a player.

As a GM I want you to tell me what your character is and how such description will lead to a kick ass scene.

A few points:

• Less rules means you get down to playing the game sooner.
• Less rules means you get to play your game rather than the "rule's games".
• Less rules means there's a lesser divide between the "rules savvy" and the "noob players" (more fun for everyone)
• Less rules means a lot more burden on the GM or person running the game. Trust and communication is a must (which of course is a must in any situation involving many humans).

Of course all this goes against the intuitive business logic of selling more shit. So how do things unfold?

Thoughts?