IND9: Is that a new game or a renamed listing?

IND9 list changes: distinguish a new addition from a renamed entry by reading change notes and comparing the old and new listings with a worked example.

Yesterday a directory contained “Tile Path”. Today it contains “Path Tiles”, marked with a bright new badge. Has a game been added? The name change alone cannot answer. For someone following an IND9 list, the useful task is to identify what changed in the directory, then what changed in the game description. A refreshed title, a new listing and a changed rule set can coincide, but they are not the same event.

## One rename, one addition

Build a fictional before-and-after comparison. On 18 October, entry G04 is called Tile Path and describes connecting marked squares before a timer ends. On 20 October, entry G04 is called Path Tiles with the same stated objective. A change note says “G04 title updated; rules unchanged”. Separately, entry G12, called Token Bridge, appears for the first time and the note labels it a new addition to this particular directory.

In that example, G04 has continuity evidence: the identifier remains the same and the change note explicitly connects the names. G12 has a different sort of evidence: a dated addition note. Saying both are “two new games” would discard the information supplied by the editor. Saying no game is new because one item was renamed would be just as inaccurate. Classify each changed entry before making a claim about the total.

What can you compare when identifiers are absent? Look for an explicit old-name reference, a change log, a description of migration or a note linking the two pages. Matching pictures or similar objectives may help locate candidates, but they do not establish identity. Many games share a basic goal, and artwork can be reused. The strongest available relationship is the one the source actually states, rather than the relationship that feels plausible from appearance.

## New to the directory

We also separate “new to this list” from “newly created”. G12 was added to the directory on 20 October, but the note does not establish when the game itself was first published. This distinction is easy to lose in a short announcement. A precise report can say that the directory gained one entry without making a larger historical claim. It gives readers useful information while staying within what the source explains.

Now complicate the IND9 example. Suppose G04 keeps its title update, but the timer changes from sixty to ninety seconds in the new description. The statement “rules unchanged” no longer appears consistent with all the visible details. Do not silently decide that the timer is a typo or a new mode. Preserve the two descriptions and ask whether the change concerns the same variant. An explicit discrepancy deserves a narrower question than “is this a new game?”

A second complication is a temporary duplicate. For a few days a directory might show both names while directing readers to one guide. Unless a notice explains the relationship, the duplicate is an observation, not a count of two distinct games. Check whether both entries point to the same reference and whether the source calls one an older name. The task is to resolve the relationship between entries, not to make the list look longer or shorter.

## Leave unresolved identity open

Use a three-way outcome when the evidence stops short. Confirmed rename means a source connects the old and new labels. Confirmed directory addition means a source identifies an entry as added to that list. Unresolved means the relationship has not been established. These outcomes allow progress without forcing every case into yes or no. An unresolved entry can still be described accurately, with the available names and the exact missing explanation attached to it.

Return to the first comparison and calculate the directory change. There was one rename, G04, and one additional entry, G12. The new badge on G04 does not add another item to the count. If the previous directory held eight distinct entries and none were removed, the updated directory holds nine. The arithmetic follows from entry continuity and addition; it cannot be obtained reliably by counting how many titles look unfamiliar to the reader today.

That solves the IND9 teaching case without deciding which game is better or asking the reader to test an unfamiliar interface. The correct short description is “one entry renamed, one entry added to the directory”. A name is a label; a change note explains its relationship with earlier labels. Once those two jobs are kept separate, an exciting announcement can remain exciting without confusing a familiar game under a new heading with a genuinely additional listing.