1) Bosses must not have any unskippable cut scenes before the fight, though pre-fight animations of under seven seconds are allowed.

2) It must be possible to save directly before any boss fight in any game where progression, not scoring, is the main indicator of success.

3) All boss attacks must be avoidable, though games with character customisation can make this harder or easier based on the skills/equipment chosen by the player.

4) If the battle is based around finding weak spots, the number of times the boss’s weak spot must be hit must always be three, no more, no less.

5) If the battle is based around doing a certain amount of damage, the boss must have a health bar or equivalent way of seeing damage being taken (i.e. armour that falls off when attacks connect).

6) The player must never take damage due to an attack they couldn’t see because the camera got stuck behind a crate/wall/etc.

7) In a game with energy/hit points no attack should be able to kill the player in one hit.

8) Bosses must never be allowed to heal themselves fully when nearly dead, though partial healing is allowed.

9) Boss fights should always reward tactics, cunning and creativity over mere endurance.

10) All bosses must be killable in less than five minutes, though fights can take longer when players are unskilled, unsure or underpowered.