What is the first thing you must do before you can play a new game? You
must learn the rules. Rules let the players know what to do. If all the
players played the game their own way, the game would be all mixed up.

Rules are a way to keep things from getting mixed up. We need rules for
games. We also need rules to live by. Families have rules. Clubs have
rules. Sports teams have rules.

Very strong rules are called laws. Laws are made by the leaders of a
tribe, city, state, or country. We have police officers, judges, and
other people who see that laws are obeyed.

Some rules are not really rules. They are polite customs or ways of
behaving. Going to the end of a line, instead of cutting in, is a polite
custom.

Everywhere in the world, people have rules, laws, and polite customs
that work best for them. These rules, laws, and customs make it easier
to work and play and live together.

People making the laws in England more than 150 years ago.