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Dont worry it’s real easy
Middle aged man. Who has always wished I could play 40K. But my memory issues and adhd make it impossible on my own and I don’t know anyone to ask about it.
Snorky: I, King Snorky, hereby banish all humans to the sea!
Moe: I tuned out. Where are we going?
SimpsonsI love boardgames, but learning new ones (especially if you are playing a friend/family’s game they are trying to teach you) is so bloody painful. I wish I knew ahead of time what the game will be so I can pre-learn the rules on my own.
When I first started dating my current bf, he brought out Kingdom Builder. We played, it was fun, he got excited that he found a game I enjoyed. Excited enough that he went ahead and bought the rest of the expansions.
Next time we got together to play games, I got REALLY confused and struggled because the rules changed. A big lesson was learned in that moment lol. I struggled overall for a while because everytime we played a game and I felt like I was just starting to get it, some aspect of the game would change and I felt like I was starting over again. In time we’ve found some compromises that work for us though. Legacy games FTW!
I just ask what I do on my turn.
Let’s play a practice round
Or “wait can I see the rules real quick?” and just skim through the bits my brain is missing.
This. Your explanation made sense to you but glossed over the interplay of a few variables and nuances I need to fully grasp the intent. I need to see the instructions in context to get it.
My game night group asked me “Can you read glyphs?” I said “yuh”. They said “And you play 4x and resource managers on PC?” I sead “yeah”. They said “perfect, win conditions are… You’ll go last to watch phase order”
I’ve never had games more succinctly and accurately taught than my current game night group does.
We taught someone magic the gathering in 20 minutes, they won! (We have a noob friendly format we’ve made which has the goal of eliminating metaplays through a shared 400 card library and an extensive banlist)
Yeah, the best way to learn a new game is by doing it. Video games have stopped burying tutorials in booklets, because they realized players didn’t actually read anything. Instead, they use the game itself to teach you how to play, by presenting the relevant information as it becomes relevant.
You don’t need to read rules about a mechanic that starts 3/4 of the way through the game until you’re at the 3/4 mark. In video games, that usually manifests as a “congrats, you got a new ability. Here’s a quick three or four sentences on how it works” pop up. If that info is presented up front (like in a board game rulebook) then you’ll have forgotten how it works by the time it is relevant.
Knowing what to teach a new player is so important in games. They’re not going to have fun if they’re drowning in the deep end
I have a Talrand commander deck specifically designed to teach new players. It is real simple to explain: you get creatures by casting spells, use those creatures to attack people. All the spells are low mana cost “do a small thing draw a card”. There is utility everywhere worded simply and it’s great for new players. Then to keep them engaged with a chance to win I threw in a couple things like coat of arms that can fire off a same turn win even against better decks
I also collect ttrpgs and being able to teach relevant rules in an engaging way is required. I’d never be able to play half the games I own if people didn’t like the learning process to try them out. With ttrpgs it’s easier to be like “eh I don’t like that we’re glossing over that rule” than with board games though which can really smooth out the initial learning curve
Well, I am also sorry I explain it for the fifth time during the same evening while clearly nobody asked for that and nobody except me plays board games anyways.
the only way to learn a game is to play it imho, at least it’s the only way i can lock in and actually keep track of understanding it
This is why I always just setup games, explain victory conditions, and start playing a round as I explain the mechanics - I offer to reset after the first round but folks usually just want to play it out.
explain victory conditions
That is key. Then I add these things help you, these others are obstacles.
It is infuriating to me how often people start explaining the rules without explaining what the actual goals are first. Like, what are we even doing here, start with that, m’kay?
It’s tough, cuz usually I sell people on the game by focusing on the fun mechanics of it, so it’s easy to go straight from mechanics to setup to first round, and have that awkward moment of “Wait, how do you win?”
I’ve had bad experiences with not doing victory conditions upfront since they’re sort of back-of-mind considerations I’ll forget about them until I start shifting my build/position/strategy to pursue one. Making sure everyone knows the long term goals is important before decisions are made or else folks will feel disempowered in the flow of the game.
I’m getting into Battletech and it’s so good for that. The basic game is pretty intuitive, as long as one person knows what to roll and when it’s really easy for a new player to pick up. I’m growing my Inner Sphere collection so hopefully I can get all the folks I’m close to to give it a try - just lay out a bunch of Mechs with sheets ready, say “pick 4 and let’s blow shit up” and have some fun.
My first time playing battletech was just me and a friend of mine who hadn’t played either, and we both have fairly severe adhd symptoms. Trying to figure out how to keep track of movement rolls was confusing to say the least but we eventually got it.
“I’ll probably get it when we start playing, don’t worry, haha!”
