TIL I was teaching new players all wrong at my game nights

For years, I'd explain every rule upfront, which took like 20 minutes and just made everyone's eyes glaze over. Last month, a friend brought her sister who had never played anything beyond Monopoly. I started my usual info dump, but the sister just looked totally lost. My friend cut me off and said, 'Let's just set up and play a round, I'll explain as we go.' We played a full game of Ticket to Ride in under an hour and she loved it. I've been overcomplicating the first experience this whole time. How do you guys handle teaching complex games to total beginners?

2 comments

2 Comments

shah.zara10d ago

I read a blog post that called the "explain as you go" method the "tutorial round." The writer said you need to give the big goal first, like "we're building train routes to score points," then start playing. You only explain a rule right before someone needs to use it, like how to claim a route on their turn. It stops that glazed-over look.

fisher.reese10d ago

Respectfully disagree with your friend's method. Dumping new players into a game with no rules is a recipe for frustration and unfair losses. A clear, upfront explanation respects their time and lets everyone start on equal footing.