thomas_young•16d agoProlific Poster

I finally stopped teaching new players every single rule before we start

For years I'd spend 20 minutes going over every page of the rulebook before opening a game. People's eyes would glaze over and half of them would forget the rules anyway. Then at a game night last month with Terraforming Mars, I just said here's your starting hand and the basic turn structure, we'll figure the rest out as we go. It worked way better than I expected. People asked questions when they hit a card they didn't understand instead of zoning out. Now I only explain how to win and the core mechanic for the first turn. Has anyone else tried this shortcut and had it backfire on a complex game?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverp3716d ago

Wait, you actually read the full rulebook for Terraforming Mars?

henry_kelly5415d ago

Ngl, I don't see it the way you do at all. Tbh, reading the full rulebook is the only way to really understand how the game works, especially with all the expansions and tricky timing stuff. Honestly, I always read through the whole thing before I play a new game, because if you don't, you end up making dumb mistakes later that ruin the fun. I've seen too many people skip rules only to argue about how something works halfway through a game. It's not that hard to skim through, and it saves everyone a headache down the line.