Question about teaching new players a complex game

I was setting up Twilight Imperium for a group in my basement last month. My friend Mark, who had never played before, just looked at the board and said 'this is too much, I'm out.' I always thought explaining every rule up front was the right way, but that moment showed me it just scares people off. Now I start with the basic goal and add rules as we play. Has anyone else found a better way to handle this?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_hill2mo ago

Oh man, that exact thing happened to me. I used to do the full rule dump too and watched eyes just glaze over. Starting with the win condition and then just jumping in is the only way. You fix mistakes as you go, and by round two, everyone gets it. It turns a scary manual into just playing a game.

julia_burns92mo ago

Wait, is it really that big of a deal though? Like @anna_hill, I get the eyes glazing over thing, but sometimes a game is just complicated. You can't always fix major mistakes as you go without someone feeling totally lost or like they wasted a turn. Jumping in blind works for some stuff, but other times you really do need at least a basic framework first.

alice_harris3511d ago

Anna’s got the right idea with starting at the win condition, that cuts the confusion in half. I usually pick a simple objective first too, like "whoever has the most gold by turn 10 wins", and then explain stuff as it comes up. Saves everyone from that glazed over look and keeps the game moving way smoother.