That time a gamer told me to stop over-explaining rules during setup

I used to spend 15 minutes walking through every rule and edge case before we even started a game of Terraforming Mars. Last month at a local meetup, a guy just said "dude, just teach as we go." I was annoyed at first but figured I'd try it. Now I cover the basic goal and a few key actions in maybe 3 minutes, then answer questions as they come up. Games start way faster and people seem less overwhelmed. Has anyone else found a better way to handle rule explanations for heavier games?

3 comments

3 Comments

hill.hugo3mo ago

Yeah, 15 minutes of rules before playing is way too much.

fisher.mason3mo ago

Drove off three friends last game night trying to explain setup.

laura_ross25d ago

Oh come on, skipping rules up front is how you end up with someone mad halfway through because you hid a critical rule from them.