Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to learn a heavy board game solo?

I tried running through Robinson Crusoe by myself last weekend and it took 4 hours just to get through the first round with the rulebook open. What game kicked your butt the hardest when you were learning it?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantl941mo ago

Yeah did I just waste my whole day playing a board game tutorial?

the_kim1mo ago

Robinson Crusoe took me THREE attempts before I finally got a turn where I didn't have to re-read the same rule five times. Did you ever just give up on a game halfway through because the manual was that bad?

the_gavin1mo ago

I think I lost a whole Saturday to the first edition of Merchants & Marauders. Spent four hours setting up and reading the rules, then gave up at midnight because the combat flowchart was like a choose your own adventure where every choice was wrong. What finally worked for me was printing out player aids from BGG and watching a 20 minute playthrough video on the side. Have you ever tried watching a rules explanation while you set up the pieces?