You have gone through the process of getting some friends together and you want
to introduce them to a new game. The good news is that they are not looking to
you as a master of this new game. They really want a guide to get them past the
rules and get to the gaming goodness - the reason they came to the event to
begin with.
Be Familiar with Your GamesWhat is the worst
thing you can do with a new game? Read the rules in front of your gaming group.
Some of these games come with Rule Guides of over 35 pages. It is not practical
to read that as you go. Chances are you will not have anyone at your next gaming
event if this is how you plan to handle it.
The important part of this
process is not complete mastery. It is maintaining control long enough for
everyone to get the hang of the game themselves. What your friends want from the
situation is to play the game with the correct set of rules.
They want to
know:
These are the points you need to cover at the very beginning,
so they understand where all the explanation is leading.
If you forget
certain rules, it is alright to add them later. You are goal here is to get past
the basic explanation so everyone can enjoy the game. You lose control of the
situation and your friends' attention the minute you go to look up a set of
rules in the rule book.
Set Up the Game Before You
StartThis is one of the most important steps you can take to improve
your success in teaching new people a game. Good speakers use props to enhance
their presentations. You certainly do not need PowerPoint for this, but having
the game as a reference is a great tool.
This allows for two
things.
Every game has a goal. Some are simple goals, like "If you
have the most points by turn 10, you win". Other games have more complex, and
really do not make sense until you review the rules of the game. Make sure you
explain these goals up front and make sure you repeat them
often.
Whatever the goal, people like to know what they need to
accomplish. This is what drags them through the process of hearing the rules.
With the "end" in mind, they can get through and understand the
"means".
If you do not do this, your audience will constantly be
wondering "how does this help me win?" This is distracting to the learner and
you want to eliminate it. If you can not explain it well at the beginning, give
them keywords or something to latch onto, so they understand it when it shows
up. "You can even just say something like "victory points are good, knights are
good, cities and roads are good, or keeping all your resources is
bad".
Three is a Magic NumberPeople like to learn things
in groups of three. There is a rhythm and flow to things that come in a set of
three. Many games have choices to present - do it in groups of three when
possible. For example, you can gather a resource, attack your neighbor, or
choose an "opportunity" card.
Some games make it complicated - you get
three things to do on your turn and each of those items offers several options.
The best way to explain that is "On your turn, you are going to do X, Y, and Z.
For you to accomplish X, you have three choices. They are 1, 2, or 3. Let us go
over 1 first".
Do not force this concept where it does not exist, though.
That just leads to confusion. You can look for patterns in the rules, though.
Sometimes there are team decisions, defensive decisions, or offensive actions
you can take. You can divide your descriptions into these categories if you
wanted to.
Wash, Rinse, and REPEAT!As you are explaining
the game, it is beneficial to your audience if you repeat certain things, like
how to win the game. Also, it is nice to do this if you are going through a set
of choices. How do you do this?
Let us go back to the X, Y, and Z example
from earlier. You are talking about the first action you need to do on your
turn, action X. You need to explain choice 1, 2, and 3. When you are done, you
say something like "OK, that is the first part of your turn. That was X. Now,
let us take a look at Y." While doing this, rephrase the rules you just offered,
rather than repeating them again the same way. This will help some of your group
"get it" if they had not already.
Lots of games have common things,
but they go by different names. Make these associations for your group and then
introduce them to the correct terms for the game you are trying to teach them. A
good example of this type of item is money. If you can get away without using
the game jargon, that will help your group grasp concepts better. For example,
if you are introducing Settlers of Catan, there is no money in the game. But,
there are resources. You can equate these to money and talk about how you buy
things with combinations of money, or "resources". This allows you to add your
own flair to the instruction and bring people into the game
quicker.
Talk to MeTeaching new gamers a game should be a
conversation, not a boring lecture. People want to have fun, not watch you give
a fancy presentation. Watch to make sure your fellow gamers are getting what you
are saying and do not be afraid to go back and reiterate something you already
mentioned - even if you have to revisit a concept several times.
Do not
single out people that are having trouble grasping the rules. One of the worst
things you can do is set them up to look slow. They will not want to ask
questions after that. It is also possible that they may not return for another
gaming session.
Here's A Personal Experience For You I got
a new game, Starcraft the Board Game, about two months ago. I was sure my wife
would be interested in checking it out, so she could kick my interstellar butt.
This game had a 45 page rule guide. I did not follow any of these suggestions
for myself and suggested we go through the guide and try to teach ourselves.
Well, four hours later, we had gotten to the point where we actually started to
understand what the rules were saying and we attempted to play. This was
possibly one of the worst gaming experiences for her. To this day, she refuses
to really try to play that game.
We had a better experience this last
weekend with Shadows Over Camelot. I introduced it to her and her mother. I
watched a few videos on YouTube about the game and was a little more familiar
with how the game played. This went fairly smoothly. We attempted a game on
Friday night with rules in hand. Then, on Saturday night, we played one game
with the rules, but a little faster. We were enjoying it enough to give it a go
for a third time - that was the kicker. This was a tense game with great team
play and lots of table-talk. But, very little use of the rule book. This one was
a success.
Introducing your friends to a new game can be a very
rewarding experience and a great way to get your games on the table and into
rotation with your game group.
Like any skill, practice makes perfect.
Also, do not miss out on many of the learning tools available online. You can
find quick-start guides, visual aids, and other suggestions on web sites like
unblockedgamesz.com
One Last
SuggestionThere is a practice at the country western clubs that
actually can be useful for you in your gaming group. About an hour before the
club starts hopping, the DJ opens the dance floor and teaches people how to do
many of the line dances they will see throughout the night. Obviously, you will
not be line dancing at your gaming party (are you?) but the lesson is solid.
Announce the games you will be playing before the event. If someone is new to
that game, allow them to come early for an introduction to those games. That
way, you do not have to take up game time with a rules introduction. Also, it
allows fellow gamers to try to introduce games in a non-threatening
environment.
Once everyone is comfortable with this process, you can
rotate who does the teaching at each event.
