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The trick that finally helped me teach new players without losing my cool

I always struggled teaching heavier board games to my group. They'd zone out after 5 minutes of me reading rules. So last month I tried a different approach - I set up a totally fake solo scenario and just walked through one turn with no explanation at all. After watching me do it, they picked up the basic flow way faster than any rulebook readthrough. Has anyone else found a weird teaching method that actually works better than the manual?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper12h ago

Starting with a demo round like that is genius because people learn way better by seeing than hearing. The key is keeping it super short and focused on just the core actions, not every possible rule. Once they get the basic rhythm, you can layer in the exceptions and edge cases as they come up.

simontorres8h ago

Ran a quick demo session for some friends last weekend and it turned into them arguing about whether a rule applied before we even finished the first turn. Totally derailed the whole thing. You think keeping it to just the basics would have prevented that chaos, or is that kind of debate just inevitable with some groups?