Pro tip: I see a lot of groups skip the teach for a game they think everyone knows.

In my experience, this is the number one reason a game night goes off the rails. Last week, we tried to jump into a game of Root, assuming two players had played before. One of them had only watched a video, and the other had played once two years ago. By turn three, we had to stop everything and re-explain the core mechanics, which killed the momentum. It doesn't matter if it's a simple game like Ticket to Ride or a heavy one; taking five minutes to do a quick rules refresher saves an hour of confusion and frustration. I always ask, 'Who wants a quick rundown?' instead of 'Does everyone know this?' because people will often nod just to not hold up the group. Has anyone else found a good way to handle the pre-game teach without making people feel talked down to?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy_davis9d ago

Remember @miam11's "five minute lie" when my group tried that with Dune.

miam1110d ago

Classic Root move right there. Nothing like a mid-game rules crisis to really bring the mood down. I just start shuffling and loudly ask who wants the "five minute lie" where I pretend it's quick.