Talked with a game group organizer that made me rethink how I pick games

I was at a local game cafe in Portland last weekend and this guy who runs a weekly meetup told me he stopped bringing heavy strategy games because new players kept leaving. He said I focus too much on winning mechanics instead of how a game makes people feel at the table. It hit different because I realized I've been buying games based on complexity ratings instead of how much fun they'd actually be for a group. Has anyone else changed their whole approach to choosing games after a conversation like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_flores441mo ago

I live in Portland too, over by Hawthorne, and I've met that exact guy or someone like him. Look, he's wrong. Heavy strategy games are what keep the hobby alive and give people something to actually grow into. If new players can't handle a game with some depth, that's on them for not wanting to learn, not on the game designer for making something with real meat. I'd rather have a table of 3 people who are all in on a complex game than a table of 6 people checking their phones during a party game.

jana8811mo ago

Third and Belmont here, I've been running a weekly board game night for eight years now. Easiest fix is to have a backup game ready and just say "hey, let's start with something lighter to warm up" before you break out the heavy stuff. Once people see how a complex game actually plays out, most of them end up wanting to come back for more.

jamief671mo ago

actually i gotta push back on that cole. i think that guy might have a point if you look at it from the other side. heavy games are great for people who already love the hobby but they can scare off new people who just want a fun night out. i've seen it happen where someone brings out a game with a 20 page rulebook and people just check out mentally. @jana881's idea of warming up with something light is smart but the truth is some people never want to graduate to the big stuff. they just want to laugh and roll dice and not think too hard. if we gatekeep the hobby by saying "you gotta earn your stripes" then we're just shrinking our own community. not everyone has the brain space for a 4 hour economic sim after a long day of work.