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Why does nobody mention teaching new players with open hands? A guy at our Tuesday meetup in Boise changed how I run game night
I used to hand new players a rulebook and let them sink or swim, and honestly it made a few people never come back. Then about two months ago at our Tuesday meetup in Boise, this older guy named Ray sat down next to a first timer during a game of Ticket to Ride and just played with his cards face up on the table. He walked her through every choice out loud, like 'see, I could grab this route but that leaves me short on trains later.' She won her second game ever that night and came back the next week with her own copy of the game. I started doing the same thing with Splendor and Catan, and our drop off rate went from like half the new folks to almost nobody quitting after one visit. It feels a little like cheating at first, but nobody cares about winning on a teaching night anyway. Now I keep a list of games that work well for open hand teaching and it's become my favorite part of hosting. Has anyone else tried this, and which games do you think are too complex for it to work?
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michael_green4419d ago
That line about feeling like cheating at first really hits home. I used to roll my eyes at the whole idea, figured new players should just learn the hard way like I did back when I got crushed in my first Catan game. But then a friend did the open hand thing with me on a game I didn't know, and it was night and day. Instead of sitting there lost while everyone else raced ahead, I actually got why each move mattered. Now I do it with stuff like Splendor and Carcassonne for new folks, and yeah, they pick it up way faster. Some games with tons of hidden info or big twists, like Battlestar Galactica, that's probably too much for it to work.
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john_fisher19d ago
Ever try just narrating your turns out loud for new folks instead?
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