A buddy told me my game explanations were too long and I was losing people

I used to explain every single rule before we started playing, like a 15 minute lecture. Then a friend said, dude just start playing and explain as you go, it's more fun. I tried it with Dune Imperium last Saturday, and everyone picked it up way faster. Now I only cover the basic goal and first turn actions, then we learn together. Has anyone else switched their teaching style like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris_davis9020d ago

30 seconds is generous, @kim373. Dave's lucky we don't throw rulebooks at him.

kim37320d ago

I started doing something similar with my group but I actually go the other way now. I give a 5 minute overview of the win condition and the core loop, then I let everyone make their first move even if they mess it up. The key is that I tell them upfront that their first game is basically a practice run and nobody cares who wins. It takes all the pressure off and people relax way more. The best part is that I notice people actually remember the rules better because they learned them through doing instead of listening to me drone on. My buddy Dave still tries to read the whole rulebook aloud before we play and we all just tune out after 30 seconds.