Rant: I always dread teaching new games because everyone gets confused.

Honestly, drawing quick diagrams on a whiteboard cleared things up instantly.

3 comments

3 Comments

Yeah I started doing that last game night with Catan. Just grabbed a marker and drew how the numbers go around the board and which tiles give what. The whole "ohhhhh" moment was real, stopped like five minutes of confused questions. Simple visuals make all the difference.

black.alice7d ago

Simple visuals make a difference, but @barbarah19, I've seen them backfire if used too soon. People get stuck on the picture instead of listening to the rules. Do you adjust when you bring out the marker based on how fast folks are catching on?

simon2228d ago

Man, the order you explain things matters way more than people realize. If you jump straight into scoring before folks know how to take a turn, their brains just shut off. I always teach the main action of a turn first, like placing a worker or playing a card. Then once they get that loop, you layer on the other stuff like points or special powers. It stops that glazed-over look before it even starts.