Something I read on the boardgame subreddit, and I think it's really good, is to allow others to participate in the teaching of the game by having them shuffle cards, organize a collection of game pieces, etc, and explain what those particular components are used for in the course of the game. Getting people to touch the pieces so they have literal hands on experience with the game right away can help immensely with keeping them engaged in the instructional aspect of the rules. This seems like a good time to mention a pet peeve of mine. Sometimes you'll play games with people that have never played the game before and people that have. Often, I've found, those people that have played before want to butt into your explanation of the rules. Sometimes it's not helpful, and maybe detrimental, to have multiple people trying to explain all the rules to a game. Perhaps, like Pep sort of mentioned, a rule could be left for explaining when the game state creates an opportunity, and that's my intent, but the other "explainer" decides to just blurt it out without context. It's really rather frustrating to have multiple explaining the rules.

I just play in a corner by mayself because no one ever wants to learn new games everyone in my group latches on to a game a plays it over and over again not wanting to learn the rules of the new game I got because they know the rules on this one and its fun. So I just play alone in the corner with the recommended number of imaginary friends according to BGG and it never fails I am always the traitor 😭😭😭

"Watched half a Rahdo video..." Lost my coffee!

Hey guys Alec from Missing Rulebook Gaming, Having being the game teacher among my group of friends for a very long time I find that: 1. Using players for examples does wonders Especially when I'm teaching a game among friends I do this a lot where I'll explain a rule like say, combat in Forbidden Stars and then call out one player as the attacker and another as the defender, borrowing their pieces for a bit to play it out. I do this especially with players whose attention spans wane a bit during a long rules explanation and keeps them engaged. 2. Never teach the exceptions Games have groundwork rules that everyone should understand and follow and then especially in games with specific character or race abilities your allowed to break those rules in some capacity. I tend to avoid those things and instead bring them up during the first game, this might make some players feel they've made a poor choice in their selection but as you guys have said, the first game is really to facilitate learning. 3. Play through an example round I like to especially do this during games like Dead of Winter or co-operative games like Big Book of Madness, games with a ton of options for player's to choose from that can sometimes overwhelm them. Having a mock round where everyone can sort of goof off, make mistakes, and ask questions I think helps when the official game starts. 4. Have the game at least partially setup before people arrive Obviously this one is only possible if you planned the time for this specific game but nothing looks more intimidating than the person whose supposed to know everything (We never actually do) spends 15 minutes simply putting the thing together.

When teaching a new game, I usually start by saying what I really like about the game, whether it is a cool new game mechanic, something unique about the theme, or a particular strategic element. That way it sparks the interest of the group to want to learn more about how the game is played. Or if not, then it's time to pick out a different game! I try to refrain from saying "you're going to like this game because ..." and instead say "I really like this game because ..." so that I'm not judging for them. Using this approach also brings out my enthusiasm for playing the game, which helps to set an upbeat tone for teaching and learning.

I love teaching games to people to try and get them as excited about it as possible. I have no qualms about public speaking as you mentioned earlier in the video, so teaching the game comes quite naturally. The way I teach the game depends on what game I'm teaching. Burgle Bros. was the first game that popped into my mind when you talked about not having to teach everything. I taught them the objective and how game play worked, but didn't teach them about any of the rooms we had to pass through because that would come up when we played. Filler games are naturally easier to teach and I like to start out by highlighting how simple the game is. It seems to put everyone at ease when they know that there are only one or two steps per turn. Even a game like Concordia, which is far from a filler game, I tell them how easy it is because all you do on a turn is play a card and do the action of that card. When I got The Gallerist in the mail I was so excited to get it to the table, but knew that I would really need to learn these rules inside out and backwards because it was a much heavier game than any that my group had played before. I ended up laying the game out and practiced teaching it to them. Then when I was actually teaching the game it came much more easily. Though on the third game of it we learned a rule that I had somehow overlooked and didn't know we could do. Oops. Only once did I get a game and unwrap it at my friends' place. That ended up being a bit of a disaster. It took ages to get the game punched out and then set up. Even though I'd read the rules online, I didn't have the experience of having done a test run of the game which I ALWAYS do (except in this case). I play left hand vs. right hand and see how it works. Some games are still fun in this way, others, not so much. Either way I always win which is nice.

One of the reason I love from board game is the joy of teaching other people how to play it. I've been planning to open my own board game cafe, and teaching people is one of the crucial process I will need to tackle in the future. I have developed some guidelines on how to teach others. First thing first, I always start by stories. This phase I call "invoking interest". If I can't attract people with interesting stories related to themes, the game will just be a bland wooden pieces on a board. The second is explaining about the winning goals. How to score points. Make it clear of the direction we are heading in general so they wont feel lost. The third step is explaining the mechanics. It is good to also including examples. Fourth, explaining some rules and minor rules, often time along the way with explaining the mechanics. That probably about all. After that, we can start the game with me being the first player to show how it works in real play.... Some tips, always be patient with unpatient people. Keep it exciting. Don't talk to long. Get it straight to the point, and always....always answer questions with a smile. Thats all 😊

Great video! I'm often the one explaining games to my group of friends, so this was a great topic! It may seem obvious, but one thing that I think is important when learning a new game is to stick to the base game the first couple times, before trying to add extensions. I've seen people try to teach a game and they include an extension or rule variation that they really like ("It doesn't make it any harder, I promise!") , but that is not necessary to understanding the base game. The people they are playing with then get overwhelmed or frustrated with the game, but they never really had the chance to understand the game itself.

I always start with how to win and then talk about how you do that using each component of the game.

I am starting to get into the habit of making a 1-pager condensed "rulebook" that i can go over for games and keep it in the game boxes to teach people. then keep the redundancies in the main directions

The one thing i would say about teaching - let one person do it. When several people trying to correct each other and explain different bits it does not help... Well, also when people say "i will teach while we play" and then just do all the decisions for the person they are teaching while explaining that.

I've started do be a board gamer recently so I ended up buying a lot of games that a i've found interesting. Because of that, I had to explain rules of a bunch of games to my friends that are not really used to this activity. What i experienced was that, depending on the game, most times i had to stop explaining the rules because they started to lose concentration, interest, get bored and confused (guess only gamers can wait 30 minutes or more of dense rules and keep excited). Then I needed to go right to the gameplay so that they can feel how everything works, and from there you continue to explain the rest of the rules and details (supposing that you've already explained the main aspects). About that, i thought that would only work with fast games, (20` - 40 minutes), however that worked pretty well on long games too (Dead of Winter and Super Dungeon Explore were examples, i know that they aren't really time consuming games but they're the longest ones i have). My friends got the ideia in the middle of the game and that kept then really excited about the gameplay, story and even the rules. Short games you can just, like you said, replay and leave the first try as a test. Well that can also mean that i don't explain rules very well and don't involve them in my excitment. Have to train harder hahah All this, also, really depends on the audience/public you are explaining to, well said. I'm just brainstorming and sharing some little experience. =D

Seems like I never win when I'm teaching a new game. I spend so much time answering questions that I can't concentrate on my next move.

My best tip for teaching is leaving it to the professionals. - I had Boss Monster and I was rubbish at teaching and explaining how to play the game. Lucky for me, my Dad had a tablet so I played the Watch It Played tutorial of the game and now my parents are playing the game a lot better than I did. Thanks Rodney.

First time we play a game, I never expect to win. Concentration goes out the door in teaching and answering questions. So first game is a fun, teaching session. Second game... ass kicking time!

I really like and enjoy the hands on method of teaching, it really makes your explanations more fluid, because you are playing with the game and you tend to remember more easily all the stuff, the first time I had to teach a game to my group, everyone was like "Wow, why are you starting", and I was like "I am going to teach the game", and now everyone on my group teaches in this way. Something to keep in mind when doing this method, is get everyone involved from the beginning, as you prep the game explain what is the stuff you are placing in the table and if possible a small insight of what is it's purpose. Also I find useful to summarize the game before playing a couple of teaching rounds/turns, "Ok we are going to draw cards and play them to achieve points" or "we are going to move this characters to complete quests", etc. That way when you move through the teaching rounds/turns they understand why (most of the times) somethings happen. Also, it's not a full game, but just a couple of rounds/turns, specially if there is hidden stuff that other people shouldn't be able to see, and it helps everyone feel confident to ask stuff, because it's not a "real" play through. I find that after that couple of teaching rounds/turns everybody is armed with enough information to play the game, obviously not everything is covered, but the core of the game to play is there. After that we have a small Q&A about the game, this is specially useful to cover special rules or exceptions to rules that might not even come in play every game. After that we are all ready to start, so everyone else (that is not the teacher) resets the table, see if they missed anything (which reinforces their knowledge of the game before the first complete play through), and off we go to have fun!

I'd skip the set up explanation, I feel only the game's owner needs to know that.

One thing I like is knowing some "strategic element" in advance or "commun strategy". Like in Takenoko, telling the new players to get some water sticks the first few rounds will help a lot later on. Or warning players about some commun trap of a game during the game. For exemple in Super Dungeon Explore, I was playing the consul and I still give advice to new player so they can think few more seconds before they move. Some game have more rules and not all players are confortable with a lot of rules.

I have to agree with Rodney's point about teaching the game to yourself out loud. For me, I find it helps to try and teach myself a game from memory after I feel like I have a good feel for the rules of a game. I often practice this while I'm driving home from work or when I'm in the shower. (You know places where people can't hear how crazy you are for talking to yourself.) This allows me to work out sluggish spots in my delivery and fine tune how I explain some of the more fiddly rules. Knowing your audience helps a great deal as well. When I teach games to my close friends, I know them well enough to tailor which parts of the rules I need to spend more time clarifying and which parts I can give them the jist of. Where as teaching games to my family, I just go with a basic overview and then explain rules from most to least importance and allow them to ask questions. It keeps them more involved and gets the game started quicker. Most of the time they just wanna get the first game under their belt before they play for "real". haha.

While it's important to be a good teacher, I feel it's equally important to be a good learner. Don't interrupt, don't add your own comments if you already know the game, save questions until an appropriate time, and FOCUS! There's nothing worse than teaching a game and knowing for sure that you'll have to reexplain everything to that one player that's daydreaming.

Sometimes when I want to learn/teach a game, I'll setup the game and play it against myself. Any rules questions usually become apparent and I can have it worked out ahead of time. Your "teach out loud" suggestion is good. Even if you're not planning to teach the game, learning it in the way that you would teach it can help you - you have to really understand something if you want to convey it to others.

I'm sure this will make many cringe, but I actually mark up the rulebook with circling, underlining, and/or highlighting key information & setup. That way I can easily scan through when teaching to be sure I've not missed anything.

After the introduction to the game (whether it be the theme, the objective, or what have you) I like to start with a sample turn of play. Not only does this show them how the game is going to look and feel, but it also lets them see the components of the game and how they interact. Then, after showing a sample turn, I get into the other options they may have that I didn't show. And like some other users have been saying I like to give the components to the other players to shuffle or organize or be in charge of so that right away they feel like they are a crucial part of the gaming experience.

Woah, woah Rodney, half a Radho video? I don't have THAT much time! : )

You can't really set a time limit when teaching a game. A small/quick game doesn't necessarily mean few/simple rules, nor does a big/lengthy game necessarily mean many/complex rules. You also have to consider a player's individual ability to learn and retain rules quickly. I've thought Splendor to a couple of people. One of them understood after 5 minutes of game play, while the other needed to be constantly reminded of the rules throughout 4 consecutive games before remembering them on her own. And you're right about reading the book cover to cover, and practice teaching the rules out loud to yourself before. It's the best way to make sure you're ready, your explanations are clear and concise, and you're reminded of some optional or less used rules. A good teaching quote from Einstein: "if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough".

Two things that I think are helpful when teaching games. Both of which, I have definitely learned through NOT doing them. 1. Set up the game before beginning to explain. This not only lets you show parts of the board while you're explaining but you can even take a couple of pieces and run through a "sample turn" very quickly just to give a visual aid for what a typical turn looks like. 2. Keep it simple. Most games, at their core, do not have difficult rules. Getting into too much of the complexities of a game too soon can overwhelm a new player. As an example - my wife is very familiar with the dungeon crawler type games but we got Mice and Mystics to play together. At it's core, the game is really just about moving your character on the grid and rolling dice. But she was overwhelmed when we went over some of the more complex parts of combat, searching, all the different items enemies and abilities in the game, etc. If we had just set the game up, went over the actions you can take on your turn, and started playing I really don't think there would have been any issues but when trying to teach the game I didn't keep it simple enough and she was overwhelmed.

Pretty good tips. I really like to teach games to new players and try to introduce casual players to more complex games being a little bit subtle about it. I do tell them they are very different from casual games like say Monopoly or Uno, but I try not to make them sound like the most complex (even though sometimes they are). I always start explaining the theme shortly and "who wins", in less than 1 minute, unless they really crave for more context and/or lore; usually, I leave further discussion of the theme while in-game. Then, I explain the main concepts of the game like rounds and turns, the different playing pieces, currency, etc. After they grasp them, I proceed to HOW to win and from there I rapidly explain what they can do and what they can't. Finally, I give them some basic tips/strategies and encourage them to ask if they didn't understand something or have other doubts before, during and after the game. The rule book is always at the table and accessible to anyone. If I've played the game I try to be "gentle" but challenging so they can experience all the things they can do. At the end of the game, no matter who wins, I always say "you played really well for being the first time" and proceed to explain what they could do the NEXT time, what to avoid, the things that "made me worry about losing to them" (unless they seem uninterested about playing it again), all this so they feel motivated to play again another time and not get intimidated by other complex games. Although sometimes I mess up something (and correct it later) or forget something, it has worked really well for me so far

Great (and imo) original video. Not something I've given much thought to so it was very thought provoking as I love trying new games. My go-to method is, if I find you've already done a tutorial I'll just get everyone to watch your how to play before we give it a shot.

I enjoy Fantasy Flight games "Learn to Play" books. it's helped immensely in a lot of games I've played. learn as you play. hands on learning.

before I bring a game before my family or friends there's a few things ill do. 1 if you have a video for it I watch it played a few times. then I read the rulebook once. then I play a few games by myself while going back to the rulebook. I've found playing a co op game a vs. game 1 against many game. playing solo really helps me learn the turn order and rules.

If a game provides one, I like to use the rules reference card/sheet as a guide in teaching my games. This gives a quick and thorough rundown as to the main bullet points in essential rules, and will assist me in my presentation. It also helps me make sure I don't forget anything critical. References will also have winning conditions, how to earn points, actions one can take during a turn, different phases in a game, and other important terms or keywords necessary to know, which I can use to help resolve conflicts or questions that may arise during play.

I think the second time through the rules when a late joiner comes to your table, it creates an atmosphere where the learners want to help teach what they just learned. Then the learners grasp it more because they can be like “oh at first I didn’t understand what they meant by this rule, but this helped it click for me when I thought about it this way.”

Before I teach a game I will make sure I set it up myself and play all players solo to run through a complete game before dragging it over to my friends house to teach them. This method makes you (the teacher) encounter many, if not all, of the nuances of the rules and gives you a chance to see exactly how the game rules work and what situations will arise in game play that you need to be aware of . . . of course, it also gives you an unfair advantage on the first game. ;)

You said it, efficiency of getting the point across and Rodney, that's where you have a natural talent. The first instructional video I saw of yours (I believe it was 7 Wonders?) was an inspiration. I was flat out amazed at how clearly you laid out the rules and in the optimum order for very clear understanding. I remember I posted a comment asking if you were a teacher. I think your skill would be well used in a math class where one thing builds upon the previous. My teaching trick is to only buy games that there are WiP how-to videos I make everyone watch before game day (I mostly play with my adult children and their significant others) and review again before we play lol!

I give my friends an assignment if they have time. I have them watch one of your Watch It Played segments, and then a Rahdo Runs Through. I go over the rulebook the night before and then give a good overview before we actually play. Works well most of the time. It also helps to have played the game prior to teaching it - and I would add that it also makes sense to have played it at the player count you will be teaching it for. There are always some issues that come up at different player counts that you may not have dealt with.

I found the best way to teach someone personally is relating it to things they are very familiar with. A friend loves Supernats? Relate things to the universe! Someone watches sports? Relate tactics to tactics in that sport! Etc. Super easy. The second thing I think is an important factor is how much they want to play. You can usually tell the attention or tolerance of a person as you explain the rules and see the color drain from their face if the rules are too heavy haha.

Great timing as I am getting ready to demo a game at my local game store. This advice and suggestions definitely helps in my preparation for it. Thanks.

I'm sorry for the late and long comment and sorry if I repeat anything already said. I find teaching a game can come in two ways: one is in a gaming group and one where you are teaching as well as promoting the game. Examples of the latter is here on KZfaq like with Watch It Played and The Dice Tower, and at a local game store I go to where volunteers teach certain games some Saturday evenings. First off, time limitations may not always be a big issue, just as long as everyone playing gets an understanding of the gameplay and enjoys it. Especially for very long games like Arkham Horror, six hours may not be enough. The students should also have that mindset of understanding over than winning. Personal game guides. Most games have enough guides that each player can refer to, especially for more complex games like Castles of Mad King Ludwig and Roll For The Galaxy. 7 Wonders comes with a booklet and a single reference sheet for the base game and each of its expansions; hence finding and printing extra sheets (boardgamegeek.com is a great resource) may be helpful. Expansions. Sometimes bringing in a part of an expansion will make the game more intriguing. With Castles, I referred to what comes with Secrets but only included the swan tokens part; everyone enjoyed that. 7 Wonders with the whole Leaders expansion took more time with more iconography to deal with at the very beginning of the game. Lastly, playing with the group or not. This is mostly towards the promotion aspect of teaching. It's choosing between a game that plays better with more players (where I play and coordinate) or a high-complex game where I help other players over their shoulders (where I don't play). It could be also both. For example, I taught and played 7 Wonders with a family of three (four players total) and I helped out the father sitting next to me in his card drafting. Again, goes along with understanding the game more than trying to win. *Disclaimer: I do not hate 7 Wonders. I love it. I am always willing to play it. It's an excellent filler game. It deserved all the awards it received. :)

"This might be the 5th video!" * obvious cut *

The Rules Girl always used to say "The goal of the game is to win" 😂

I love to play board games with all my friends and I have basically became the leader of our group and I am always put with the duty of teaching the new game we just bought as a group. I'm usually put in charge of teaching a game for a few basic reasons. First I make jokes while I teach and allow the people I am teaching to make jokes here. Second I try to hit on the key points I have figured out that are the must needs for games. And finally just have fun teaching all of your friends because in the end its all about playing the game and experiencing the play of the game with them after you have taught them the rules, and seeing how your "students" fair in the game world!

lol my wife is notorious for pulling the "I didn't know about that rule/action/thing!" even though I definitely explained it. It's part of why I started specifying that our first play of a new game is entirely just for learning to avoid that 'conflict'. I know a weakness of mine when teaching a new game is that I can tend to be too mechanically focused and forget to highlight the THEME which is what makes the dry mechanics interesting a lot of times.

I start with theme & try to get people interested first. Then, go to the win conditions. I'll get the other players involved in setting up the game so they don't sit there getting bored and start asking lots of questions. I try to get thru most of the explanation before answering any questions. Finally, I'll go into details about what you can do and then circle back to the win conditions. Also, if someone asks a rule question I don't know while I'm explaining, I'll ask them to look it up while I continue explaining instead of stopping. That way we don't get bogged down.

I'm the one always teaching the rules. After the first game of me teaching, I think about the best ways to explain the game now that I know how to play it. The more I teach the game, the more I smooth out and iron my script. After about 2 times teaching, I have an optimal script to follow, and it teaches people really fast. If the rules are a bit more complex, I do a dummy round, once the rules are taught. "Let's say purple is attacking red. Red is defense, purple is offense. They both play attack cards.... Etc" I can take it a step further, and have players play a practice round themselves. I would narrate, what they could do and the best options.

I guess my best teaching tip is that you should always teach top-down. This means that you always need to start with 1) how you win the game, 2) how you're going to get there (explain the different elements of the game and how they move you toward victory), and only then 3) dig into the turn structure and the specific rules governing actions. Without the context provided by 1) and 2), the actual nuts and bolts of 3) don't have meaning to anyone except for experienced gamers, who will generally already know where they're going. I find this is especially helpful with new/casual/non-gamers

If I know what game we are playing ahead of time, I made a habit of sending a link for Watch it played via email to the group if a video is available. To the point that a friend said that now he realizes how much I suck on teaching games. So the other day I just played Watch it played of my TV on Roku and than quick recap before playing.

I laughed at the "half a Rahdo" comment. I do prepare by reading the rules cover to cover, then going online to check out forums, FAQs, and video playthroughs. Most of the time I catch mistakes that Paulo missed. I don't just feel prepared, and the proof is in the pudding. I've taught probably 50+ games in the last year, where it was the first game for me as well, and I've only won about 4 of them. So my teaching must be awesome if everybody understands the rules better than me after the explanation. That must be it! I find the converse is also true. When someone else teaches me a game for my first play, I have a much higher win rate.

hi there... i use to read the rulebook, then play some rounds against me myself and i :) After a nights of sleep i re-read the rulebook after which it makes a lot of more sense :) thanx for the nice footage

If it's a game where each player takes turns within in a round, I just make sure that I'm the first player during our first game. That way I can explain everything I'm doing during my turn (and what my options are) so the other players can see it all within context. Then the next player has the basics for their turn while I inject additional info as necessary, and so on. After a couple of rounds everyone usually has it down pat and we're off to the races.

A new player jumping in while you're teaching the rules may also help or hinder the teaching of the rules because the people who are learning the rules from you may be eager to get the new player caught up, and so will try to help you teach the new player. While there's a negative if you have to tell the people you're teaching they misunderstood and possibly confusing the new player when the people you're teaching do jump in, it helps to reenforce the meaning of the rules to the people already there and helps show the rule teacher what he needs to improve on in teaching rules in the future.

Great topic! I generally try to explain the core rules up front and teach the minor stuff on the fly. I can't stand it when people interrupt or don't listen!!

I'm feeling that ... I've tried to explain 7Wonders to others. The issue was making them understand the counting point system ... so in the end we just did the first era. But I personaly watched your explanation of the game before playing, they didn't. So when a french tries to explain a game in italian, after watching the game played and explained in english it was kinda harcore even if I speak the 3 linguages. They weren't patient ....

There is a point where it becomes too much. Knowing every power, knowing every card, or knowing every what if. The game never starts, and becomes too much info.

It quite often seems to me that best way to teach a game is state some basics (like goal, what actions you can do etc) and then you set up game and start to "play" and teach it during the play.

I always worry about reaching rules. I usually read the rulebook twice and then watch some KZfaq instruction and playthrough videos. Fortunately, my normal game group is pretty patient and we do a lot of 'learn as we go' type gaming. The real issue is teaching my wife and friends. They are all casual gamers who are very intrigued by all of the cool boxes on my shelves. Things either go really well, or really bad. Usually no middle ground.

Normally after explaining the theme, I always try to give the other players something to do whilst I am explaining the rules. It's really easy, especially with a complex game, to want to have the board set up. I've found though, that even something as simple as grouping miniatures or shuffling cards can help players get involved in the game.

I always recommend to watch a video before the game. But when i'm at the game table, i'll have to explain and i'll try this things: 1 - Start with the theme, depending on how the game is well ajusted for the theme i'll take longer to talk about it. 2 - Now go for "What you can do on your turn", I spend more time at this so the game wont stop on a players turn just to explain something, this helps a lot with the flow of the game. 3 - Explain the mechanics of the game for the first stage of the game(some games change and i leave that to explain 1 turn before) I always try to start the game as quick as possible because people gather at the table not to listen you explain the rules but to play the game.

How I teach depends on the game: Lots of pieces (Forbidden Desert or bigger) set up game while explaining pieces as I go, ending with players picking colors. Card game: Boss Monster or Munchkin, either put on a WiP while I shuffle and set up, or have experienced player set up while I explain. Most first time heavy games will be played with open hands so I can explain new concepts as neccesarry. Wife is not allowed to play in these teaching games as they will end long before anyone has really learned. Board RPGs and Trad. RPGs: Both of these, players will be given a preselected/built character. First this allows the party to have a solid framework of classes/skills to do anything, without boring the players with the creation process early. Second, it teases what else is possible, getting players interested in playing again, perhaps with different setups.

When I'm teaching a game I pretty much always lose as I'm trying to show the table all the different mechanics even if I spot a better strategy.

I get a strange sort of "stage fright" when I teach a game. It's weird because I will mentally prepare and feel like I know how I want to approach explaining the rules and then suddenly I get flustered and trip over words and forget what I wanted to say. I think it's the pressure I put on myself to do a good job explaining the game so everyone has a good time. If I do a bad job they may dislike the game and never want to play it again. Some tips I've found helpful to start broadly and then narrow it down. For example explain how the game is won (most points, achieving a certain objective) and then a basic idea of a turn flow and how it relates to that win condition. Then go back and start narrowing in on the individual parts of a turn, etc. I will also explain HOW I'm going to explain the game. Telling people about my broad to narrow approach and often saying "I'll get to this part in more detail later". So players know what to expect and that their questions will likely be answered in due time. Also gives you a sense of professionalism (falsely if it's me) that you have a plan with your rules explanation and to just sit and let it happen. Going forward I want to practice teaching the game out loud, as you suggested. I also want to try making "notes". Actually write down what I want to say, in the order I want to say it in, along with particular rules I want to make sure I don't miss. I'm hoping this will make me an active participant in the learning process. I think simply reading the rules is too passive and I end up forgetting or missing things. Whereas if I write down things to create a sort of script of information to cover, it mentally changes how I'm processing that information.

I think the most important thing to start with is: Know your audience. Are they patient, old/young, familiar with each other... * Second is a good trick is to say: "The first game doesn't count" ie you're saying "If you lose or make mistakes or blunders, who cares. We still have a second try!" * Third explain the goal of the game then arrive in less than 10 minutes to this end. Regards.

I think that Rahdo's videos are great to help prepare a first game. Not the only thing to do to prepare but it helps a lot. Of course I usually try the first game with my spouse. We dig through the rule book and BGG for questions together. I'm trying to prepare to teach TIME Story... That's difficult because I can't play the game before teaching it. Suggestions?

After reading the rules, I always play the game once solo, then reread the rules. I make notes of what I have found confusing during the game or what I have played wrong. Then I spend some extra time explaining those parts of the rules to my group.The second advice is: Even if you don't need to read the manual to explain the rules, have it open in front of you while you talk. This way you can be sure that you haven't missed a rule.

My one tip is to try to play the game with someone as a learning game. I tend to learn the game alone, watch a video or two, play it with my wife, check those rules as I go then double check rules in the rulebook and BGG before playing it with a wider audience or my gaming group. Really helps when you've played it through to fully understand the game!

Has anyone ever walked away from a table in Canada? I thought you guys were too polite for that 😄

One thing I have started doing when I need to teach a game, is to rewrite the rules out in point form (in a hopefully logical order) so that when I teach the rules I'm not just rereading the rule book to everyone at the table and boring them to tears.

It's never easy to teach a 30+ rulebook to a group and fight with the questions of Why and Yeah,yeah but what do these tokens do? After the first playhtrough I adore when on the second one, some players took the time to go over the rulebook themselves or some points. If you can motivate the group to do that, it will pay off very quickly as everyone will easily find something that was done wrong (or they did wrong).

Tips for teaching: #1) Have patience and know your audience. When I've taught people games, I ask the players what games they have played. If a rule or gameplay questions pops up, you the teacher need to explain that concept in terms they already know. #2) Be a teacher; don't be a player. My biggest gripe in people teaching me a game is that the host is so eager to win. This has led to not divulging all rules or expectations in gameplay. #3) Be willing to simplify the rule set (aka Keep It Simple Stupid). Some games are overly complicated (traitors, back stabs, multiple objectives). As a teacher, examine the rules are find the key goals that are necessary for new players. Introduce those aspects to the players before exploring more advanced techniques. #4) Be able to explain a concept in a different method. If a new player doesn't understand a concept/rule/technique, don't hammer them over the head by reciting the rule book definition. This can cause more frustration and honestly shows your lack of skills as a teacher. I do agree that some public speaking can help in this area. Additionally, if you have been a tutor in high school/college or worked retail, it helps with your ability to gain and keep the attention of your students.

If a game can be played single-player (without requiring alternate rules or components), then it's a good idea to play it like that first before attempting to teach it to someone else. It means the teacher has practical experience with the game, not just intellectual experience from reading the rulebook or watching an instructional video, which can make a world of difference. This is one reason why I think more games should have a single-player option.

I like to refer people to walk through videos to watch before game night for advanced games, (such as your videos) but sometimes I feel like I'm just doling out homework.

The first thing I do as a teacher is have the other person simply take a look at all of the components and get a feel for what kind of game this is.

When teaching I try to use examples and show a few turns or rounds of the game so they understand clearly what to do and what you can't do

I think when playing most card games a combination of explaining and hand-on works well. My friends and I like to play hands down rounds that won't count to get an idea of what the game would look like.

Nest we need a table talk on "Playing the first Game" because it's essential to continue teaching the game, but not to play for the other players. A friend of mine taught us the "Game of Thrones the Board Game" and the owner won the objective by killing NPCs, so we didn't even notice. I often feel guilty for winning the first game when I teach people, because I have so much of an advantage.

What about sending one video of yours to each player BEFORE the game with a kind message like. "WATCH IT NOW!" ;-)

9:39 This is absolutely one of my worst nightmares when I'm teaching or being taught the rules. I NEVER do that when I'm teaching. And I absolutely HATE when people are listening to the rules and they suggest "Ok, we've heard enough, let's jump into it and learn the rest as we play." Gahhhhh! I usually play with very competitive and strategy oriented people, so this is almost tabu for us. When someone who explained the rules forgot even a minor detail, remembers it in the middle of the game and says "oh I forgot this", it's not unusual to hear "Oh, that would've changed how I played last turn..." from one of the players that were taught. Ofc it's not a deal breaker. We are a friendly kind of competitive. Having said that, it was mind boggling to me when you said it's not unusual that you have to teach rules in 10 min. I really can't fathom this happening with something a little bit more complicated than Red 7 hahahahaha (overstatement obviously, but you get the picture). And ofc there are exceptions... The Dungeon Petz criteria for each exhibition and dungeon lord buyer are an example. I explain those as they are revealed. Each different site of Mage Knight (Keeps, Ruins, Dungeons, etc) also, although I do point out at the beginning there are reference cards that can be browsed at any time.

When teaching games, I used to be in the habit of relating the game I'm teaching to another game. It made sense to me since that's usually how I learn the games to begin with and it seems to be a really convenient shortcut for quickly going over a number of mechanics. However, since our group has expanded and the number of games we've been playing has increased, I've come to realize that teaching games by relating them to other games is frequently a bad tactic. Sure, it's really helpful to players who have played the other games, but if any players haven't played the games, it has the opposite effect and ends up alienating those players instead. For example, let's say I was teaching 3 other people how to play Cthulhu Realms and I start off by mentioning that the game is quite similar to Star Realms. One player at the table has played Star Realms and can quickly start getting into more advanced concepts, asking questions that make no sense to the other players. "What are the Base cards?" "So this group is like the Machine Cult?" etc. I've just opened up a dialog with this person that makes the other 2 players feel like they're falling way behind and can end up turning them off the game or making them feel like they've lost before the game has even started. Plus, those other 2 players haven't even played Star Realms, so I don't save any time or energy associating back to that game since I have to explain the full rules from scratch anyway. I've made a conscious effort to not associate games I'm teaching to other games unless I know for a fact that all players I'm teaching have played the game I'm referencing (like at a previous session). Plus, by not forcing my own associations onto the other players, I open the door for the players to make their own associations to games I may not have considered, played, or even heard of.

Most games I play need 15-20 minutes to teach, sometimes longer if it's Lacerda. If you can't sit and be taught for that long, then there's a problem. I've very rarely encountered this issue though, as most board gamers are already used to rule explanations.

I like to give an shortened explanation of the game then play a round where I teach the other players what they can do each turn. Kind of like a table tutorial.

By the way we need a watch it played video for Castles of the Mad King Ludwig!

Always, always, always, ALWAYS tell players what the ultimate objective is. I learned that the hard way when I was teaching my wife how to play Dominion years ago. I was so excited to play it with her, teaching all the rules and how to draw and play cards. Then suddenly, after about a half hour into the game, she utters "wait...how do you win?" This lead to another mini explanation on the win conditions, which, in the middle of a live game, bogged down the fun. Ultimately, the game ended before I could finish explaining. To this day, I feel that her distaste for board games was because of my poor rules explanation. Which is why every chance I get, I constantly strive to improve and hone my teaching skills so that one day - ONE day - I'll get my wife started in another game with confidence.

I like Rahdo and the stuff he does, but watching his videos to learn the rules is the opposite of being prepared :D

What are your thoughts on explaining strategy of the game while explaining the rules? Most times I am explaining a game I may have played a number of times. Is it OK to explain a lot of strategy to the game?

"Like you said, you want to avoid repetition." I giggled...

Cheers boys!

The only piece of advice in this video is to practice your presentation, do a dry run by yourself. Start with objective... or start with components. Immerse yourself in the theme, or don't. Know your audience, unless you don't know them. Let people know what might happen next move (thanks for announcing my strategy to the table).

A couple questions came to mind: 1) how do you let someone down easily who is explaining the rules poorly over a too long period of time? 2) at what point do you provide some strategies, and how do you do that? I’ve said sometimes, “At this point, you could do this. However, my wife typically wins when we play so you may want to try and see what strategies come to the forefront as you begin to understand how the game works.”

We just watch Watch It Played and we learn it together.

I cannot learn a game without knowing the objective. I relate everything I know back to that original information. Not saying the objective during the instruction is my largest annoyance with game learning. It feels like just a bunch of useless information I am not interested in until I have that key piece of information. It could of course be as simple as: you win by getting the most points, and this symbol means points.

My first time playing 1830, halfway through the game, they go, "Oh, I forgot to tell you this rule." And, as a result, I lost. Ah, the fun of teaching/learning a new game.

*Sigh* Okaay, I WILL prepare. It's not easy for me to have all the games and teaching the whole gamegroup. When I bring 1-2 heavy games and a bunch of fillers a lot of delicate rules tend to be forgotten.

any recommendations for teaching xia with all the expansions?

How did you teach Luke to roll? THATs the tip I need...

Don't interrupt the person teaching the game if you know how to play, but aren't teaching everyone. Even if they get something wrong. Wait until they are struggling, or they pause before piping in.

As soon as I start explaining the rules to my sister (and others), she lets out an exasperated sigh and says, "let's just get started, I learn by playing." Have you ever had this kind of person in your group? How do you deal with that?

The best way for me to teach a game is to find a Watch it Played video on the game by you Rodney or Pep. Then download it to my computer, then a flash drive. I take it to my friends house on game night and watch it on my computer or his TV. See how simple it is? Now if I can only figure out to get you to work 24/7 to make more video's on games I have. Hmmmmmm... We need to clone you buddy. Have 4 or 5 clones. That would be awesome for me but not your family. Sorry. :)

I hate when I said to peoples that this aren't game for them but they insist that they wanted to play it. I explaining game to them for 30 minutes (Stronghold 1 edition) and then they said: this isn't game for us! Why you didn't warn us.

This was great guys! I've encountered similar problems too and yeah, any public speaking advice is totally applicable here... picture your audience naked - maybe not?

Gosh, nothing is worse than a poor rulebook.... Be it poorly laid out so you can never find that bit of info on the page you want, (or the page itself)... or just not having clearly enough written rules... makes teaching a nightmare! Since half the time when you want to check something you can't even find it/don't know it yourself! xD

Ok, either Rodney needs to grow a beard or Pep needs to shave his.