How To Teach Board Games Like a Pro

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[petergreg]

I am entirely on board for the implication that teaching someone boardgames and bringing them into the hobby is done with the inevitible long term aim of convincing them to play Twilight Imperium.

[MrPotapnik]

One: We are an iron, boot and a hat. Two: You win by bancrupting your whole family. Three: It's fun to make your younger sister cry.

[MozilloGames]

I think Quinns really needs to get some props for taking the time to set up several board games for single scenes in this video. Oh lord must that have taken ages.

[marcjohnston]

Hearing one of my friends sincerely say "you're really good at teaching this stuff" while explaining game rules to them is genuinely one of those nice rewarding little memories that keeps coming back years later.

[jakeparker]

This might be the most important video on YouTube.

[aarcade]

My number one tip in addition to all of this: narrate your turns in the opening rounds. Clearly walk them through your thought process behind your moves. Encourage them to do the same.

[ErikNonIdle]

Something I always avoid is teaching strategy as part of the main rules. I often see people go off on tangents when teaching rules with, "...and if you have this card, you'll want to use it right away because if someone else has this card then this can happen, etc." All that confuses people, it makes people mistake what is advice and what is actually rules, and it robs the players of the joy of coming up with their own strategies and playstyles themselves. To be clear, I'm not talking about basic principles of the game, but more advanced strategies that come from time playing the game.

[Jynxedkitten]

A trick for helping encourage questions is instead of "does anyone have any questions" say "0k before I move on what questions do you have?" it gives permission to ask rather than sounds like an obligation. Then reward with great question! Simple but effective.

[MrDoctorDake]

"If you're not reading the manual to the game on the toilet the week before your board game night, you're probably doing it wrong."


This hit way too close to home.

[HelloFutureMe]

As someone who has had to teach Spirit Island to at least a dozen different people 6+ times, the skill of teaching how a board game works has become an art.

[Duchu]

"And in learning Action Points when playing Pandemic, that's a building block for when you teach them... Twilight Imperium!"


Things just went from zero to one hundred real freaking quick.

[nicolasduboisbergevin]

Quinn rocking the Ned Flanders uniform like a natural!

[Jugggiler]

IMO the best tip Quinn's gave was, teaching the objective / How-To-Win early in the process. By doing this, every player can structure the rest of the rules around the objective and it helps to facilitate strategies early on in the teaching process.

[Livingdeadghost]

Absolutely top notch scripting and delivery. It's so satisfying to see someone who's really brilliant at their work. It's so easy to share your videos with friends and family, even if they're not that into board gaming, because of the obvious quality of the work you produce! Thanks for trying to teach us too. A pleasure as always. Don't work too hard you lot.

[SolviKaaber]

You should absolutely watch this brilliant video first but if you need a quick reference to the tips made then read on:

1. 1:17 Actually know all the rules before you teach, and don’t be afraid to google unclear or ambiguous rules.
2. 2:33 Before starting to teach you should setup the game in full so players can see it. Allow players to fiddle with game pieces.
3. 3:13 “Introduce the game” by asking these three questions: Who, How and Why? Who are we, How do we win and Why is this game fun?
4. 4:46 Rules teaching is a performance, rehearse it. Know what the big talking points/mechanics are relevant to the game and think about in what order you want to explain them.
5. 6:30 Use your friends names in rules examples to get them engaged.
6. 8:00 Foster an environment where questions are encouraged. Compliment them for questioning.
7. 8:48 Only have one player teaching the game. If another player knows the game, make them an assistant to you: Let them help you set up the game. Let them point to relevant game pieces while you teach. Let them ask questions about rules you’re missing. Let them fetch food and drinks while the new players learn the game.
8. 10:00 You’ve successfully taught players the game well if they win you. Try not to stomp them and scare them away from the game.
9. 11:16 Ask players if they need a dummy/fake first rounds of the game to get familiar and then restart. You can have open hands to explain why you made your game choices
10. 12:20 Maybe begin teaching smaller games so new players get familiar with different mechanics so they can more easily understand harder games.
11. 13:57 Learn how to teach rules well by watching Board Game Convention Demoers, your Local Board Game Store employees or your other well experienced Board Game Friends.

[adminanonymous]

My tip is to avoid saying exceptions. For example: "The rule is you have three actions per turn...except for if a card says you get more."
There are always exceptions and people familiar with games will know this.
Otherwise, you can save it for your example turns or when you talk about a specific component.

[vincentlievaux]

Another very important thing : explain when the game will end. Usually I do this at the beginning, along with the lore, how to win and what's fun about the game

[robertdascoli]

12:28 "Have you ever thought about what this stuff looks like to a non gamer? Sometimes I think we should all be arrested."

[Table]

I've been praised for how well I teach board games in the past and people always wondered what my secret was. It was multiple hours of learning the rules myself before actually playing the game with other people.

[EAKugler]

These are solid teaching techniques, not just for board games, but for anything daunting you might have to teach someone. Excellent work.