Just realized I've been teaching new players all wrong

Last week, I was showing my cousin how to play Terraforming Mars, and I spent like 45 minutes explaining every single card and rule before we even started. He looked totally lost and said, 'I mean, can we just play a round and you tell me as we go?' I felt so dumb because I always do that, I want them to know everything first. It clicked that I was making it way too hard for people to just get into the game. Has anyone else figured out a better way to teach a heavy game without the info dump?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlie_ellis2mo ago

I started just explaining the goal and the basic turn structure, then we jump in. I'll pause to explain cards or rules as they come up during the first few rounds. People learn way faster by actually playing instead of listening to a lecture.

samjohnson2mo ago

My chess teacher started with en passant.

mitchell.val2mo ago

You know what this reminds me of? My old roommate tried to teach me chess by explaining every opening strategy first. I just wanted to know how the horsey moved! It's so easy to get caught up in the details you forget people need to touch the pieces. I've found that if you let someone make a few simple moves first, even wrong ones, the bigger rules make way more sense later. Starting with the win condition and just one thing you can do on a turn is the only way I can learn now.