PSA: I used to learn board games by reading the rulebook cover to cover

For years I spent 20 minutes alone with the manual before my group even showed up. Then last month at a friend's house in Chicago, someone just handed me the player board and said 'watch me do one turn first.' Now I never read rules ahead of time, I just learn by playing the first round with open hands. Has anyone else found that watching a quick demo beats studying the booklet?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben_ross517d ago

Sure, because nothing says 'friendly game night' like a pop quiz on page 37's edge-case scoring rules. I guess my group's patient silence while I squinted at diagrams was just them being polite. My rulebook has now been demoted to a very expensive coaster.

max4157d ago

Nothing says friendly game night like a pop quiz on page 37's edge-case scoring rules" - yeah, but is it really that serious? I mean, you can skim the basics in like five minutes without memorizing every weird scenario. Most games have like 80% of the rules that are obvious once you're actually playing. I still scan the rulebook real quick before we start just so I'm not totally lost when someone says "okay now you roll for movement." Plus some games have hidden rules or specific setups that aren't obvious from watching someone else play a single turn. I'd rather spend two minutes reading than waste ten minutes fixing something we missed because we just winged it.