A guy at Gen Con totally changed how I handle game teach-outs

I was demoing my prototype in Indy last year, and a veteran designer watched me explain the rules for ten minutes. He said, 'You're giving a lecture, not an invitation.' Now I just set up the coolest part and let people poke at it. Anyone else switch from a full rules dump to a hands-on start?

4 comments

4 Comments

blair_taylor321mo agoTop Commenter

Totally get that. I used to front-load every rule too. Now I just put the board in front of them, hand over the pieces, and say "Your goal is to get to the castle. How do you want to move?" They ask questions as they go, and it sticks way better.

the_taylor1mo ago

Wait you just hand them the pieces without explaining anything first? That would give me so much anxiety lol. I picture a kid just chucking a knight across the room thinking that's a legal move. Or trying to stack all the pawns on one square to build a tower. My brain could never handle that chaos, I need the structure up front.

parkerbrown4d ago

Oh man, that mental image is killing me... a kid just yeeting the knight like a paper airplane. I mean, @dakotab93 has a point about losing pieces, but honestly? The chaos is kind of the whole fun part for a first timer. Letting them just mess around with the board first takes all the pressure off... the "rules" feel less like a test that way. If they want to build a pawn tower, let 'em build it, they'll ask how to actually play soon enough.

dakotab931mo ago

Sounds like a good way to lose half the pieces.