How To Teach Someone A Boardgame In 6 Easy Steps

I love to learn new games. I love it. Except when I don’t. As a matter of fact, my initial like or dislike for a new game is based upon how well you teach it to me (and I’ve run into some pretty bad teachers). So let me say this to all you board game teachers and want-to-be board game teachers out there. I love that you love this game (whatever it is). And I love that you want to share your hobby. I want to learn your game, I really do. But you may be driving people away, people who might like your game.

Let me help you: I find that, if you have a pre-defined structure to teaching a game, things go a lot more smoothly and new players quickly pick up a game. And bonus: no one’s eyes glaze over in the process. Here’s how I do it, in 6 easy steps. I’ve also included examples of how I teach two games (Settlers of Catan and Lords of Waterdeep) after each step, as working examples of the technique.

Step 0: Make Sure The Game Is Set Up Before You Start

The best way to insure success is to set up the game before you start explaining it. It’s fine to have the new players help set up, but I find it difficult to explain a part of game play that isn’t on the table yet. Not to mention any difficulty with multitasking…

Now is also a good time to point out defining characteristics that the game might have. For example, Pandemic is a cooperative game – knowing that up front helps new players frame what they’re about to learn. Not every game needs this, however.

Step 1: Start With How To Win

After the game has been set up, the very first thing you should tell a new player is how to win the game. That is, after all, the most important bit of information a player needs if they want any shot at coming out on top. By “how to win the game,” I’m simply talking about the win condition, not game winning strategy. This step should be a single sentence. If you can’t sum up the game’s win condition in a single sentence, you need to simplify your description.

Settlers of Catan: You win this game by being the first player to earn 10 victory points.
Lords of Waterdeep: You win this game by earning the most victory points.

Step 2: Briefly Describe How To Achieve The Win Condition

Again, we’re not talking strategy here. You’re simply describing the game mechanics that help a player move towards the win condition. Think of it this way: the first thing you did was tell the new player the game’s win condition. The natural next question in their mind is, “How do I achieve that within the game?” Don’t go too far down the rabbit hole here by being overly specific. It’s best to make a simple list that you can come back to once the player begins to understand the finer points of the game.

Settlers of Catan: There are a few ways to earn victory points. The most common way is to build settlements with resources. You can also use resources to buy power cards that sometimes have victory points on them. Finally, there are these two special cards – longest road and largest army – that have victory points on them. These cards can change hands though, based on who currently has the longest road or largest army. The resources are these cards here – sheep, wood, brick, wheat, and stone, and you buy stuff according to the player aid here. (Note the lack of information on building an army at this point)
Lords of Waterdeep: There are a few ways to earn victory points. By far the most common is by completing quests. Each quest card has the things you need to collect in order to earn the stated reward. You will also see this red gem at other places on the board or on cards – whenever you see them, it’s an opportunity to earn victory points. I will also note that your Lord card also has a way to get some bonus victory points at the end of the game that is unique to you. (Note the lack of information on Plot Quests at this point)

Step 3: Walk The New Players Through a Typical Turn (and Round, if Necessary)

The next thing to do is tell new players what they do on their turn. If at all possible, describe a typical turn, not an extraordinary one. If the game permits, have each person take a mock turn. If that would take too long, just take a single mock turn yourself.

Settlers of Catan: On your turn, the first thing you always do is roll these dice. The number that comes up on the dice corresponds to a tile on the map – so, see here is 12. The tile is a red brick tile. So, when a 12 is rolled, anyone who has a settlement next to that tile gets the resource on the tile. Bob, you have a settlement next to this 12 tile, so anytime a 12 comes up, you get a brick card, even when it’s not your turn.
Once you’ve rolled the dice on your turn, you have the opportunity to use your resource cards to buy stuff. (Go through each of the types of things you can buy, and why a player might want that. This is a good time to talk briefly about Soldier cards). You can also try to trade resources with other players, or you can trade four of a kind to the bank for one of anything else. If you have a settlement on a harbor, you can make better trades to the bank. Once you’re done building, you pass the dice to the next player, and they roll. (We still haven’t talked about the robber yet, and that’s ok.)
Lords of Waterdeep: On your turn, you get to take one of your little guys here, and place it on any open place on the board. Each spot gives you something different. (Go through what each space does briefly, saving Waterdeep Harbor for last. Don’t forget to describe the benefits of building ownership.) On your turn, you can also complete one quest, either before or after you place your guy. Once you’ve done those two things, the next person gets to go. After everyone has placed all their dudes, the round is over. Then, we take all our guys back, and do it again.

Step 4: Fill in any major holes (maybe)

At this point, the new players should have a pretty good grasp on the basics of the game. If there’s something important you left out, you may want to bring it up now. On the other hand, you may want to wait until it comes up in play.

Settlers of Catan: This little guy is the robber, and something special happens with him if a 7 is rolled. Notice no tiles have a 7 on them. We’ll go over what to do with the robber when someone rolls a 7 though.
Lords of Waterdeep: One last thing – a few of the Quest cards are “Plot Quests.” The plot quests say it right here. When you complete a plot quest, you get an ongoing benefit for the rest of the game. So keep an eye out for those.

Step 5: Describe The Game End Condition

Finally, let the players know how the game ends. Some games end when the win condition is met, so just reiterate that.

Settlers of Catan: The game ends as soon as someone has 10 points.
Lords of Waterdeep: The game ends at the end of round 8. You can tell what round we’re on by this track at the bottom of the board here.

Step 6: Play!

Start playing the game. Point things out as they come up in play, and apologize when you have to add something you’ve inevitably forgotten!

Other Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

• …keep any description as short as possible. Avoid information overload or long discussions of that one time last year you made a cool combo happen.
• …substitute game specific terms for generic ones. Many games try to come up with a unique name for common elements like points or money. Try to give things generic, easily understood names, so that players don’t have to grasp a new vocabulary in addition to the rules. (Many games use esoteric vocabulary to set themselves apart, but the example that comes immediately to mind is Quarriors. We call “Glory” points or victory points, and “Quiddity” dollars. In Lords of Waterdeep, we call “Agents” dudes or guys. You get the picture.)
• …use a frame of reference when teaching the game. If the new game is a deck-building game, and your group has played deck-building games before, be sure to point out similarities as you go along.

Don’t:

• …describe corner cases when going over the rules. (Wait until they come up in play instead.) If the stars need to align just so for something to happen, it’s best to just wait for it to come up. If it doesn’t come up, mention it before you play the next game. Everyone should be able to digest mechanical nuances at that point.
• …mix strategy with teaching the game. Some players like to work out strategy on their own, and some get overwhelmed if you discuss it right up front – either way, a new player needs to understand the mechanics first and foremost. Let them make noob mistakes. It’s ok. Right now they’re just learning the game.

Is this the only way to do it?

No, of course not. You may have a way that works for you, and that’s fine. This is the method that works for me, and I’ve taught a whole lot of games. You may also find a game that this method doesn’t work for. When I teach The Resistance, I don’t follow these steps exactly in this order; the game is just different enough that it’s easier to explain another way. But for the most part, this works. It gets everyone from point A (Hey! A new game!) to point B (Oh, ok, I see how this works. This game is pretty fun!) efficiently.

How about you? What are your steps to teaching a new board game?