There are a few things in life that I would claim that my skills in are far better than average. One of those things is teaching games. In my gaming groups, I am almost always the one who learns a new game and teaches it to everyone else. I have been on the demo teams for several game companies over the many years of my gaming experience (teaching games at various game venues, including many conventions).
When it comes to teaching games, there are basically two kinds of teaching situations. In one, you are teaching a new game to people who are experienced at playing hobby board games. In this circumstance, you can rely on being able to use analogies and terminologies that can expedite the teaching efforts as well as making more complex games more understandable.
The other kind of teaching situation is when you are teaching a game to players who are new (or relatively new) to hobby board games. This kind of teach requires a fairly different set of skills (more akin to actual classroom teaching). It also limits what games are appropriate to try and “show off” to the audience (e.g., putting Spirit Island on the table in front of a new gamer is almost never going to go well).
In this vein, when I am teaching games to new(er) gamers, I try and pick a type of game that they may not be familiar with and pull out a game of that type to “show off” a game style or mechanic that will (hopefully) open their eyes to something that is fascinating to experience. What is shown below is a partial list of the games that I will pull off the shelf to do this kind of teach. Each of the games detailed below showcases a particular type of game or gaming experience.
NOTE: I have not “ranked” these games because each is on the list for a different reason. As such, there is not really a rank between them. This is simply a list of games that I choose to show off to others for the given reasons.
Camel Up
Sometimes, the new gamer might be familiar with party-style games (things like Cards Against Humanity, Dixit, or maybe even Codenames, etc.). One aspect of the party-style games that (in my opinion) defines a game as a party game is that the game feels more like an “experience”… and less like a game. There are usually some rules, but sometimes they are more like guidelines. There is usually a scoring or win-condition… but that often takes a backseat to just the joy of playing. By this definition, party games would include games like Spyfall, Telestration, Hues & Cues, etc.
I really like Camel Up because it has a party-style feel without being an actual party game. The rules set is light and pretty easy for new gamers to wrap their heads around. There is a definite endgame that you are targeting. The wagering system is clever enough that even experienced gamers have interesting choices to make as the game progresses. The pacing in the game is exactly perfect. Even at higher player counts, the downtime between turns is fairly low. It never fails that there is much cheering and yelling at the camels before the final race is done.
This game is almost always a smash hit with newer gamers!
Red Dragon Inn
Often, new gamers are at least casually familiar with “typical” fantasy tropes. As such, the concepts of Red Dragon Inn are easy to explain. The set-up time for this game is very fast (especially if the teacher simply assigns characters to everyone). The rules are very straightforward. The turn sequence is nicely structured and easy to follow (since it is printed on everyone’s player board). Many of the characters are not very complicated to understand how to play reasonably well (and even if the character is slightly complicated, the theme can carry the day even if you fumble the execution of a viable strategy).
One thing that this game showcases to new players is how card interactions can make things very interesting in unexpected ways. This game also showcases how asymmetric player positions can make games fascinating to explore. When my character is very good at gambling, but your character is very good as bashing things, you have to customize the strategy you choose to pursue. And this game teaches that very well because the strategies are played out by the custom decks for each character.
This game lends itself to some very raucous play. There are a couple of downsides to be aware of when putting this game on the table, however. The first is downtime. With any group larger than four players, the downtime between turns can be considerable (though you do typically want to be paying attention… in case you can play that Anytime card). I would suggest capping the player count at four. The other downside is that there is player elimination (by the very nature of the game). It is possible that the game will continue for a fair bit of time after the first player (or two) is eliminated. The results in one (or two) players simply watching the game for a while as the game progresses to an ending.
Overall, though, the game isn’t overly long (as long as players don’t enter into over-analyzing each card play). And the potential for super-fun card interaction and unexpected turnarounds is very high!
Ecos: First Continent
Most new gamers are at least slightly familiar with Bingo. And that is a perfect starting point to start teaching this game. This game does have a little bit more rules overhead than some other games on this list (there is some terminology that isn’t necessarily intuitive). But it usually doesn’t take long to understand the concepts.
The main thing that this game showcases for new gamers is simultaneous play. Everyone is doing something on every turn. It also demonstrates some simple tableau building (though your tableau is in a constant state of flux and cards come and go) with the goal of getting cards into your tableau that create synergies with each other. Another excellent thing that this game portrays is that the pieces on the board are not “owned” by a single player. All the playing area is “common” (the only thing that are “yours” are the cards in your tableau).
One downside for this game is that it can “drag” on a bit if players have a lot of choices in their tableau (or if they tend to “overthink” choices). If the players are relatively quick (or are willing to just “make a decision and see what happens”) though, this is not always a problem. In addition, you can always play the “short” game (playing to fewer points) for a first play. If the players connect reasonably well with the theme and mechanics, they will probably want to go again. The biggest problem with the short game is that you don’t have a lot of time to get good synergies going with your tableau (something even new players will see; resulting in them usually choosing to play the normal game for a second run).
Pandemic: The Cure
The concept of a cooperative game is not something that many new gamers are familiar with. This is an excellent to showcase how a cooperative game works. The basic Pandemic is a great game, but the games can run a bit long for a new gamer. This game also shows off player powers in an easy-to-understand format. Plus, everyone loves a dice-chucking fest!
In basic Pandemic, there are many actions to choose from during your turn. For new players, this can be quite daunting to figure out best paths to success. In Pandemic: The Cure, your choices are much more streamlined. Roll the dice… and then do what they say to do. The only “deep” decision is whether or not to re-roll for different actions (at the risk of making the situation worse). This game definitely captures the feel od the classic game… but in a way that is much less intimidating.
The puzzle of beating the game can be quite challenging (depending on the dice rolls and which characters are in play). The main downside of this game is always going to be alpha-gaming. This game is very easy for one player to try and dominate each player’s turn. However, when teaching this game, it is also a great opportunity to explain what alpha-gaming is and why it should be avoided.
Colt Express
Robbing the train! Wild west is a theme that most people can relate to! This game has a stunning table presence! When you set up this game, people are naturally drawn in. For the price point, you can’t beat the way this game looks on the table!
Programmed movement games can be very frustrating for some players. But no game pulls off this mechanism with more theme and with better pacing! The first time that the action deck is flipped over and the characters start moving, shooting, grabbing loot, and punching each other, the players are immediately drawn in. There is a little bit of rules overhead, but it isn’t too bad. The special events are easily explained as they happen. And the game just barrels along towards a nice climatic end!
The only significant downside is that the game can sometimes be a little lopsided. If someone happens to time a few card plays just right (usually by sheer chance), they can get a significant enough lead that no one realistically has a chance of catching them. However, the games are short enough that this isn’t too much of a real problem. Plus, players can enjoy trying to overthrow the obvious leader, slinging lead and throwing fists as much as possible.
NOTE: There are some racist themes among the characters and this may be offensive to some people.
Fabled Fruit
It goes without saying that new gamers won’t have a concept at all of a legacy-style game. This nicely simple card game illustrates what can be done with a legacy concept while maintaining a very simple rules set. Most people will be familiar with the idea of playing many hands across a game (from traditional games like Spades or Hearts). This game takes that concept and adds the idea of rules changing with every hand (usually just one rule at a time changing).
It is an easy idea to explain that you can simply store the game and pick up where you left off, with the game continuing to change (as the “save” system is very simple). The pacing on each hand is typically very fast. This means that even without a lot of time available, you can still get in 4-6 hands. That is usually enough to give people a good example of how the game is going to continue to evolve and change with each hand. This results in most players saying, “Just one more hand!” at the conclusion of each hand.
The Mind
This is an unusual game to classify. For me, this almost classifies as an “experience” rather than a game. This is probably because I have never beaten the game (at any player count). We always seem to say, “We were doing so well! Let’s try one more time!”
Limited communication games are all fascinating to me. Games like The Crew or Hanabi can be a little tricky (or challenging). The rules set for The Mind is so very simple to explain and understand. The rules don’t change as the game goes on. It simply gets harder and harder. I have put this game on the table with non-gamers and played for two hours straight. The longer you play, the more you “get in tune” with everyone’s thinking. The more tuned in you are to the other players, the further you go. This is the kind of game that even non-gamers can enjoy for hours!
Century: Spice Road
Recipe-filling games are fairly common and often just one of several mechanisms in a game. But there are a few where filling recipes is the primary (or sole) mechanism. Splendor is usually the game that gets the clamor in this category. But I prefer Century: Spice Road when showing off this mechanism.
The theme in Splendor is so thin that it is almost non-existent. But in Century: Spice Road, the theme is so much easier to connect to for new players. There is very little rules overhead so the teach is nicely short. And for gamers who are experienced in this type of game, the strategies are nicely meaty (mostly centered around timing when to purchase the cards you have been working toward).
I do like some of the other games in this series (particularly Eastern Wonders), but for new players, I would always choose this one.
Cartographers
When it comes to roll/flip and write games, there are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming which one to choose to introduce to new players. Many of the most popular ones are fairly theme-less (games like Qwixx or That’s Pretty Clever). But very few carry their theme better than Cartographers!
Like most roll/flip and write games, the rules are fairly straightforward. Even the scoring in the game is usually very evident by the end of the first season. And since it is a simultaneous play game, the pace is usually nicely quick. Rarely do we sit down and play just one game. We usually do two to four games back to back.
The only “downside” to this game is that the game almost certainly requires an extra purchase… colored pencils. You really need a nice pile of colored pencils for everyone to share when making their maps. This really goes a long way for the immersion into the game.
Lords of Waterdeep
When it comes to worker placement games, there are tons of choices. However, one of the oldest is my usual “go-to” game for teaching this mechanism. Lords of Waterdeep is just so elegant and easy to understand for new players. Some worker placement games are also loaded with so many other mechanisms that the worker placement element is just a small piece of the game. In Lords of Waterdeep, putting out your agents is the central mechanism (that and filling the recipes/quests).
With just the base game, the strategies can get a little repetitive after a few plays. But when you add in the expansion, the game gets suitably deep enough for experienced gamers to chew on. There is no other game that showcases the worker placement concept better than Lords of Waterdeep.
