New players: Should gamers give them a chance?

[samuraitrev]

Ok, so you have some new gamers at your table. You're hosting the game. Now this person or persons have never played this game and you've asked/ begged/forced/paid/tricked them to play your game. Now the new gamer(s) may have never played a board game before or they might have played a few. Should they be given a chance as you help them along? Perhaps offering various options they may take. Or do you mercilessly destroy them whilst laughing in their pathetic confused faces? I'd like to see how this goes.

Please answer absolutely truthfully. YOU know how you play and how competitive you are...

[zombie67]

I don't have a lot of experience of teaching a game I am fully conversant with to a new player, as I only game with Kath, my other half and we tend to learn together, but I think I would try and encourage them and help with mistakes etc.

I think the best way to learn a game is to fully play it including possibly losing.

[Raynor]

Definitely give them a chance. I actually moved from primarily a video-gamer to primarily a board-gamer just because gaming is much more fun with a group. If you're too competitive with players when they have their swimmies on and are testing the waters they'll never come back. You literally crush the life from your own hobby. Table Top games by their very nature are much more social endeavors than video games. You can't just crush newblettes and expect to continue to grow your play group as time goes by.

I'm personally 12 years late to the game of Magic the Gathering because when I was a sophmore in high school and I tried to learn how to play, no one gave me a chance. I got crushed by turn 4 game after game with no tips or helpful comments to grow my understanding of the game so I got bored and stopped playing till my brother in law shanghaied me into playing last Christmas and I discovered the game was actually lots of fun if you weren't being beaten to a bloody pulp before you figured out how to tap your mana every game.

It can be hard to let your opponents win if you're a competitive person by nature, but don't let your baser urges destroy your future fun! One of my best friends is hyper competitive and one of the biggest mistakes he makes even when he lets friends who aren't as good as him (my wife, for example) win is going back and explaining in grueling detail what he could have done and how he LET you win. Just let those new gamers at your table evolve and one day they'll know just how cool you are without you having to tell them More importantly, you'll still be playing with them if you don't smush them into Jelly while they're still on training wheels.

[spiritusXmachina]

If you want to build up a gaming community you'll have to give Newbies a chance. (And you will want to - playing Board Games Solitaire is not too much fun!)
Tell the Newbies where they nearly forgot an opportunity but leave them room to find their own style.
Loss or Win is not so much of an issue (esp. with LNOE) as long as it was a tight, thrilling game. Making games too easy will keep the newbies thinking the game is boring, crushing the opponent will frustrate them (and in the end shows more of your personality than of your gaming skills... As a teenager I might have tried to crush opponents but that is long ago... ;-)).

Greetings,
Gerald

[Slurpee Shoes]

My wife and I are the only "gamers" I know. Sometimes we have friends over and bring out a game. For me, gaming is about the beginning to end experience. My definition of a successfully played game is one where the losers have as much fun as the winners. So yeah, I always give a little help to the newbies.

[mqstout]

It's imperative for them to feel the game, but also to feel empowered/not hopeless. I'll give them some breaks, often tips and lots of asking, "Are you sure?" when they make a bad decision.

But, it's also important you not just let them win. They'll know!

Mark Rosewater (Head designer for Magic the Gathering) wrote an article about this -- that's spot on! -- for how to teach players Magic. It applies pretty well for other games, too.

http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazin...ily/mm/200

[StayPuft]

I voted for the option that it seems most have so far. I voted for the option saying that I absolutely help them, but don't just intentionally give them an easy win. At the same time, I won't go for the jugular and absolutely MURDER them just because I am more experienced at the game. I want them to have fun and want to come back and play more.

At the same time, though, if they are the kind of person who doesn't have fun unless they are winning, then I don't want them in my gaming group anyway. So, I don't agree with just letting them win easily. I'm not going to rip their throat out and then dance over their corpse singing "You suck! I rule! You suck! I rule!" LOL! At the same time, though, it isn't really as much fun (for you or them) or you are just full on letting somebody win. Yet, I do still at least monitor myself and dial it back a bit if they are having too rough a time.

As others have said, I'll even offer advice. Heck, I even sometimes do that with my regular gamers. I'll often jokingly say things like "I'd love to tell you 'XYZ' so I can swoop in and win, but in the interest of being fair, 'ABC' might actually be a better move." I mean, mind you if I know they know the game as well as I do, I can safely assume they'd know the options. But, if they are new to it, or even new to my group, I won't just gleefully let them pass up a really good opportunity because maybe they didn't know the game well enough to know it was even an opportunity. Dunno if I am explaining what I mean well there.