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My game group hated my new way to pick the first player, but it fixed our biggest problem
We have a regular group of five that meets every Thursday, and we always wasted 15 minutes arguing over who goes first in each new game. The usual dice roll or 'youngest first' rule just led to more debates. Last month, I suggested we use the 'rulebook reader' method: whoever read the rules aloud to the group gets to choose the starting player or pick their color first. Everyone groaned and said it was a bad reward for a boring job. I pushed for us to try it for two sessions. It worked perfectly. The person teaching the game felt more involved, and the choice was made before we even set up the board. Now we start playing faster and with less fuss. Has anyone else found a simple house rule that smoothed out a regular group headache?
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ryanj601mo ago
What happens when the person who reads the rules is also the most competitive player? You just gave them an unfair power boost right from the start. This method sounds like it trades one problem for another. Now you have a single person making a choice that helps their own game, which can feel just as bad as an argument. It also puts pressure on someone to read rules they might not fully get just to get that advantage. Your fix might speed things up, but it could plant the seed for bigger fights later on.
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white.seth6d ago
I actually watched a Shut Up & Sit Down video where they talked about this and mentioned that even experienced players can mess up rules they're reading for the first time. Making the reader pick someone else as first player seems like a smart middle ground though.
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kai_brown231mo ago
Our group of six tried the rulebook reader method last year and ran into that exact power gamer issue. We fixed it by having the reader pick the starting player, but they can't pick themselves. It takes the selfish edge off and still rewards the person doing the teaching. The key is making that small change so the advantage is about directing the game, not winning it. It stopped the debates cold for us.
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