Our game night went from 3 people to a full table of 8 after we started a 'bring a newbie' rule last month.

I think it worked because we stopped just playing heavy euros and added a quick social deduction game as a warm-up, which made the new folks feel less intimidated (and honestly, more fun for everyone). What's a good 'gateway' game you've used to get friends into the hobby?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_martin3d ago

Oh man, that warmup idea is genius. I actually just listened to a podcast where a game designer talked about how important it is to have that low stakes icebreaker before the real game starts. He said it lowers the "social pressure" of learning rules in front of everyone lol. That's probably why your table grew so fast. For me, I've had crazy good luck with The Resistance. It's so simple with just lying and accusing each other, and the rounds take like 10 minutes tops. People who never touch board games get super into it because it's more about reading people than strategy. Plus the table talks and argues the whole time so nobody feels awkward sitting in silence.

shah.ben1mo ago

My cousin had good luck with Sushi Go. It's just picking cards and passing them around, so new people catch on fast. They played that for a bit before trying anything more complicated.

rosep871mo ago

Oh, that's a solid strategy. My buddy Mark swears by "Codenames" for this. He says the team aspect gets people talking right away, and explaining the rules takes like 90 seconds. They usually play a couple rounds and then everyone's loose enough to jump into something bigger.