The Care and Feeding of Your Game Group

I have, in my time, introduced a lot of people to a lot of board games, in person, on my website, and through a series of "Good Gift Game" articles I write every December. Many of those people have gone on to purchase board games of their own.

Some of my friends, however, decline to buy board games of their own. "You're the only person I ever play games with," they say. "I'd buy my own copy if I knew anyone who'd play it with me, but I don't."

Here we find the dirty little secret of the board game hobby. Unlike going to the movies, watching TV or stopping at the pub for a drink or three, you have to encourage — and sometimes train — others to participate. Some adults haven't played board games in years, and may dismiss them as "kid's stuff;" others balk at the prospect of having to learn rules; yet other might equate game playing with overly competitive and interminable sessions of Monopoly, unaware that modern board games fall in an entirely different phylum.

And yet, if you can convince people to join you, they invariably thank you for it afterwards. Playing board games is like exercise: some people are reluctant to do it, but everyone is happy to have done it.

Also like exercise, a regimen helps ensure that you board game regularly. One of the best techniques is to form a game group, a pool of friends who routinely gather to play. Alas, starting and maintaining a game group provides its own set of challenges.

But it's not so hard, if you keep a few key principles in mind. Here, then, is some advice to get you on your way.

FIGURE OUT THE PURPOSE OF YOUR GAME GROUP

The idea of establishing a "purpose" for your game group might sound strange — after all, the purpose is to play games, right? But playing games are not an end unto themselves. People play for a variety of reasons — to compete, to relax, to socialize, to have fun, to challenge themselves intellectually, and so on — and when people with different purposes wind up at the same table, the results can be less than satisfactory.

An example: Most of the people in my game group come for the socialization and relaxation. Troy, however, placed a great emphasis on competition. He always wanted to play the most cutthroat games in my collection; he would reprimand players who did not take their turns promptly; he was always making side deals with other players, and would often renege on them when it suited his interests. After a while, no one wanted to play games with Troy, and some stopped coming to the game group entirely.

If we were gathering week after week to play wargames, Troy's behavior would have been perfectly appropriate, and the gabby player whose feelings got hurt every time he was attacked would be the odd man out. But our game group had a different purpose (to foster socialization) than Troy had in attending (to win at all costs), and the friction this discrepancy caused was apparent.

When I invite folks to play game, I try to make it evident what the purpose of the session will be: families and fun games, beer and wargames, or cold-sober analysis and strategy games. That way everyone knows what they are getting into — and how they are expected to behave.

KNOW THE RULES

Imagine that you are in a theater, watching a movie, but every 30 minutes the film comes to a complete stop while, up in the booth, the projectionist fumbles about as he tries to get the next reel in place. The third time this happens he even turns up the lights, and people begin milling about. Now imagine that, halfway through the film, a reel from a similar but different movie is inadvertently inserted, confusing everyone until the error is realized and reversed. When you finally stagger out of the cinema five hours later, you opinion of the film — regardless of its actual quality — is likely to be low.

If you try and teach people a board game without fully knowing how to play yourself, the same thing is bound to happen. Dragging the rules out of the box to verify a rule or remind yourself what the blue pawns are for may only take a few minutes, but the greatest cost is the loss of immersion players will experience every time the game is interrupted. Worse, you run the risk of getting a rule completely wrong, which will result in your playing a game different than the one you'd hoped — almost certainly an inferior one, probably one that doesn't work at all. And "backing out" of a misremembered rule is often such a laborious process that it's usually better to just scrap the whole thing.

Still, many people think they can just read the rules for the first time moments before play begins, hastily summarizing the important points for the other players. That may have worked for Stratego, but it rarely works for modern games, and people who employ this method will quickly find themselves lacking in willing opponents.

The best way to learn a new game is to have someone fluent in the game teach it to you. If no such person is available, do your opponents a favor and strive to become that person before your first play.

Read the rules through entirely at least once before playing. When finished, go back and reread anything that you are not clear on. Many people, including myself, will even go so far as to play a few rounds of a game against themselves to see the rules in practice. You might feel a little silly, sitting at your kitchen table, playing a four-player board game all by yourself for 15 minutes, but that quarter-hour is much better spent learning the game in advance than scanning the rules halfway through an actual game, frantically trying to find the overlooked rule while your friends quickly lose interest in the entire enterprise.

Even if you don't learn the rules by heart, you will at least become familiar with the organizational structure of the rulebook by reading them in advance, which will enable you to find something within them during the game as rapidly, and as with as little interruption, as possible.

EASE THEM INTO IT

Hey, here's a fun way to torpedo your fledging game group: introduce potential gamers to the hobby with a deep, aggressive, seven-hour game only slightly more complex than the United States tax code.

This happens more often than you might think. Gamers, excited to finally have a group formed, start pulling all the titles they've been dying to play off the shelf and foist them on the unsuspecting victims. The result: No one comes back for week two.

The best way to introduce new folks to the hobby is with so-called "gateway games." These are typically designs that are short in length, easy to learn, and place an emphasis on "fun" rather than competition. The gateway games I have found most successful are Ticket To Ride, The Settlers of Catan, Carcassone and No Thanks! Others swear by TransAmerica, Around the World in 80 Days and Blokus. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something that will grip the from the start, and get them wondering about what else board gaming has to offer.

ESTABLISH A PRESSURE-FREE ENVIRONMENT

A friend of mine has, for years, held a biweekly game night at his house. Though his mailing list includes a dozen people at least, usually only a few show up on any given night. Every once in a while, in fact, he has to scrap the whole thing due to insufficient attendance.

I have a game group as well, but we typically gather at local pubs and alehouses, and we usually get from six to a dozen people each time. And while I'd love to attribute the higher turnout to my winning personality, I strong suspect the location is the biggest draw. Beyond the obvious advantages (i.e., easy access to food and booze), having a gamenight in a public location provides one other enormous boon: It makes people comfortable in attending even if they don't necessarily want to join in.

At my friend's game nights, people must show up on time, and, if a game that they don't particularly care for is selection, they are stuck playing it for the duration. At mine, people feel free to drop in whenever, and know that they are welcome to just spectate or just share a drink with another non-participant if they aren't in the mood of playing games.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that you too hold you gamenight in a bar (though it has worked well for me). But establishing a pressure-free environment works wonders for keeping attendance in a game group high.

PLAY TO THE CROWD

A corollary to the above two topics is: Size up your participants and play something they all will like. I prefer games a little more strategic than most of my game group attendees do, but I also recognize that foisting a deep strategy game on a party game crowd isn't doing anyone any favors — and is a sure-fire method of losing members.

If I am dead set on playing a particular title, I will announce my intention to do so ahead of time so those coming know what's in store. Or, better yet, hold a gamenight specifically for that game. In all other cases, I strive to accommodate as many people as I can with my selection.

When someone in your game group enjoys a particular title, make a mental note of it. Make a written note of it, even. People who only play games occasionally are apt to forget which ones they prefer; doing so on their behalf will ensure that they keep coming back.

If someone really takes a shine to a game, ask them explain the rules to new players sometime. Once they have done so, appoint them deputy. Now, when you find yourself with an abundance of players, they can head up a second game of their favorite title at a nearby table.

One last tip: don't waste your time trying to "convert" people to board games. Introduce them to board games, certainly — but if they don't take to them, shrug your shoulders and move on. It's no big deal: some people, through no fault of their own, just don't find board games enjoyable, and it's certainly not your job to set them straight. And, anyway, if you follow the advice above, you may wind up with more players than you know what to do with. Play with those who want to play, forgive those who don't, and have fun out there.

Matthew Baldwin cracks wise about many topics, including gaming, at Defective Yeti.

— Matthew Baldwin (matthew at defectiveyeti dot com)