Gamers Teaching Gaming

Happy Ending

It is back again! Gamers Teaching Gaming I mean not the last thing that happens in a seedy message parlor… ooooh I see why they were saying it was an inappropriate title now. Well, live and learn. Today, in our final Gamers Teaching Gaming segment, we are going to be focusing on how to wrap up a new game session. Again let’s dive right in!

Reflections of you oou-oou-ouu

Hopefully the reactions to the end of your demo or game session are filled with as many happy balloons as this group of people have…the people being the band Misterwives…who sing that song called Reflections…you got there in the end.

Once a game is completed the first question I always ask is how people enjoyed it. There is no better way to gauge enjoyment than directly asking. People may be shy about telling you how they feel so make sure you take the time to recognize some of the interesting occurrences during play. Whether they be smooth combos pulled off by other players or mistakes that may have lead to a player’s loss. This can get the conversation started and move you right into being able to talk more deeply about the mechanics.

Strategery and Planification

The gamification of the zero-sum idea presented in socioeconomic theory particularize the gladdening of personages participating

This is part of the post game discussion where you can really get into the weeds and some people really like this and others do not. This is also the point at which people may ask to play again or get really excited about interactions they did not see the first time through. To me the strategy talk is the most important way to see if people truly understood the game. Not just how you taught it but also how to win and how various mechanics of the game tie together to give players options and strategies. This is personally my favorite part of the post game discussion and it is where you can really see if your teaching style allowed players to grasp the flow, feel, and fun of the game.

The Graspening

I really hope that people understanding the mechanics of the game you teach in a way that is less convoluted than a story where God is causing plants to emit plant particulates to make people kill themselves in a second mass killing event…Yes that is the plot of the Happening. Sorry not sorry.

The players’ grasp on the mechanics of the game is truly where you can see if your teaching was successful or not. If players (barring external influences like being called away or having an emergency) do not really engage with you and the other players after a game I feel like they may not have really “gotten it”. To me that is a sign of confusion or dislike of parts of the game.  Which means you may need to change how you teach the game next time. I am a firm believer that an opinion of a game can really only be made if a player truly understands the game. This also means that I think most games (NOT ALL) should be played as many times as it takes to get a hang of the mechanics. For example, a game like Garden Dice was easier for me to decide I did not enjoy after only one playthrough but a game like Terra Mystica took a few (exactly 12 to be precise) for me to decide it wasn’t for me.  That said not all people are willing or able to devote this much time to play the same game and may only have one playthrough to get it all. This is why teaching a game so people can understand it in its entirety the first time is key to being a good teacher.

Well there ya go folks. That is everything I have on how I teach games. I hope all of these segments helped you all understand how to approach teaching and the importance of how it can affect how people view a game. If you have any questions or suggestions, put them in the comments. See ya next time!

-Kyle