How to teach someone to play a game
How to teach someone to play a game
How to teach someone to play a game
Bringing someone into gaming is one of the most rewarding aspects of the community. Games provides many great benefits. They can be entertaining, rewarding, and used for teaching, training, learning and development.
But how do you bring new players into gaming? How do you show someone how to play a game? What if someone hasn’t played this game before? What if they haven’t played many games at all?
This article provides an overview of how you can teach someone to play a game. It describes game literacy as a starting place for helping someone learn how to play a new game. Often, the game that you select should work well for player types, tastes, and experiences.
This article will dive deeply into how game theme can be used to explain the objective of the game; its structure; rules; interface and mechanics. All of which are necessary for demonstrating how players can achieve agency in the game and what choices they have in order to succeed.
The basis of these choices is called the “core loop.” Explaining and demonstrating how it works within the framework of game objectives is key to helping players succeed at the game.
Scaffolding is important for teaching new players. Specific information should be introduced in an intentional order for best effect. You’ll have taught a game well if players can demonstrate their agency throughout the play process.
Some games are easier to teach compared to others. This includes open information games or abstract games where hidden information isn’t part of the game’s structure. This framework often informs game hosts in how they help and assist new players. In addition, it’s important that game strategies, exceptions, and edge cases be addressed when and if necessary in order for the player to have a positive experience.
Host preparation is critical to ensuring that the player experience is a successful one. So, making sure that you know how to play the game yourself is important before teaching others. Likewise, players should also provide their undivided attention when learning a new game from someone else.
Super Mario Bros’ World 1-1 is a hallmark for game tutorials; engagement; and demonstration. A deeper look at this stage will be provided as well as the importance for the post-game discussion in its application of experiential learning theory for games-based learning.
Game literacy
Much of what we talk about when teaching games is better understanding the player’s experiences, background, and knowledge. All of which informs the player’s game literacy. Game literacy is a player’s ability to demonstrate their understanding of a game’s structures in order to implement their agency and control in the game.
This includes player’s abilities to take what they learn form one game and apply it to another. In this way, gamers who have played first person shooters; platformers; rouge-like games; worker placement; or trick taking games will have an easier time applying what they’ve learned from one type of game to another.
Game literacy is incredibly hard to teach to someone. Players develop their literacy through playing varying, diverse, and different games from different modalities. This includes computer and console games as well as mobile, card, and table top games. Ideally, players should also play games with different mechanics such as turn based games; abstract games; role-playing games; acting games; and mega games.
Player types, tastes, and experience
Teaching someone how to play a game has much to do with their game literacy. Likewise, it is also highly dependent on the host (you) catering to their player experience.
Understanding your players (what they have played before; who they have played with; and what they have enjoyed) helps in teaching them how to play a new game. If a player is very familiar with modern table top games and has played many games using area control; then the host doesn’t need to go into depth into how area control mechanics work in a new game.
Many times it is easier to explain games to highly experienced gamers. Explaining games to new or younger gamers can be challenging. In this case, it helps to introduce simpler “gateway” games to them first in order to develop their game literacy.
Comparatively, teaching more complex games to advanced gamers can be relatively easier. An explanation for how to play Twilight Imperium will take longer than how to play Kingdomino. However, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to explain a more complicated game to more experienced gamers by asking them to read and review the rulebook ahead of time.
Most importantly the host should focus on catering to and supporting new players playing for the first time. It’s easy to get frustrated by new players who take a long time to act or may not be as proficient with a new game the first time they play it. This is a common scenario, and something that is likely to happen if you play with new or younger players.
However, one of the most promising ways of explaining a new game to someone is by starting with the theme. Specifically by addressing who the player is within the game.
Game theme
Teaching someone play a game often starts best when you begin with the “hook” or what the game’s theme is. Who is the player in this game? Why are they important? Why do they matter? How are they going to accomplish the game’s objectives through their actions?
This often means explaining to the player where this game takes “place.” Are we seafarers? Industrialists? Superheroes? Who are we working for? Why do we (as the player) want to do certain things in the game?
Explaining the theme helps players’ with their immersion in the game. Otherwise, they might see it as boring. And if they find the game boring, then why would they want to play it? Certain games such as Betrayal: House on the Hill really doesn’t take that much effort to establish the theme. Other popular titles such as Call of Duty are very communicative of their theme where as more abstract games such as Kingdomino or Santorini may not be as clear who the player is in the game.
Don’t underestimate the role of explaining theme in the game. For some players, the theme is very important. This is especially the case when playing role-playing games where theme informs and structures the game’s world; magic circle; and players’ motivations.
It’s time to move onto the game objective after covering theme; who the players are; and why they are doing something. Specifically what players have to do to be successful at the game.
Game objective
The game objective is what players’ are aiming to accomplish in the game. This could be straightforward with all players attempting to accomplish the same thing. This could come from racing games where all players need to cross the finish line first. Conversely, the objectives could be different for asymmetrical games. Here, different players attempt to do different things.
Other games could involve more complex structures for objectives such as Terra Mystica where actions and sources of points for players’ victory might not be straightforward. Sometimes explaining the objective might not be possible without first explaining how certain game mechanics work first. Tigris and Euphrates is one such example where players’ with the most points win at the end of the game. However, final scores are determined by players’ weakest color in points.
It’s very easy to get bogged down in these more “granular” aspects of games. Experienced players might concentrate on these specific details in order to show others how points are scored throughout the game. However, remember to focus on the “big picture” for new players: especially how specific actions that players can take connect back to the objectives of the game.
Theme informs players of who they are in the game. Objectives define what players are trying to accomplish. Game structures and rules outline how a player accomplishes those objectives within the framework of the game and the magic circle.
Game structure and rules
The game structure and rules is very much the “how” of players engagement with the game. Here, players learns how the game is structured, setup, and how they engage with it according to the game.
Video games, digital games, and mobile games often have integrated rules. The game’s design ensures that players must following the structure given in the game. However, table top, card games, and mega games must outline this structure in more detail. Here is where hosts set and establish the expectations for players of what they can do in the game as well as what they cannot do.
Digital games such as Plants vs. Zombies integrate the structure and rules of the game with its theme. Early on players learn that plants remain stationary (because they are plants with root systems) whereas zombies are mobile but slow moving. The visual example of these two components in the game communicate their purpose and limitations in the game easily.
These visual representations in digital games can be carried over to table top games as well. For example, hosts can indicate “we all score when this pile of cards runs out.” Demonstrating this provides a visual connection and cue to players when certain actions occur in the game and how they can prepare for it when it happens.
Game interface & mechanics
Now it’s time to cover how players can actually interact with the game after they have the basic structure and rules of the game down. It often makes the most sense to start with the end in mind: specifically how taking this action or doing this thing will help players win and succeed at the game.
This interaction can be relatively simple in some games (i.e. in Texas Hold’em Poker you can bet, call, fold, or raise) or can be more complex (i.e. in Scythe building a structure costs your resources now but can potentially earn you victory points at the end of the game).
Games have a wide variety of different mechanics that makes learning them easier or more challenging. For new gamers it may make sense to start out with basic games that have relatively simple mechanics and controls. Very few adult serious gamers play Tic-Tac-Toe or Candyland but both posses the game structure of demonstrating to players how turns are taken and how turn order is important for the game.
Are your players ready to tackle more complex games? If so, then work on explaining how players can engage with the game board; controller; or interface. If players have to move their pawns to the “tavern” to resolve an action; then have them actually pickup a player pawn and move it to demonstrate to them how that action takes places.
Likewise, go over various actions and activities in the game and how it impacts players’ positions; agency; and overall chances of successes. For instance, it helps new Kingdomino players learn how positioning pieces in a certain way opens up the board for them and/or helps them score more points at the end of the game.
It also helps to instruct players based on their game literacy. If all players have played a deck-building game like Dominion before then less time can be spent reviewing how deck-building works in a game like Clank! Rather, you can instead spend more time explaining other mechanics of the game (i.e. how the Dragon Bag works).
Player controls and choice
Explaining game mechanics alone aren’t enough to help players learn how to play a new game. Rather, covering exactly how players do something as well as how choices are structured in the game does help new players develop their own agency.
This agency can be developed throughout play by discussing actions early in the game. Players may know what they can do, but may not yet have the information necessary for determining what they can or should do early in the game.
Usually an “audible” walk through during the early game is helpful. This is where you (as the host) commit to audibly describing what you are doing as you play the game. This could include taking specific gems in Splendor while also explaining that you are limited to taking three different gems as an option. You can even expand with the reasoning behind this choice by explaining that on your next turn you’ll take three different colored gems and on the third turn you plan on purchasing a card.
It may not make sense for serious gamers to audibly describe the actions they are taking and why they are taking it. However; serious gamers or those who have played the same game many times before; often suffer from player bias and understanding that they already have (but a new player doesn’t). This is similar to rubber duck debugging where the host must become intimately aware of why they are doing something by explaining the reason behind it as it occurs.
Providing this audible overview is helpful for explaining specific limitations of the rules or structures. This can occur for games that have a selection of action points that can be used up each turn; but with limitations to a certain action once per turn. (i.e. King of Indecision when hiring a new worker).
Core loop
A game’s mechanics, interface, controls, and choice all feed into and influence the game’s core loop.
The core loop is the primary game system or mechanic that defines the game. This is the element of the game that players remember most frequently or engage with most often. You can think about this as the “engine” of game and what empowers individual players to keep playing.
The core loop for triple-A games can be easier to explain than others. That’s because most people who have played first-person shooters before most likely have played Call of Duty. Likewise, players who have played worker placement games before have probably played Agricola.
Despite this, it does make sense to describe the core loop of the game as well as the different phases of the game and how it takes place. This is helpful for games that are based over the course of several rounds with each round broken up into different phases. Endeavor: Age of Sail does this with its construction phase; growth phase; salary phase; action phase; and discard phase. Specific actions may be familiar to players; but their overall scope and impact within the game over phases may not be totally evident.
Likewise, it also helps to audibly explain the core loop of the game as the host engages with it. For new players it could also help to discuss and share strategy of why you are taking an action at a specific time. For instance, a host could explain that they are acquiring a card in Century Spice Road in order to resolve it later to claim a score card.
There are many ways of explaining the core loop of a game. No matter which way you choose always relate it back to individual players’ agency and how they can take these actions in order to win the game.
Scaffolding
Now that you’ve covered the main aspects of the game including its’ theme, mechanics, core loop, objectives, and choices; it’s time to bring it all together. This is where scaffolding comes into play; and it’s more important that you think for teaching a game to your players.
That’s because the way that you teach your game is as important as the game play itself. Scaffolding addresses this by providing information to your players in the right order. While it might make more sense to introduce the theme of your game first for heavily thematic experiences (i.e. role-playing games) it may not make sense for more abstract games.
No matter, how you choose to introduce these requisite components to players remember your own bias as the host: you have played this game before and you most likely have taught others to play it. So this means that any explanation should be provided in digestible chunks. Sections of the game should be introduced to players in a way that doesn’t overload them with too much (or irrelevant) information too quickly.
Often, part of the scaffolding process includes playing a few rounds or few turns of the game with simplified rules. Showing players how game mechanics and choices work in action feeds the experiential earning cycle for players. From here, you can build on what players already know about core mechanics and build upon it to introduce game dynamics and how combining actions opens new strategies and tactics.
Scaffolding also means introducing levels of difficulty into your players’ orientation. For table top games that could include reducing the amount of information you share at the very beginning. For digital games this could include adjusting the sensitivity of controllers so that players aren’t overwhelmed by the experience.
Likewise, when teaching a multiplayer game, put yourself in the position of your players by examining what actions they can take and what makes most sense (or at least is most gratifying) based on the position that they are in.
As the host it’s ultimately up to you to determine how to best structure and scaffold your game explanation. This could come entirely from you; based on a demonstration by more experienced players; or even include videos or other media created to help players learn the game.
Player agency
Your game explanation should support player agency. Player agency is about giving players the interactivity to affect and change the game world. Through agency, players have power to influence and change what is happening in the game. It provides them control (or at least of sense of it) of what will happen next.
Player agency is also about promoting players’ sense of accomplishment in the game world. This should be achieved early in order to demonstrate that they can change the game to achieve their objective.
Game explanations should focus on prioritizing this agency quickly and thoroughly for players. It doesn’t do well for new players to sit at length to learn the details of game mechanics prior seeing them in action. This is particularly relevant when players have a variety of different choices and game actions. A plethora of choice means that they could easily suffer from analysis paralysis.
Likewise, game hosts also run the risk of “over-explaining the game” by giving players too much information on strategies, tactics, and hints on how to play. Sometimes providing some base level information is fine. However, part of developing player agency is letting your players learn how to best play the game on their own.
More experienced players may be more adept at applying what they know from other games in order to learn how to play new ones. In this case, it helps hosts to curate explanations that build on this knowledge and apply it to the new game.
Player agency is about individual players’ control of the game environment. That means demonstrations should remain demonstrations. Moving for players or otherwise taking actions for them severely reduce player agency and undermines the player experience.
Open information
Part of what negatively affects some player experiences when learning a new game is navigating the amount of information presented to them; determining what is necessary to know now and what to know later; and what information is open versus what information is secret.
This is what makes teaching abstract and open information games (i.e. Santorini, Hive, and Splendor) often easier to teach than secret information games (i.e. One Night Ultimate Werewolf, COUP, or The Resistance: Avalon). The lack of information in these social deduction games make explanation much more difficult as is it not as easy to demonstrate the game state to players. However, hosts can mitigate this by examining specific plays and actions and determining what made it a good play versus a bad one.
Hosting secret information games could be tricky. That’s why it helps to play a few demonstration rounds with open information for new and inexperienced players. This means that all players can see all (normally) secret cards, roles, or abilities as the game progresses. This provides new players an overview of the nuances of the game as it develops.
Doing so avoids potentially game ending scenarios that might arise. Specifically in games like Battlestar Galactica where revealing hidden roles could undermine the whole experience.
Help and assistance
Even the best hosts and the most experienced students will occasionally need some additional help and assistance. Remember, that as the host for the game, you are charged with making sure that your players have as an engaging experience as possible. Sometimes this means forgiving some things that may not be always possible during game scenarios.
One way that you can help support a positive player experience is to allow players to “take back” moves or give them a “mulligan.” Doing so ensures that your players are playing at the top of their abilities by allowing them to change their action given what they have learned about the game.
It’s also important to remember to support agency and control for digital and video games. While it might be easier for you as the host to take over control of the game for them, this quickly diminishes players’ agency. So avoid doing this when possible.
However, do take player actions as opportunities for them to ask questions about their own play and the way they make decisions in the game. Players who ask questions is a good sign; so long as those questions support the player experience and help better understand, compete, and engage within the game.
Questions also help the host pin point certain aspects of the game which may be confusing for future players. Questions outline where players should be reminded of certain actions, activities, or options afforded to them as the game goes on. Getting those reminders early on can be interpreted as annoying. However, doing so ensures that players don’t miss anything important that would negatively impact their experience.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t let players make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the experiential learning of games. However, mistakes alone don’t educate players. Rather, mistakes that are accompanied with analysis and context help players learn. Mistakes based learning is used to its greatest effect for brief games or games with a very short feedback loop. Such mechanics allow payers to evaluate their actions quickly against possible outcomes.
Of course, as a host, your role is also to help players gain the most they can from the game. Sometimes this means also providing “color commentary” during play. This commentary (i.e. “you’ve taken that worker space – which means that I can’t go there. That ‘s a shame because I wanted to go there!”) also serves the player feedback loops by demonstrating to players how their actions have influenced the progression of the game.
Strategies, exceptions, and edge cases
Different strategies, exceptions, and edge cases always arise in games. However, they have their place in the order and priority in which hosts explain how games work and what players can do within them.
Sharing tips in games can be very helpful. Specifically when it helps players demonstrate some basic level of efficacy. However, suggested strategies for what players should do in order to play most effectively, should be used sparingly. This is because the experiential and active feedback loop of games should serve this role for you. Strategies become emergent based on how players engage with the game.
Exceptions to rules are also common to games. However, the host should be mindful of when they explain these exceptions and when they come up. Focusing too much on exceptions could distort players’ views of the game and what is important to remember and do.
Also edge cases for play, strategy, and game states should be addressed on an as needed basis. This is because edge cases (by definition) do not occur frequently in games. As such, it’s important to address that these cases may come up; but that they are infrequent and that they can be addressed when and if they arise.
Host preparation
Hosting a game is a challenging proposition. You must both know how to play the game as well the best way to explain and teach others how to play it. However this challenge can be overcome with some preparation.
The first step is learning how the game works by both playing the game as well as examining the rules and structure of how different elements of the game work and connect with one another. This is important because as the host you have to focus on the biggest elements and more important dynamics prior to explaining it to someone else. Focusing on the minutiae first, and getting too bogged down in details, will only confuse and undermine your fellow players.
This also means that you should spend time preparing to host a game prior to bringing it to other gamers. Reading directly from the rule book while learning how to play can be a difficult experience. You can avoid this situation by opening, playing, preparing, and practicing how to teach the game prior to hosting it. Doing this means that you will have spent some time teaching yourself how to teach others to play.
This is most easily done with digital games where single players can often play by themselves prior to teaching others. However, it is different for table top games. With table top games, also consider setting up the game and playing a mock round on your own. Doing this means that you’ll have some context from the rules compared to just reading them.
The time that you spend preparing to host a game will be well worth it for your players’ experiences.
Players’ concentration and attention
Being a good host is only part of the ability to teach games well to new players. The other half is gaining the attention and buy-in of your players. Because of this, it is often fruitful to learn to be a good host by also learning how to be a good player. You can do this by watching and imitating great game hosts. You can do this first by paying close attention when a game is being explained to you. Attentive players will get the most out of the host’s explanation.
Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that you don’t multitask when you’re learning a new game. Giving the host your full an undivided attention by ignoring your mobile phone; keeping your eyes off the TV; and minimizing discussion with others. A host who has to talk over the conversations of other people will be distracted. So remember to practice good player etiquette by conversing and asking questions with the host directly.
A way for players to engage more actively is to assist with setup. While the game is being explained; or when components are being reviewed: volunteer to shuffle cards or pass out items to players.
This engagement is important particularly for board games which rely more on tactile sensation for players. The ability to touch, manipulate, and move pieces around is critical for learning how a game system works and feels for players.
World 1-1: the intuitive tutorial
Table top games are often the most challenging games to teach. Video and digital games are somewhat easier to on-board new players. That’s because tutorials are often part of the player’s experience. This is no more evident than in “World 1-1” as part of Super Mario Bros (1985) designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.
The specific first level was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto as a way to intuitively design a tutorial for a game that didn’t feel like a tutorial. In this way, the player learns how to play the game experientially: by playing the game at its most basic level. This design is important because it demonstrates to both players and designers how the game’s systems, core loops, and mechanics work with each other to form the dynamics of the game.
Part of this was based on simply the character’s movement on the screen. Super Mario Bros forbade players from going back on a level after they progressed past a certain point. This was demonstrated by the screen automatically scrolling as players moved from left to right. This simple piece of feedback provided an experience based demonstration to players on how their avatar moves across the screen.
The demonstration of this level of player agency, learning, and development is important. Players learn the game through their own accord by exercising their abilities: a process which makes the game play experience their own.
Post game discussion
Preparing to teach a game; hosting a game; explaining it; and then playing is a very challenging process. It’s something that hosts only get better with over time and through practice. But, an important aspect of hosting games, (and games-based learning) is to review and discuss the play afterwards.
This is particularly important for table top games. When the game is finished, hold back on putting everything back on the box right away. Instead, take time to reflect with your players what the game was about; how it compared against their initial expectations; and how they thought the game played compared to their preconceived notions.
This process of “active debriefing” is important for games-based learning where there process is experiential – that is learning by doing. Actively reflecting on the experience and then making adjustments and changes for the next play is part of experiential learning. Furthermore, instructors should also discuss and tie back experiences from the game to the learning outcomes stated as part of its inclusion in any educational curriculum.
This post-game discussion should also be used to address any misgivings, negative feedback, or otherwise bad reactions that players had to the game. Addressing this provides the host with information on what could be explained better the next time the game is played as well as player preferences for future games.
Takeaways
This article discussed how to teach someone to play a game. It covered game literacy as well as how to best explain a game due to player types, tastes, and previous experiences. The way that you explain a game is important. Some specific areas that you should cover are the game’s theme; player objectives; game structure and rules; interface; mechanics; and choice.
The core loop is the series of actions that players take through the conclusion of the game. So making sure that players understand what this is; how they make choices; and how it affects the end of the game is paramount. All of this affects and influences how you scaffold the player experience and provide agency to your individual players.
Explaining open information games tends to be easier compared to hidden information or social deduction games; so structure your game choice and curation carefully based on the players you host. Help and assistance to your players should be carefully considered, in addition to how you explain game strategies, exceptions and edge cases.
Learning how to explain a game well goes hand in hand with host preparation: so spend an adequate amount of time playing the game and learning how to teach others. Being a good host also requires that you be a great player: so set expectations for your players on how they can best learn how to play the game.
“World 1-1” from Super Mario Bros (1985) set the standard for great game tutorials that orients the player how to play the game based on the experiential learning cycle. This experiential learning cycle is the hallmark for games-based learning and should be addressed in your post-game discussion with your players.
This article was about how to teach someone to play a game. To learn more about gamification, check out the free course on Gamification Explained.
Dave Eng, EdD
Principal
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Cite this Article
Eng, D. (2021, July 27). How to teach someone to play a game. Retrieved MONTH DATE, YEAR, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2021/7/27/how-to-teach-someone-to-play-a-game
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