Hello, I'm a total noob when it comes to board games but a huge GOT fan. I've been looking for merchandise before the new season comes out and read an article that lists some stuff including a board game. I'm a chess player and that's as far as I went, I watched the tutorial linked in the article and it looked pretty complex so my question is: is it OK to buy this game as a first board game ever? Will it not be TOO complex? And I don't know how many players I can gather, it's for 3-6 players, is it still fun for 3 players or is it best to max out? Thank you in advance :)

To asnwer your questions a bit orderly in my own opinion:

1. I do not recommend this boardgame as a first boardgame ever. However it is an amazing game and follows the universe really well. If you and a minimum of three of your friends love Either a) A game of thrones B) Complex strategy-boardgames or C) All of the above then you can definitely make it work. However the game has a lot of specific rules and plenty of details in the gameplay that can be detrimental in just the phrasing alone. I have played this game 7 times so far and i am still learning neuances of the rulebook, despite reading it for fun from time to time. I also want to add that missing out on a few neuances in the rulebook from time to time probably won't matter if it's the first time for you and your circle since you'll probably be too oblivious (meant in all friendly honesty) to notice the consequences of not following the rulebook to the point.

TLDR; if you and your buddies have a passion it'll probably work out nicely :)

2. It is definitely best with six players even though it takes significantly more time. It works well enough with only three players and for a first game it's probably best to be few. Definitely do max out your games, though! there will be so many more interactions and so much more of the map can be used when all six players participate. The game is least balanced when playing with four/five players because of the way the rules doesn't restrict movement untill the player count is reduced to three. The newest expansion, Mother of dragons, fixes all of the negatives of playing with fewer than six players, though. So if you like the game and you're certain you'll want to play more in the future, then it's highly recommended.

TLDR; Six players is best. Three players is second best. four/five players is more fun than three, but also less balanced. Mother of dragons improves all of the bad stuff about the basse game.