I'm feeling bold, so here's another thread: how do you generally introduce new players to the beast that is Arkham? And how do they generally fare?

For me...I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but I plunge them straight into the deep end: all expansions, straight off the bat. Believe it or not, it's not a disaster. Works fairly well, actually. The key factor is that I handle all of the stuff that happens during the Mythos phase, and so, while I generally give them an idea of what's going on, they don't need to know any of the specifics. Like I said, it works okay in general, although they sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed with all the options. In order to make sure they understand the rules, I e-mail them the rules beforehand-or rather, I e-mail them a condensed (but still massive) summary of the rules that I typed up. They never read it, of course, so I just end up explaining it on the spot. That can get tricky.

I usually start without any expansions and I tend to use Azathoth for their first game. It saves me the trouble of having to explain the rules of final combat. I would never start with all the expansions, one perhaps but not all of them. I'm way to lazy for that. Besides my friends tend to ask me about every single rule two minutes before I get to that part of the introduction.

The first few rounds I usually give them some directions and tips like "You have 4 clues so now you probably want to get another one so you can seal a gate". But about half through their first game they usually understand the game and start making own decisions.

If it's a mere introduction to the game, and I'd love they to come back, I generally play the first Scenario in Tibs' introductory league. It works pretty well. Plus the theme is very strong, so people can be captivated even in this way. It generally works.

But I believe we should made a distinction between different kind of players. Most of my friends play boardgames as "a way to spend an entertaining evening" and only some of them have a real passion. Both PoV are equally fine for me, but I tend to pick-up the games we play according to this. If I have to play with friends from category 1), I'll never play an all expansions in game. Too many rules will destroy very soon their interest, plus the dilution of theme will make their interest drop even more. If I play with someone from category 2), I know I can with something more complex. For many reasons, while 2) should grant me a chance of playing a tough Arkham Game, we always wind up playing Mansions ::laughter::

The best way to do it is to only have one new player in a group of four or more experienced players, then just stick rigidly to the turn structure and people soon get used to the sequence.

Don't bother trying to explain how any of the mythos card / doom track stuff actually works; new players don't need to know that stuff, just tell them what the effects are when they happen. Basically don't bother explaining how anything works until it actually happens.

In my experience it's almost pointless trying to play the game with just one experienced player and a crowd of n00bs. It ends up with the experienced player running everything and just telling everyone what to do all the time. (At least, it does if you're me. ) and it's not much fun.

In short, AH is like one of those shapeshifting blob-type aliens that should only try to absorb one victim at once.

thecorinthian said:

So true. I tried that once and it was terrible. To make it worse it was late in the night and people had been drinking a bit. I practically played a solo game.

Besides one guy got Sister Mary, lost the blessing on the second turn and spent the rest of the game complaining that his character was useless.

So make sure people are willing to really play the game and not just want an excuse for sitting around a table talking. There are many great party games but AH is not one of them.

When I introduced Pizza to the game, it was so early in AH's release that there was only the base game. I used Nyarlathotep because he operates almost as hands-off-the-board as Azathoth: Endless Cultists are easily explained, and there are plenty of other monsters for trophies, and the five (to ten) Masks rarely hit the board, and even if they do, they're still just monsters following monster rules (with weird exceptions, granted, but easily explained ones). Pizza knew how to play well before I integrated Dark Pharaoh or Dunwich.

When I introduced Zebra, I set up an easy-ish AH + KY game--deliberately against Nyarlathotep again--and Pizza and I explained / demonstrated as we went. (I think I used Tibs' shorthand on "good first Investigators" and had Zebra pick-3-choose-1 from that smaller pool.) Innsmouth was released shortly after that, but Zebra had the basics down from his first game, and had no problem diving into hell as a rookie.

When I introduced Wings, I had already set up an Innsmouth game against Abhoth for Pizza and Zebra, both experienced enough to deal with anything available. Wings had never wanted to play despite Pizza's constant coaxing: she's skittish around horror movies and such. Out of nowhere, she came over and announced she wanted to play. I offered to tone things down for her first game, but she waved me off with, "I learn fast." And she did: in her first trial-by-fire game, without any hinting or prodding, she suggested using a "mystical transportation" Encounter to blip out to Devil Reef to seal it, but "then someone else will have to come get me if I can't find my own way back". (I don't think I picked up Falcon Point-Devil Reef that fast!) I believe she picked Mandy based solely on her picture, but sussed out her powerful ability very quickly: "Screw that! Reroll!"

Walk said:

I go for the base game mechanics (1 board, mythos deck w/o bursts, full item/skill decks, no small decks from exps) with full AO and investigator sets. AO is chosen randomly (and hasn't yet been Azatoth or Nyarlathotep) and investigators are chosen however the players like. New players usually do okay, at least in the sense that they don't end up bouncing into the hospital or asylum every turn. They tend to enjoy combat-oriented characters most. Newbies do prefer spending skills on skill checks instead of seals, though, so I find that if we win, it's usually a victory-by-closing (with some seals present).

For subsequent games I introduce personal stories, madness/injury, extra boards, and other things. Introducing expansions slowly keeps them coming back.

Utterly shameless plug!

I play my "introductory and expansion scenarios."

boardgamegeek.com/filepage/69008/introductory-and-expansion-scenarios

Walk said:

The only thing I run through is monster combat and the two purposes of the Clues. I emphasize that there's no such thing as extra clues and don't be wasting them just to save their measly lives.

Azothoth is the best AO to begin with. Basic set, no gate bursts, double dooms, heralds or anything else complicated.

Teach your new cultists the rule of 5 and 6's and tell them that you'll take care of all the game. Act like a GM and make the game about the experience, not the game mechanics. Play a helper character like Leo or Mandy so you can help ward away the worst excesses the game can throw at players, and, if you can, go gate diving to get the first seal on the board to show them how it's done! Pull your wieght, but where possible try to leave the glory - combat and gate sealing - to your new cultists. Unless they ask, don't tell them about the most popular gates - let them figure that out for themselves.

Leave most of the combat to "the gun" (There's usually one in every group)

Joe Diamond has to be the best character for a beginner. The archetype is familiar and his 3 Focus and 6 Speed compensate for any mistakes from inexperienced planning, as does his Hunches ability. Amanda is pretty good as an all-rounder who can be whatever she wants to be. Jenny is good for cash. Give "the gun" Michael McGlen or Bob Jenkins.

Allow players to draw monsters from the monster bag ("You can draw your own doom") Stick on a 1920s music CD in the background and you're good to go...

If they want another game go with Yig or Nyarly, but they'll probably want to look through the cards and see just what Arkham has to offer...

My boyfriend and I read the rules before we played. I relied on him to "really" read the rules since while I learn the rules easily, I suck at explaining things. It's going well so far, we got half way through (maybe a bit less?) before he left. We feel like we're getting the hang of it, though we missed some of the rules. It's kind of hard to remember them all, right away. We're trying to right any rule we miss though, and it's fun Though any game that has the term "doom" when referring to tokens MUST be fun (and evil )