10 Mistakes Most Board Gamers Make
Actualol
Views: 29690
Like: 2295
When you’re getting into board games, it’s so easy to make mistakes. These are ten that I’ve made, so you don’t have to!
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07.02.2022
BGG is so over rated. When people give ratings of 9/10 and the comment of “looks so good can’t wait for my Kickstarter in the mail”
Number 6 felt like you were reading my mind.
I don't love the anti-kickstarter vibe 🙁 It's not all minis, it's also a great place where developers that aren't part of a preexisting hierarchy can get a following, and many do just that before going off to new games, but if nobody backed Kickstarters that interested them, then we wouldn't have half of the modern classics (Root, Gloomhaven. , (gags) Exploding Kittens, (gags anew) Cards Against Humanity. I would caution anyone that's drawn in by, as you say, the "siren song of minis," but there are many gems, I'd just recommend people get them IF they think they'd LOVE the game, not for the FOMO on pieces.
Thinking you need to own a game for ever
Thinking you need to own a game for every niche situation, or thinking you need to own a game in every major mechanism type. The big one though is knowing the rules well beforehand, which you of course mentioned. The teach can make or break an experience. Also, if you treat the teach like a speech instead of an interactive conversation, it’s not going to go well. Finally, thinking you should keep every good game. There are so many of them that if you keep even the good ones, you’ll end up on Hoarders.
With number 10 i immediately thought of red rising the game. Such nice aesthetic but absolutely no substance to it and it is completely unrelated to the actual series.
Dude you know the best games to start with! This is one of your best videos.
Love the smooth Patreon pitch. Best I've seen! Great vid.
Brilliant video. Oh, and too late by the way; I’ve already made half the mistakes, including thinking it would be a great idea to learn rules on the night. Not! Made me smile.
Great Dvorak reference!
I really liked your advice.
But I NEED shiny-new-game-23!
I'm actually "just OK" on Gloomhaven. I think the game system is brilliant but the campaign is just way too long. By the time we got to the last third of it my game group just wanted it to end but we also didn't just want to quit in the middle of it so it became a real slog.
Great video, very funny, and totally true albeit occasionally (not always!) exaggerated for effect. We have often joked about the secret formula for predicting the true length of a given game. And I've made all of these mistakes except (I think) the IP one, and continue to make them.
I think, though, that you were lucky to live in a big city with lots of regular gamers. When I lived in London, it wasn't difficult to find people who wanted to learn new games and/or try the games that I liked. Now that I'm in a much smaller place, most meet-up attendees often just want to play the same games they already know. Luckily my partner is pretty willing to play with me, but he doesn't have the patience for learning complex rules. I do have an online gaming group, which is great, but I'd rather not be on the computer more than I already have to be for my day job, and it lacks the tactile satisfaction of playing with pieces on a board.
nooooo don't call me out for going deep into Kickstarter games a couple of months after getting into the hobby HAHAHA
What a brilliant video… not buying games is probably one I should of really paid attention too… 150 board games later…
Kickstarter! Only game we treasure is Canvas. The rest… meh…
My two cents about your list (I liked it!):
1) I agree about the rules. I used to play with a group where one person always knew the rules, so I never had to think about this aspect. When I started arranging my own game nights (with new games) it because very clear it was a very bad idea to try to learn it together that night. Now I always make sure I've played a mock game myself, watched a few videos and read through the rulebook so I know where to search if there's a question and it's a much better experience.
2) I think we at least double the time on the boxes almost always. 😉
3) I do agree in principle. Though I'm still suffering from this since the many times when I DO want the expansion they are often out of print and I feel sad (looking at you Project Elite). So I tend to buy the expansions right away if they are available… I've wasted a lot of money this way when I could have a lot more games instead. Often the added variety just makes the gameplay less tight and less enjoyable even if it's a "better game". I do enjoy expansions like Scythe: Rise of Fenris (added campaign), The Norwegians for A Feast for Odin (my go to relaxation solo game). Then I think my few dozen other expansions for games I have, while fun, is also superfluous and I would probably not miss them. Though I do love the Big Box for Carcassonne, it has been great variety playing with my group where you pick two or three different ones for each playthrough.
4) Yeah, I always start by looking at what player counts BGG recommends (I don't always follow but it gives you an idea). An as someone that loves playing games solo as well, seeing a game say 1-6 players is always suspicious, that usually means the solo player mode is a lazily tacked on thing. Also a game like Memoir '44 being advertised as a 2-8 player game should be criminal.
5) I agree once again. The lists is just convenient to find games you haven't heard about, but there's countless games out there that you'll find just as enjoyable without being near any top lists. It's just a pain finding them unless someone knows about them/recommends them. I love Fairy Trails (a simple tile laying game), and it's like number 5000 on BGG. A lot of fun party games are ranked extremely low (usually because they lack a certain complexity that serious games want) but they are great for the average person. Classics are often ranked low because there's come out newer games that add to them. That doesn't mean the older games are objectively worse. Some times you just want a tight, fun experience (that's often more balanced).
6) Well yeah… But…. 😉 Seriously though, this is one of the reason why I mostly buy new games that plays well solo as well. That way almost all games I buy will see some play. And I keep a list where I rank the games with how many times I've played them and my experiences and if a game isn't getting any play time (unless it's something like War of the Ring that I might play once a year and love) they are gone.
7) I have a lot of friends that love to play, but most have started having children and for some weird reason the children takes precedent. Annoying af. 😛 Local groups are great though.
8) Kickstarter is the devils work. It's great some games can get made that otherwise wouldn't, but usually it's just a way to promote and get more money for a game without actually relying on making a good one. If I want to gamble I'd just go and play on Pokerstars.
9) It's always a fight against the urge to try to convince someone to play something they don't want to play. 😉 The only time I do that is when I know them well enough I think they'll enjoy the game even if the description of the game haven't convinced them.
10) I'd add the other side well, that even if the game is well liked by reviews, just because it got an IP attached to it doesn't mean the theme will be immersive or add anything to the game. I enjoy Dune Imperium, but that game could have any other theme attached to it and provide a very similar experience. If you buy that game and expect to be transported into the world of Dune, you might very well be disappointed.
Over the years, BGG's ranking has drifted further and further away from what I consider fun and good. It might have to do with what a dumpster fire that site is under the "feel the love!!" they spam to the front page.
I'm guilty of all of these! Really good points raised but i think people have to find out these mistakes for themselves….its just human nature! Also quite ironic that i got a kickstarter ad at the end of the vid!
Which is are subjectively bad for all of us? Great video btw. New subscriber
My god! This is all true! New board gamers out there, listen to this guy!
I'm glad I haven't fallen victim to all of these, but the ones I have… #3 and #6 cut deep man. I don't feel judged – I just feel seen
I love your sense of humour, and your tips are excellent and really knocked some sense into me, a newbie geek in the board gaming community, who has already bought an expansion along with one of the games I bought and ordered way too many new games than I’ll even need.
I’ve subscribed and am looking forward to seeing more of your content!
"Even if I don't play the game, I'll use the miniatures for something…"
great video, I just discovered your channel and I love the little sketches you make in addition to classic board game content in your videos. Im looking forward to further explore your channel
Loved this video. I need some of those cutaways as GIFs to send to my gaming WhatsApp group.
This may be the best video on board gaming ever made! Truth bomb after truth bomb after truth bomb. And it’s genuinely funny too! Brilliant work.
Gin & Dubonnet?
Good list. In addition to other things mentioned here, one of my biggest mistakes when starting out was buying stuff off the best seller lists. That resulted in me buying games like Apple to Apples, Fluxx and other things that I really didn't enjoy. But at least it taught me what my tastes were and weren't
I play mission red planet at 2 player and like it. The top 100 on BGG to me means the game is a good game but doesn’t mean you will like them. I also do the same with spiel de jaris.
Bravo! This is one of the few videos every board game enthusiast should watch (earlier rather than later) before getting into the rabbit hole!
Kickstarter and selling the brand new mechanism of HOPE is the funniest thing I've heard all day
Wonderful video that thankfully goes against the ''fan boy fanfare''… If I were to summarize several of these points, I'd say:
* Never try to convince someone to play a game for your own benefit. Too many ''fan boy'' enthusiasts forget that being a good host and/or fellow board gamer at the table involves EVERYONE enjoying the game! Nobody is going to enjoy a game if:
1. You know how to play 100x better than anyone else, without them having a chance to win…
2. You only play to trounce a new player…
3. You only play to tell other people at the table how to play…
4. You only play 'complex' games. If you can't enjoy simple games with others, then don't invite or teach new players!
….That's about the general jist of what I'd add, but again, I love your list and kudos to you! 🙂
3 and 6 are the best suggestions – I think the trouble is that modern gamers are collectors rather than players…when you hear of people playing a game a lot and its only 3 or 4 times is not uncommon
I would add a number 11 – its the opposite of being a host – find a group of people who are your type of gamer. I had the misfortune of joining a new group and the host was basically dick-ish about older more classic boardgames (Scrabble in particular) He got a bit miffed when asking people what we should play out of a number of selection of games he had brought…one being The Crew. I expressed my opinion that Id rather avoid it as Id played online and just had bad experiences with it and I think the game is very group dependant. After some time dithering of choosing as a group the host selected The Crew. After a pretty poor explanantion of the rules we started and it went over like a damp squib. At the end of the evening I was basically ignored by remaining members of the group and in an online review of the game night this host name checked everyone apart from me. I never went back to that group
oh this will be a TLDR ..Number 12 – try to play a game youre interested in online first or through an app. I actually like Onirim as an app but a real physical version seems like far far too much shuffling to enjoy – Root as a rather good app/pc version worth exploring
This was a great video! I've definitely made some of these mistakes, but I'd like to think I don't make them anymore now that I'm old 😋
Your analogies are great! They really make the point.
i will be honest with number 1 we only get away because my friends are all idiots that we are willing to stay and read the rules at the first playthrough
If you finish a game within the advertised expected time, you're probably missing a rule or two.
One thing to add: with 2 players dont only look for 2 player only games. A lot of 2-4 players games are best with 2. Some I don't even want to play with more than 2.
That's so much for this video , I'm a relatively new to the hobby and identified myself so much. I'm definitely in the "must buy new games " phase LOL
all 100% accurate!
Great video! However, I believe the Kickstarter FOMO thing needs a whole video dedicated to it! I spent a lot on KS and they are all great games! However, no matter, I still spend a lot at the end of the day! Even if I can afford it, I don’t have the time to go throw all that I got!
my response to point 6 'stop buying board games'…shhhh…don't say that…that's heresy
18:12 what I thought you were going to say was "the trick is to just buy Dune: Imperium instead!"
this has got to be the most important board gaming video on youtube
This is a great list! Amen to say no to expansions. I have about 3 games I'll never play without the expansion, but it's a game I play constantly play and want the choice of playing with the expansion (splendor is a good example) but we find that if we don't bring the game out all the time, vanilla is fine. We tended to buy our expansions after we played our games 100000 times and needed the variety, but then after we moved on from it and took a break we didn't need them so much anymore (small world was bad for that for us)
Great video and so helpful. I for one am afflicted with GAS, game acquisition syndrome. I’m always looking for the next game to buy even though I haven’t even played all of the games I already have.
Great vid! One trap I fell into several times even after the 'noob' stage was kind of a combination of points you've made: buying games you love the look of but none of your groups would be interested in. Nowadays I always think about who I plan to play any prospective purchases with before pulling the trigger.
Great video some really helpful tips. I'm not sure if I agree with your opinion about expansions. Some games have got better for me with expansions. Root is so much better with more fractions to play with.