Every time I go to a convention or game show, It’s my goal try at least one new game. I admit that I’ve gotten a tad jaded about my gaming purchases. I’ve bought plenty of games that I’ve only played once and found lacking, so these days I like to test drive before I buy. Because of this, I’m always appreciative when dedicated gamers go the extra mile to show off their favorite games. Even if I decide that I don’t like a game enough dish out some cash, I have a deep respect for folks who will put their best foot forward to show off their favorite game and try their damnedest to give me the best experience possible.
This past weekend, I played two new games (well, new to me at least), both of the historical miniatures game variety. The first one was Check Your 6!, a WWII aerial combat game published by SkirmishCampaigns. It’s similar to Wings of War in that sort of general way that you plot the movements of your plane and fire at targets roaring past. More of a strict simulation than Wings of War, there’s a lot of fiddly bits to the game, but all with the purpose of creating interesting scenarios and a stricter representation of combat in the great blue yonder. While I found the game interesting, to be honest I prefer Wings of War; that game features an elegant balance of simulation and game play, and its speed of play appeals more to my general game sensibilities. But what made the demo fun was the dedication and care that the fella who ran it. Chris Ewick—owner of The Game Matrix in Tacoma—did a bang-up job of presenting the rules and making sure we all had a good time. More impressive was that the game took place at the first day of the show, and Chris—ever the stalwart game enthusiast and entrepreneur—was able to juggle teaching us n00bs the ropes while fielding questions from his staff and customers at his nearby retail booth. It wasn’t any lack of his planning and clear and patient instruction that didn’t get me to dig dollars out of my wallet for Check Your 6!, that’s for sure.
Chris Ewick (center) takes some time to explain a bit a rules to Green Ronin’s Chris Pramas during our Check Your 6! game: Guadacanal: Zero vs. Wildcat. Thanks again Chris for providing a fun demo of this air combat game!
The second game was Field of Glory, an ancient and medieval wargame produced in concert by Slitherine Software and Osprey Publishing. I was a little worried about this game when I first started playing. Some of my friends had warned me that the action was often plodding and it was hard to get winning traction against your foes. It’s also one of those games that feature books upon books upon books of material, and flipping though the main rules and its numerous companions, my eyes strained against pages of small-print charts and tables. But again, the person running the game—another Chris, this time Chris Rivers—came to the rescue. He provided us with handy laminated note card for each of our units. On one side these cards featured the rules we needed to run our knights, and on the other side was a photo of the miniatures that represented each of our units. These visual aids along with clear color markings of the stands of minis added a clarity that sped up play. Add to that the care and patience that Chris took to explaining the rules and answering our questions and what I experienced was faster-paced game that I was expecting, and a great sampling of the rules set. Like Check Your 6! I found the game’s rules a little too garish, and I was puzzled by the designers dice mechanic choices of the game, but I debated for of hours on whether or not to pick up the rules. Finally I decided against it, but only because I had just picked up the newest edition of Warhammer Ancient Battles, and I like those rules better.
I had a good time with both games, and I was thoroughly impressed with the dedication and care of the guys running the game, but each of them featured designs that just don’t sing to my current gaming head space. But the great part was that I didn’t play a single turkey all weekend. Sure, I played many games that I knew I would like. I played a lot of Wings of War, and I just have a hard time having a bad time playing that game. I even came in 4th place in the Wings of War tournament, which I was pretty proud of, since I’m by no means an expert at that game, just an very enamored amateur. I played Steve Winter’s Savage World tavern brawl, which is always a hoot, and expertly run. All in all I fared better than some of my friends. While playing Field of Glory, I looked over at my buddies playing some Napoleonic wargame, and could tell by their body language things were amiss. When I talked to them afterwards, they just never felt like they could get a good grasp on the game, mostly due to the haphazard way the game was explained and some last minute about-face on some what seemed some crucial parts of the rules. In the end they were frustrated, and though some of them grimaced when I mentioned I was going to try Fields of Glory, they agreed I stumbled upon the better game experience.
A view of the battle during the Field of Glory game—Battle of Grunwald 1410—run by Chris Rivers. If you take a close look at the table you can see the various handouts that Chris provided, making the game a snap to learn and fun to play. You’re a trooper, Chris! Thanks again.
The take-away is that no matterwhat activity you are participating, no one likes to be a beginner for long. Just about all of us yearn to understand and use a system at a reasonable amount of proficiency. The difference between a good game at a show or as a demo is the game instructor’s ability to get you involved and understanding the rules set as quickly as possible. If you take too long or the rules seem inconsistent, you show off the best designed game system in the world, but you will lose your audience. If you havea game you enjoy, and you want to infect other with your geekiness, here’s the advice I have for you. Break the game down into easily digested and understood parts. Build your demo to introduce rules concepts at a reasonable pace and clarity. Some gamers have a hard time doing this, because they want to introduce everything at once…but avoid doing that, slow down and don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s more important that you players understand the generals. Once you feel like they got it, move on to the next concept.
Also, and more importantly, make sure all of your players are engaged. Don’t give anyone a piece, character, or stand of miniatures that come into the action later in the game. Give them a good time a interesting choices from the start, no matter what. Be patient, understanding, and think back to when the game was new, obscure, and wondrous to you. Try your best to replicate that experience in others…but focus on the wondrous part. Play test your demo with friends first; if you have friends that have never played the game, enlist their help. Watch their body language, and always look for the things that excite them and the things that frustrate them. Optimize experiences that promote the former, and discard experiences that provoke the latter. Do not hesitate to provide an overly simplified version of the rules if it promotes fun and excitement; if they like the experience, they’ll learn the other stuff after you’ve won them over.
After all, games are supposed to be fun. Frustration and inactivity never yields fun…at least to those of us with some semblance of sanity.
A good catchy way to make a good demo: Fast, Fun and Furious. That’s what’s usually applied to Warhammer (both Fantasy and 40K). Fast (don’t expect your new friend to keep up his interest for too long, just in case), Fun (really, he doesn’t want to know every single way he can be shot at) and Furious (let him kill as much models as possible, that’s entertainment!).
I had the worst demo of a game many years ago at Gen Con, it was a Warmachine demo at the Privateer Press booth. That dude was pointing out every rule of his game comparing it to Warhammer, showing me how his product was much better. It didn’t matter how many times I told him I’d never played WH before, he kept it coming with the references to the Games Workshop game… Obviously, the first thing I did after that demo was play Warhammer, and here I am collecting Skavens, Ogres, Orcs, Empire, Wood Elves, Space Marines, Tiranids, Orks, Tau… (shall I continue?). Play like you’ve got a pair!