Settlers of Catan – Photo by Galen Crout on Unsplash

In my Free Inquiry project, I hope to teach a new board game every week ranging in various difficulties.

There is a stigma attached to board games, and that is: “It is too hard”. My hope is that I will show, through various modes and means of instruction, that no matter the difficulty, you can learn how to play a board game and enjoy it with your colleagues, friends, and family.

A bit of background: I have always loved playing games, whether it be sports, video games, or board games, it always gave me a sense of joy. Of course all of these can be played solo, however, my fondest memories of playing games was playing in a group or team. Picture this: You are sitting around a table, playing a 3-4 player game of “insert your favourite game here” (I have way too many to list), there are bowls of junk food scattered around, thematic music playing in the background for an immersive experience, and hours go by filled with laughter and good times. These are the feelings I hope to instil in someone when they realize that board games are a great way to not only socialize, but build relationships that can last a lifetime when a group continues to play in the future.

Now getting into the nitty gritty of the project, I will gather information on the board game of my choice through a website called: boardgamegeek.com. It is here that I will find information on ease of play, how other people instruct a particular game, and what kinds of modes that people use to play and/or teach a game. There are lots of forums available for ambiguities in game rules and how to go about playing those certain rules, as well as any erratas.

Another resource that I will use in my journey are various instructional videos on how to teach board games. There are many board game instructional videos out there, in particular Rodney Smith’s Watch it Played. Although he does instructional videos only, I hope to incorporate playthroughs with other people of various ranges of comfortability with board games. I believe that having novice players playing in a safe environment will show those who may not feel comfortable playing games, will hopefully feel comfortable after a few tries.

I will now leave you with this video, by Actualol showing you 10 great gateway games for novice individuals to play or have in their collection. Gateway games are games in which are easy for a novice board gamer to play and will introduce them and hopefully fall in love with the hobby.

Video: Top 10 Gateway Board Games by Actualol