A new game
Choose a new game when you have time to teach and one person has already read the rules. One teacher. Not a committee passing the book around the table.
All comparisons
Everyday
New game or a familiar one
The new box is exciting in the shop. At 8 p.m. it is fifteen pages of setup.
A new game costs the teach. On a weeknight that may be the whole slot. A familiar game starts quickly and can still surprise you if the people are different. Groups that only replay one game get stale. Groups that only open new boxes never relax.
A fair pattern is the known game first, and a new one only if everyone still wants to learn it afterwards. Do not open the shrink wrap as a surprise for tired people.
The game you know
Choose the familiar game when the night is short or people are new to each other. Novelty is not the same thing as fun. You are allowed to play something you already like.
What actually differs
| Difference | A new game | The game you know |
|---|---|---|
| Start | After someone teaches | Immediately |
| Risk | The teach uses the night | The evening is predictable |
| Best mood | Curious and awake | Tired but willing |
| Who must want it | Everyone who will play | Everyone who will play |
| Next time | It can become the familiar one | It can rest |
Questions about this choice
What if only one person wants the new game?
They can teach it on a night when people said yes. A table of reluctant students is how a good game gets called boring.
How long is a teach?
Longer than the box says, if nobody has read it. If you have one hour total, play what you know or pick a game you can explain in ten minutes.