TIL that teaching Wingspan to new players is way harder than I thought

I tried to teach Wingspan to my cousin last Sunday and it took us 45 minutes just to get through the first round. I thought the bird cards and dice tower would hook her right away but she kept mixing up the habitats and the end-of-round goals. By the third round she finally got the flow and even started planning her bonus cards. I learned that you can't rush the rules even for a game that feels simple to you. Has anyone else had a game click way later than expected with a new player?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.amy26d ago

That happens with a lot of games, but honestly it's the same with any new skill. Like YouTube tutorials for changing a tire or learning a recipe, you always forget the first step. People glaze over when you explain too much, they need to screw up at least once to remember. Wingspan is pretty visual but that also means there's a lot going on with the trays and tokens flying around. You held back for 45 minutes, that's patient. Most folks give up after ten minutes and just start playing wrong for three rounds.

hugoj8626d ago

I get what you're saying @schmidt.amy but I actually think 45 minutes of explaining isn't necessarily patient, it's just a different kind of problem. When you overload someone with rules upfront, they check out before they even get to make their first mistake, which is the part that actually teaches them. A quick 10 minute run through followed by a messy first round usually works way better than trying to cover every edge case from the start.