Where The Wild Teachers Are
October 6, 2020 | ≈ 790 words | Teaching
Thoughts on Teaching Games Part 2
Ok so basically I am pretty sure that people masochistic and are completely ok with having a terrible learning experience as long as they are sufficiently invested or motivated for the sake of “hanging out” let’s get to some fucking examples because I need to explain these problems Exhibit fucking A:
“No, we HAVE to finish the game”
What is this??? If something is not fun you do not have to continue doing it. I swear this shit is the bane of my fucking existance but people honestly do not know what to do after emotionally getting the shit beaten out of them so much so that if they were to stop playing the game they would just be in a bad mood and not want to actually try to have fun in whatever’s next anyway. Stop treating yourself this way. Stop playing games that you don’t like. If you are teaching the game and you see this happening: it’s fucked, be the voice of reason and gently guide people to the path of Having Fun With Friends Also Must Actually Include Actual Fun.
“You’ll get it once we start the game.”
Teachers are ok with players not understanding. Why is this a thing. This is not board game specific. Yes, I understand that teaching a game is not fun and can be hard. But if that’s the case it’s just gonna suck until everybody understands the game. If you don’t, well… Example:
I am playing Among Us and told the bare minimum of rules to start playing. I do not understand what I should be doing and people are more focused on starting to play than for me to understand the game. During the game I ask why there is a loud alarm and flashing red lights. I am told I’m not allowed to talk. There is a meeting (which I did understand) and someone asked me why I didn’t go to fix the reactor. I said I don’t know how to play and I don’t know what reactor is (my tone of voice at the time: extremely sarcastic). I am told to stop joking around and actually play the game.
How delusional do you have to be to assume the knowledge that you have in your own brain is transferred to my brain with no sort of communication. Am supposed to assume the rules purely through my own experience of everything I know that you as the teacher did not ask about from me that you have no idea about in order for you to think that I could assume the rules out of my own ass. Teach me the fucking game.
It says a lot about me that I continued to play. You know, because I’m straight up masochistic. Fun game though.
Example 2:
“I don’t want to teach the game. I just want to play.”
- some guy at a con teaching people to play Coup for the first time.
That was fucking rough. Why is this the norm. Why am I not allowed to pause the game to explain to someone how certain cards work. Why the fuck does teaching the game ruin the game. Why is hidden information so sacred and prioritized over people’s enjoyment of the game.
Masochism.
“I already told you 3 times how that works.”
The moment I realize I have completely failed as a teacher is when I explain a rule for the 4th time and they still do not understand. Why is it ok that as the teacher I am failing to properly respond to someone unable to comprehend the method I have been teaching them. Why is it their fault that “they just don’t get these kinds of games”.
Fuck. Literally my worst nightmare. After spending 35 minutes teaching a game only to realize that the method of explaining the board, explaining rules, and showing examples completely fails, and that absolutely nothing was absorbed. This leads directly into the first point, the second point, and also a new point which is “Oh fuck, we should have played a different game.” You cannot undo teaching the game. You cannot remove the momentum that was created. Playing another game is met with mental inertia. Struggling through this game while having a terrible time is now an inevitability.
Fuck that shit. Play shit that’s fun, pick shit that works. Don’t play something someone doesn’t want to play. And then you can figure out how to teach the game. You can’t teach excitement or enthusiasm. You can’t teach a game if no one wants to play the game. Be a better board game host.
Stop Masochism Today.