Teaching games

I met an old friend yesterday, and we played a few board games. The discussion turned, as it often does, to teaching. We have both become aware of a shift in how we teach games – from explaining mechanics to explaining concepts, engaging new players, and also how with more in-depth games we employ audio-visual resources like play-through videos, and work with players’ motivation to engage with the learning process in order to enjoy the game. But many of the games we play, we play for fun with less hardcore players. And we have noticed changes in our thinking about these. A move from “is it easy to play?” to “is it easy to learn?”, then “is it quick to teach?”. Then “is it easy to engage interest while teaching?”, which has now become “how do I engage interest while teaching?”