Introducing New Friends to the Game this Weekend

[Mahgeetah]

I have been out of the arena for awhile now.  The friend I used to play with is too addicted to Magic!  I have been holding off on jumping back into Arena.  My plan was to wait for Academy to have more content, and then switch gears over to the quicker play format.  However, I watched some videos on Domination last weekend and decided to pull the trigger on it.  I still love Arena and the tactical movement, plus there is so much more content available for it.

I have been able to muster up a few friends who might be interested in giving the game a spin.  A couple of them are coming over this weekend to play Apprentice Mode.  I have the 4 official apprentice spellbooks created.  Is there any recommendations on how to teach them the game or anything specifically I should do to make this demo as rewarding as possible?  Also, when is a good time to introduce Domination?  If everyone is using apprentice books, will those work well enough to get a feel for Domination before diving in to create Domination specific spellbooks?

Thanks everyone!

[Coshade]

If you are looking for a solid way to teach Mage Wars. I encourage reading this pamphlet. It's only 6 pages long and it's a pretty quick read at that.

http://www.arcanewonders.com/resources/Mage_Wars_How_to_Teach_Mage_Wars.pdf

[silverclawgrizzly]

Awesome that you're teaching new people the game. Here's some hints that have worked for me:

-Go slow and patiently. Don't try to explain every last thing all at once. Explain traits such as Regen 1 and Elusive for example as they come up. Don't explain anything that's not in the books you have made.

-Use snacks. Market research has shown that people, and gamers in particular, like food. People will listen more if you give them Little Debbie Cakes.

-Walk a fine line between telling people how to play the books you gave them, and advising people. Use words such as "One thing you can try" or "A cool thing you can do is" while avoiding "What you need to do now is" and "You're best bet is to do this." Nobody likes to be told what to do but giving some good general advice is sometimes appreciated. If they ignore it then let them.

-If you're playing in a demo match then hold back. My friend plays a Necromancer in demos a lot but never casts Zombie Frenzy for instance. Don't tell your opponent you're holding back obviously but you know your book, you know how to make it work super effectively....don't do that thing. Show them the nice combos in the book you made for them(and let them pick which mage they want before hand of course.) Also as you know what's in their book, go ahead and offer them the chance to look through yours.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Why wait? Even with only the core set, Academy is an amazing game with plenty of tactics and strategy. And it takes much less time to play. I highly recommend it!

What everyone else said is exactly right. Be patient, don't explain anything that's not in the demo decks, only explain things as they come up, give them advice when they want it but don't tell them what they should be doing, give them the chance to explore the tactics available to them, bring food etc.

Also something else I would add is using better looking materials for the game makes for a better play experience. That means you should use the spellbook binders and you should use the alternate art Mage cards if you have them.

[Kaarin]

Let them put the cards into spellbooks by themselves. That way they might get to know their cards earlier and won't spend as much time searching for spell during planning phase. Tell them to ask You what spells do at that time.

[Mahgeetah]

This is all very helpful. Thanks everyone! And how did you know Little Debbie Cakes were the way to my friend's heart?! Haha. I agree avoiding going over everything in the codex until they come up is for the best. It makes the game much easier to learn. I'm hoping there will be a couple more fans of the game by the end of the weekend!

[wtcannonjr]

Check the Files section on the BGG site for some Apprentice Mode player aids. Here is the link:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101721/mage-wars-arena

Scroll down to find the Files Section.

[silverclawgrizzly]

This is all very helpful. Thanks everyone! And how did you know Little Debbie Cakes were the way to my friend's heart?! Haha. I agree avoiding going over everything in the codex until they come up is for the best. It makes the game much easier to learn. I'm hoping there will be a couple more fans of the game by the end of the weekend!

Let us know how it goes!

[Mahgeetah]

This is all very helpful. Thanks everyone! And how did you know Little Debbie Cakes were the way to my friend's heart?! Haha. I agree avoiding going over everything in the codex until they come up is for the best. It makes the game much easier to learn. I'm hoping there will be a couple more fans of the game by the end of the weekend!

Let us know how it goes!

It was a success! One friend bought the base game and both big box expansions. The other wants to play it soon with us to see what he thinks. It's been a long time since I've been able to play this. It feels good to see it getting some table time. Thanks for all of the help everyone.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Hey that's awesome! Congrats! Hope to hear from many duels you fight!

[Mahgeetah]

Another friend of mine came over last night and played apprentice mode. He wanted to play 3 times over. I'm getting him the base and DvN for his birthday. He is super pumped and so am I! Man it's good to be playing this game again.