Skip to main content


Tabletop QOTD 2020-04-17


Borrowing from the idea of the Pluspora Check-in get some tabletop conversation going. If you have any questions that you want to get on the list to be asked, let me know. Also, if you'd like to be added or taken off the list of participants, let me know.

Do you read-through/learn the rules before you play? Or as you play?

For #RPGs I prefer to have done at least a read through of the rules. I'll learn a one-shot on the fly, but I like to have read through at least the more prevalent rules and have made a test character or two. The only time I've seen that I might do otherwise is through PbF, PbEM, and other asynchronous methods. If I'm not GMing, then I have more time to work through the rules as I play.

For #boardgames it seems that the opposite is true. I think nothing of cracking open a game with a group and learning, or learning online as I play through there.

#Tabletop #QOTD

@Eric Franklin
@frasersimons
@Board Games Forum
@Curt Thompson
@Douglas Bailey
@Jesse Butler
@Keith Davies
@Martin Ralya
@Martijn Vos
@Nathan V
@Marsha B
@Stuntman
@Moe Tousignant
@PresGas (OSR) Aspect
@Craig Maloney
@Patrick Marchiodi
@Nathan Norway
@silverwizard
@Stephen Gunnell
@Joseph Teller
@Charles M
in reply to Chuck Dee

I tend to spend some time reading thru a RPG in detail.... while a board or card game I'll do a quicker read unless I've got people pressuring me to learn as we go.
in reply to Chuck Dee

Always before on every platform. 99.9% off the time I'm the rule teacher for whatever game is being played and it's up to me to learn the rules as best I can and then pass that information on as best I can.
This entry was edited (4 years ago)
in reply to Chuck Dee

What @Moe Tousignant said, though at a lower percentage. I'm likely the person introducing the new game, and odds are good that if it's new to me I'm going to have the rule book handy.

I usually at least read the book or watch a play through, and probably both, before I go to the table. It depends how comfortable I feel I am, and how daunting the game is.

If someone else is bringing a new game, it's on them to explain, and there's a good chance I haven't prepped for it.
This entry was edited (4 years ago)
in reply to Chuck Dee

I usually read RPGs before playing, ideally twice (but it depends on the length), while boardgames I usually read while playing. I rarely play very complex BGs, in those cases I read the rules first, too.

Now that I think of it, I think boardgame rulebooks are better than RPG rulebooks in that you can actually read the rules while playing. It's something that rarely happens with RPGs, probably because RPGs tend to be a lot less structured and predictable than boardgames?
in reply to Chuck Dee

That's a big part of it, @Patrick Marchiodi. Boardgames tend to be very prescriptive in their nature, so it's relatively easy to provide instructions. Part of the appeal of roleplaying games is that they are more open-ended. Rules up front can take you only so far.
This entry was edited (4 years ago)
in reply to Chuck Dee

I don't understand how you can play the game properly without reading through the rules first. Most rule books are not designed to play as you go. There may be a few that are, but they are in the minority.
This entry was edited (3 years ago)