Top 5 Tips For Playing Board Games

Playing board games isn’t always as easy as sitting down at a table and playing them. Sometimes it pays off to approach playing them in a certain way or going in with the right attitude. So, what are our top 5 tips for playing board games?

The top 5 tips for playing board games are to play them with the right attitude, set an internal timer for yourself, learn the game, play according to the spirit of the game, and be honest but kind with your experience. Each of these will help to make a better board game experience for everyone.

Why These Top 5 Tips For Playing Board Games Are Necessary

These top 5 tips for playing board games are necessary because playing board games isn’t always as easy as just sitting down and playing them. If it were that easy, there’d never be any problems when playing them! But we know that isn’t true, so these tips are necessary.

Top 5 Tips For Playing Board Games

The top 5 tips for playing board games are to play with the right attitude, to set an internal timer for yourself, to learn the game, to play according to the spirit of the game, and to be honest with your experience. With that said, let’s start with playing with the right attitude and what that means.

1. Play Them With The Right Attitude

I used to be much more competitive than I am now. These days, while I do still like to win, neither it nor losing affect me like they used to. If I win, I’m happy, and if I lose, I’m happy for the other player or players who won.

Years ago was a different story. I would get angry if I lost, infuriated sometimes even. In fact, many years ago, I almost lost my best friend because of my sore loser problems.

We often played video games together, and it was Super Smash Bros Melee that almost cost me his friendship. I remember being in his parents’ cold basement, but I don’t remember what started the arguing that night. I know it had something to do with me being a sore loser, and I remember leaving because we had to stop playing.

Also, I remember that he apologized to me later through Xbox Live, which he didn’t need to do at all. My amazing message back was, “Crap happens”. Needless to say, we didn’t talk or hang out for a while. In fact, I don’t remember why we started hanging out again, but I’m glad we did.

I do know that I’ve apologized many times since then for my behavior in those days. Although he didn’t have to, he apologized as well. And one day he told me we needed to stop and just move on. That’s one of many reasons he’s still my best friend to this day.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of my issues with winning and losing though, but maybe I’ll talk more about those another day. Thankfully, I did overcome those issues after a few more years, and I’ve been able to have the right attitude about games since then.

So, What Is The Right Attitude Anyway?

The right attitude is whatever lets you have a good time with the game you’re playing and the people you’re playing it with. It really is that simple.

Needless to say, I did not have the right attitude when playing a game whether it was a video game, board game, sport, or some other competitive event. For me, it was all about being insecure about who I was at the time. I couldn’t handle a loss because it felt like that meant I wasn’t as good as other people.

Anger helped me to deal with that and to “even the scales” so to speak. These days, I focus on what’s important: having a good time with my friends. But not even that is the only right attitude to have.

Trying to win isn’t a bad attitude to have just so long as you understand you won’t always win. And when you do lose, it’s important to remember that losing doesn’t make you less of a person, it’s how you handle it. Besides, there’s more to be learned from a loss than there is from a win, and that’s another good attitude to have.

All in all, as long as your attitude lets you and the people you’re playing with have a good time, then that’s the right one to have.

So, for the first of my top 5 tips for playing board games, play them with the right attitude.

2. Set An Internal Timer For Yourself

I don’t know why, but the first time I played The Castles Of Burgundy, I decided I wouldn’t think about any of my decisions, I would just go as soon as it was my turn.

I got second place.

Prior to that day, while I didn’t sit for minutes upon minutes upon minutes agonizing over my choices and whether they would lead to victory, I was still one of the worst offenders in terms of taking too long on my turns. There’s even a term for this, which is called analysis paralysis. It refers to when someone is frozen by indecision.

Maybe you are that person, or maybe you’ve seen others struggle with it. One way to get around this is to set an internal timer for yourself. Tell yourself you’re going to take no more than a minute or two per turn no matter how big and complex the game is.

It is possible for turns to go on longer than this, but if it’s not because you’re just sitting there overanalyzing what to do, then that’s okay. When that internal timer is up, finish your turn and just roll with it.

Remember, you might even get second place when you do.

3. Learn The Game

If you’re not teaching the game, it’s not your job to learn it through and through until the game is put in front of you. Even then, it’s your first time. No one masters anything the first time they do it.

Still, there are things you can do to learn the game to make playing it a smoother experience. Firstly, you can take the time to learn it beforehand whether that’s through a video or by looking up the rules online. You don’t have to, but it does help the game to run smoother.

Secondly, you can pay attention while the rules are being taught. Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating to someone who’s teaching the rules than people who are looking at their phones or staring off into space. If we’re not sure you’re paying attention, it makes us wonder if we’re wasting our time. That doubt isn’t helped by the fact that we already spent time learning the game beforehand too, so that makes teaching the game even more frustrating.

If you’re saying right now that the person who teaches you board games takes forever and it’s boring, well then I’d say please direct them to our master list for teaching board games. Hopefully, it’ll help.

Either way, a little bit of effort to learn the game goes a long way in making a good game experience a great one.

So, for the third of my top 5 tips for playing board games, learn the game.

4. Play According To The Spirit Of The Game

Have you ever heard someone talk about the spirit of the game? That phrase refers to how a game is meant to be played.

There are games such as Caverna, Jamaica, Scythe, and more, that allow for different ways to play. You can keep to yourself, attack the other players, or interfere with whatever they’re trying to do. Now imagine you’re playing with someone who chooses the second 2 options as much as they can because they just want to mess with people.

That person is going against the spirit of the game.

Yes, Scythe features combat, but it’s only there for when it’s needed to complete your goals, not just to keep attacking people. Jamaica also has combat, but it’s just something that happens occasionally and shouldn’t be sought out unless someone has a treasure that’s worth stealing. In Caverna, you can place workers on spaces that other people want to use just because you feel like doing so, but unless you need to block them for some reason, that’s just being a jerk.

This Is Also Called Not Being A Jerk

In fact, this tip could also be called, “Don’t be a jerk.” Now, you might be saying, but if those options are there, why can’t I use them? There’s a very simple answer to this, and the answer is that it takes away from other people’s enjoyment of the game maliciously.

To some extent, there are going to be ups and downs in every board game in terms of how much people enjoy it. Sometimes they have great turns and everything goes their way, and sometimes it’s the opposite. That’s normal and an expected part of playing board games.

But when someone deliberately goes out of their way to sow chaos and misery with as many of their turns as they can, that’s a totally different story.

Now, there are games where being rude is also expected. Take Small World, for example. In Small World, it is expected that you will take other people’s lands from them and that they will do the same to you. That’s okay because that’s within the spirit of the game.

But if you kept taking the same person’s lands just to mess with them, that’s going against the spirit of the game.

Long story short, don’t go against the spirit of the game.

5. Be Honest But Kind With Your Experience

Not every board game experience goes well. I remember playing Diamonsters and all of us realizing we had as much chance of winning by playing random cards as we did actually trying to be strategic. That was hilarious, but also a game I got rid of quickly.

I also remember my one and only time playing Battlestar Galactica. Playing that game was a 2-hour slog. I’m hoping Unfathomable will be better when I play it one day. We’ll see!

These things happen. Other things will happen too such as a teacher forgetting the rules or not explaining them well. Sometimes people have off days and just don’t enjoy what they’re doing.

These things happen! The best thing to do? Don’t be rude, but also be honest.

For example, let’s say I was teaching a game and I wasn’t teaching it well, but I thought I was. How will I know I need to teach it a different way unless someone tells me?

Heck, if we’re playing a game and it’s boring, tell me! I’d much rather stop and play a different game we’re going to like better.

And, if you loved playing a game and want to play it again, say that too. That helps teachers to know what games to bring to the table again.

So, for the last of my top 5 tips for playing board games, be honest but kind with your experience.

Did You Know?

(Each time you refresh the page you will get a new “Did You Know” fact!)

Did you know that Uno is really easy to play? That’s why it’s a great filler game in its own right. Check out our breakdown of how to play Uno!

Conclusion: Top 5 Tips For Playing Board Games

So, there you have it, the top 5 tips for playing board games. Board games are a lot of fun and investing a little more effort into them makes them even more fun.

So, which of the top 5 tips for playing board games are you most excited to put to use first? Let me know your thoughts and why in the comments below!

And, as always, keep on gaming, fellow board gamers.