SIMSBURY, Conn. — A local man was seen bluffing his way through an explanation of a new board game’s rules by saying that it was easier to figure out by just trying it, sources close to the situation confirmed.
“So when it’s your turn, you have three — you have, like, four options,” explained Steve Daly, who was trying to inconspicuously look up a quick-play guide on his phone. “But you won’t really get it unless you just dive right in. It’s just, like, hard to explain unless you’re actually doing it. Honestly, I learned it by watching a YouTube video. Maybe we should do that? Watch one quick playthrough before we get started?”
Some of the potential players, including game night regular Jake McKenna, questioned Daly’s understanding of the game’s core mechanics.
“When he showed up with that huge box and said he had something different for us to try, I knew where this was headed,” said McKenna, who shared that the group hasn’t actually completed a single game in months. “It took him three tries to get the name right. The Eleven Major Transit Hubs of Western-Central Europe is a mouthful, but if you can’t even remember that, how are you gonna remember every detail of the 47-page rulebook? I knew we should have just played Catan.”
Wilhelm Günther, creator of the game, argues that the mechanics are actually intuitive and easy to learn.
“I see so many comments on the internet saying that my game is difficult, or that there are too many rules,” said Günther, who has received several awards for board game design. “This is not true. If you take a moment to think about the game, all of the rules revolve around just a few fundamental concepts. So, for instance, if another player challenges your stake in a railroad, you have four choices, or maybe five. Yes, five choices. You can, um, consolidate? Or maybe it’s — I think it’s going to be easier to show you. Grab a seat; this will only take a few hours.”
At press time, several sources present at the game night confirmed that Daly had remembered an important mechanic halfway through the game and told the group they should really start over.
