Fun Freetime: How to Teach a New Game

When you're sitting down with your child with a new game, sometimes it's hard to know exactly how to give instructions. It can feel like you're jumping all over the place, and pretty soon, you're both confused.
There are certain steps you can take to help teach someone something new. The following steps are broad enough that when you follow them, they'll help you teach any game, or even any new topic or activity you introduce to your kids.

So, let's end the gaming confusion now and let the fun begin with these 6 easy teaching steps:

Step 1
Tell them how to win the game in one sentence. Here, you're not giving away the strategy. Instead, you're encouraging your child to think independently about how to win the game.

Step 2 
Describe the game's mechanics. This gives your child the basic idea of how to formulate a winning strategy. 

Step 3
Take a mock turn. In this step, walk them through the simple mechanics of a turn. Demonstrate how a turn will look, and what actions are required to complete a turn. If you've got the time, let each player take a mock turn to get the hang of the game before you officially start keeping score.

Step 4
Fill in any holes. If you think there's an important component of the game they need to know before beginning, state it now. Otherwise, you can usually begin and if something comes up, explain it then to avoid any confusion before your child gets the overall gist of the game.

Step 5
Let everyone know how the game ends, and what conditions need to be in place to finish the game. 

Step 6
Start playing! Inevitably, things will come up which you'll need to explain, but following these steps will get you started quickly and easily. 

RoosterFin Games always uploads a how-to video for each of their games to our Youtube channel. To keep up-to-date, make sure you subscribe. And if you need some more information on how to quickly start any game or activity, head on over to the blog! They've covered these steps in more detail and added some real-life examples, too.