OK, so, I’m going to be demoing Sentinels at a small game con this weekend and I’m not sure exactly how to do it. I can teach the game, certainly. That’s easy. The question is more how to set it up in the most enticing way to get people sold on the game and hopefully drive some sales because, as we all know, more players is always good. Especially during a Kickstarter (even if its a different game).
So, I ask you all… any recommended deck setups that would be good for drawing people in?
This comes up a lot. I wonder if we should have a stickied answer for it.
The consensus (as I see it; people should correct me if I'm off base) is that for completely new players, a game against Baron Blade in Insula Primalis is a good starting point to learn the mechanics without getting stomped on too badly. I particularly enjoy the reveal when flipping Blade for people who don't notice the flip mechanic on his card; it helps to give them the sense of story and flavor that go into the game. BB is usually a quick game and if you don't have more people waiting to play, you can always follow the game up with "Now do you want to try a hard game?" and throw Voss or Dawn at them.
It is often good to offer the players a handful of complexity 1 (and maybe a couple of complexity 2) heroes to choose from. If you are going to be playing in the game, Legacy is a good choice for you because you can be supportive and let the newbies do a little more of the punching (not that Legacy can't do his own punching). For new players, I usually use some combination of Ra, Wraith, Tempest, Haka, Chrono-Ranger, and Bunker (or Legacy, if one of them seems keen on the idea).
Advice:
Play Legacy. He won't ourtshine the others and will make the game more likely to be a win, which makes people more appreciative of it. It also means you can concentrate on explaining things and not on your uber combo.
Suggested heroes for players: Tempest, Haka, Wraith, Ra, Tachyon (Chrono Ranger if you've got Shattered Timelines, KNYFE if you've got Vengence). All are simple enough to grasp the game from, but have interesting tricks for people to find.
Suggested Villain: Baron Blade: Classic villain trope, easy to play.
Environment: Insula Primalis. Everything is better with dinosaurs.
General Advice: If someone wants to play soemone not on the list above, absolutely let them. If it's their first game and they wanyt Absolute Zero, explain why it might be a poor idea, but let them if they insist.
Ham it up. Don't just say "I play a card." Act as Blade, ham it up a little and if you've got time, read the flavour text at least to the villain, aloud.
Explain what cards do, do NOT tell them what cards are best.
Have the other cards out but to one side to show people the potential variety they can get from the game.
Good luck.
Encourage some planning, but not too much that the game slows right down. Asking if someone else has enough damage to take out the Blade Battalion while you focus on hitting Blade with your 7 damage, or similar, is a good way to get people used to working collaboratively and communicating their intentions. Similarly if an annoying environment card comes out don't be shy of asking if anyone has a way of dealing with that - it's frustrating to devote your turn to smacking a T. Rex just to have Tempest Flash Flood it away right after your turn. (Not to mention Fanatic unexpectedly playing End of Days just after everyone's put out their best toys.)
I like everyone to explain what their cards do as they play them as well, and to name the card. Compare and contrast:
*player puts card on table and points to minion* "That one's dead."
"Okay, I play Sucker Punch, and that lets me destroy something with 2 or fewer HP, so I can take out the Genebound Guard. Yay! Now the other minions are easier to hit!"
Above all though, have fun and keep the energy up. If you're having a good time that'll help other people to enjoy it too. Be positive, praise good play, encourage people to think for themselves, discourage alpha player syndrome but offer general advice ("That Velociraptor pack is becoming a real issue guys... We might want to think about dealing with that soon.")
1. Play Legacy. Play against Baron Blade.
2. Go first.
3. Explain cards as you play them rather than throwing all the information at your players at once.
4. Keep the turn order rules on the back cover of the rulebook on display at all times.
5. Be descriptive. "Legacy deals Baron Blade 4 Projectile damage increased by 1 to 5 due to his Nemesis bonus" is efficient but boring. "Legacy's keen senses pick up on the Baron's attempt to hasten the heroes' doom, but quickly reacts with a swift blow to the Baron, made all the more powerful by the painful remembrance of his father's life cut short by Blade's thirst for blood. Legacy deals 5 Projectile damage to his Nemesis, Baron Blade."
Don't purple prose it up too much, but have a little fun here and there! Do it more for your players than for yourself, but hopefully I'm explaining this clearly!
6. Let the players choose characters on their terms. Do they want flavor? Give them a brief backstory. Mechanics? Give a little description of what their deck does. That, or choose characters from the core set before they start a game(use Absolute Zero at your own risk, as he can scare away some new players).
I have limited experience teaching players outside of my friends, but I did teach a few people how to play on Tabletop Day a few days ago and it seemed to go reasonably well. Good luck!
I'm proud to say our Sentinels stock was slightly smaller today when I walked into my hobby store job to buy new comics.
Remember to use the marker tokens to help keep track of bonuses and things.
If you want to let the players choose their characters from the entire selection, define the difficulties of the heroes before explaining their flavor/mechanics.
Have 1-3 sentence descriptions prepared for each hero that define flavor and mechanical theme (e.g. "Ra is the god of fire. He likes burning stuff to death").
Everyone loves dinosaurs.
It's okay to play with open hands, but you should never tell a player how to play their hand unless they ask specifically for help, and even then you should lay out options and indicate the strength of those options rather than simply telling them what to play. It's okay to warn them about particularly bad plays, or highlight special synergies.
Here's a link to a similar thread. The information in which is good. I think somethings that might be forgotten is (1) have fun, (2) don't feel bad if you make mistakes, and (3) have some tea or something to protect your voice.
https://greaterthangames.com/forum/topic/u-con-tips-for-running-sotm-cons-4298
The only other suggestion I would add is having some small reference sheets for all the player locations that include a summary of the turn sequence.
Might also want to have a one-sheet flier or reference that has something on hero complexity or hero background. If intended as a hand-out for the person to keep then include the Game Name, an artwork clip of some sort, etc. since you want them to have a reminder about the game to take with them.
You'd be surpised how effective this is, even if hte game isn't going well.
Also, explain what's happening when the villain flips. Baron Blade's plans are ruined by the heroes, so he climbs into his robot suit to get his revenge!
People are sometimes confused by the flip mechanics.
Couple more tips:
1. Let new people hit the final blow if possible. Knowing they finished off the villain once and for all gives some of the best reactions I have ever seen.
2. Like the previous comments, take breaks. It is very easy to get sucked in, especially when new people want to play. Pacing yourself and saving your voice can be a lifesaver.
3. Avoid, if possible, slow or overtly complicated characters if you have people waiting. Absolute Zero, Omnitron-X, and Argent Adept are fun, but they usually take a while to build up and experience to know the deck. Likewise, villain characters like Akash'buta and Omnitron can run slow, so feel free to speed the game up by reducing starting HP. (Allows for a chance to play different villains, but is not extremely difficult for newcomers.)
4. Show off the base set as much as possible. If people know they can get many of the characters, environments, and villains are available in the the basic version often is enough to sell them on the set. Except Dawn. Dawn likes to kill people.
5. Most of all, have fun. The more you enjoy it, the more they will!
Personally, I find that excluding the nemesis-mechanic for the first game(s) helps to keep it simple and thus easier to grasp for new players. We usually advertise it as the very first encounter between Legacy and the Baron.