Unpopular opinion: I tracked my win rate for 6 months and lighter games made my group show up more
Six months ago I started logging every game night in a notebook, and the numbers shocked me: when we played heavy euros like our usual stuff, only 2 or 3 people showed up on average, but when I switched to lighter games under 45 minutes, we averaged 7 people a night. Now I am sitting here wondering if I killed the deep strategy nights we used to love, or if I just finally admitted nobody in my group besides me actually wanted to sit through a 3 hour teach. Has anyone else watched their group size shift like this just from changing game weight?
Wow, seven people showing up for light games is not actually a win, it just means the bar got so low that anyone could clear it. Your heavy nights had 2 or 3 people who actually cared, and trading that for a rotating crowd playing filler is a bad deal no matter what the notebook says. Deep strategy nights are rare and worth keeping, so don't pat yourself on the back for killing them.