Why does nobody talk about that awkward silence when you teach a game wrong

I tried teaching my group Brass Birmingham last Saturday and spent 20 minutes explaining the rules. Turns out I completely forgot how the canal phase ends and we all played three rounds totally wrong. The worst part was when my buddy looked up the rule online and just said 'uh, this isn't right.' We all just sat there staring at the board for a solid minute. Has anyone else had a game night derail because you botched the rule explanation?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_lewis18d ago

The 'uh, this isn't right' moment is always brutal, isn't it? I've had that exact same pause where everyone just stares at the board like it personally betrayed us. The worst part is you're the one who taught it, so now you feel like you wasted an hour of everyone's life. Never gonna forget the canal phase rules again though, that's for sure.

oscarwright18d ago

Oh man, "like it personally betrayed us" is the most accurate description I've ever heard. I once spent a solid 20 minutes explaining the tax system in a board game wrong and my buddy just slowly looked up at me like I'd just told him his dog wasn't coming back. You're right though, at least you'll never mess up the canal phase again. I still don't know what year it is when we start the game, but hey, the rules are seared into my brain now.