The Ludarium Academy · The Ludarium Guild of Game Guides
Teach any board game in five minutes.
A free training program for the person who always wants to play more. Learn to pick the right game, teach it fast, and run a first game that ends with a yes to the next one. Then teach one newcomer and earn the title Expert Game Guide.
The Ludarium Guild of Game Guides
This certifies that
Your name here
has completed the Guild’s training and capstone, taught a newcomer who said yes to the next game, and is an
Expert Game Guide
Before you start
You do not need to be a rules expert.
Great teachers do not know more rules. They know which five things to say first, and which to save for later.
Your people do not have to like games yet.
The training is built for newcomers who think board games are not for them. Most of them have just had a bad teach.
A few minutes a lesson.
Each lesson is a short read with one drill for your next game night. Read here anytime, or get them by email.
Five moves, one score
The only score that counts: did the newcomer say yes to the next game?
- 1
Pick
Pick the right game for one person and one evening, and plan the three games after it.
- 2
Prep
Teach a gateway game without opening the rulebook, from a timed one-page script.
- 3
The Five-Minute Teach
Deliver a teach in under five minutes, in the order a newcomer’s questions arise.
- 4
Play
Run a first game where the newcomer makes a good move early and nobody gets crushed.
- 5
Close
Leave every game night with the next one on the calendar.
Five principles under every lesson
- Frame before facts. Nobody can hold a rule until they know what it is for. Goal first, always.
- Just in time, not just in case. A rule explained before it matters is forgotten. Explain it when it matters.
- First win early. One good decision in the first ten minutes makes the game feel like theirs.
- Protect dignity. Remove every chance to look foolish. Fear is the biggest cost a newcomer pays.
- End on a high. The last ten minutes decide the memory, so call it at a good moment.
From Apprentice to Expert Game Guide
After Modules 0 to 2
Apprentice
You know why teaches fail and you can prepare one that will not.
After Modules 3 to 5
Journeyman
You can teach, run, and close a first game from start to finish.
After Modules 6 and 7, and the capstone
Expert Game Guide
You have taught a new player who said yes to the next game, and the Guild has reviewed it.
Eight modules, 35 lessons
Start with lesson oneModule 0 · Mindset
The Second Game
After this module: Judge every teach by one score: whether the newcomer wants to play again.
Module 1 · Choose the game
Pick
After this module: Pick the right game for one person and one evening, and plan the three games after it.
Module 2 · Before they arrive
Prep
After this module: Teach a gateway game without opening the rulebook, from a timed one-page script.
Module 3 · The teach
The Five-Minute Teach
After this module: Deliver a teach in under five minutes, in the order a newcomer’s questions arise.
Module 4 · The first game
Play
After this module: Run a first game where the newcomer makes a good move early and nobody gets crushed.
Module 5 · After the game
Close
After this module: Leave every game night with the next one on the calendar.
Module 6 · Special situations
The Field Guide
After this module: Teach kids, cooperative games, party games, heavy games, mixed tables, and games you have never played.
Module 7 · Certification
The Capstone
After this module: Teach one new player, score your own teach, and earn the title Expert Game Guide.
The toolkit
Printables and tools the drills run on. The starred ones come with the email course.
The Five-Minute Teach Script★
One page that holds your whole teach: the hook, the win, the turn, the gotcha, and what to leave out.
The Teachability Scorecard
Seven yes-or-no questions that tell you whether a game is ready for a newcomer tonight.
The Game Ladder Worksheet★
Plan four games for one person, each adding one new idea.
The Pre-Flight Checklist★
Twelve things to have ready before the first guest sits down.
The Jargon Translator
Hobby words, and the plain words to say instead when you teach a newcomer.
The Gotcha Index
The one rule that surprises new players in popular games, so you can say it up front.
The Newcomer Feedback Card★
Five questions a new player answers in a minute after your teach.
The Self-Assessment★
Score your own teach on ten lines, with what a five looks like on each.
The Teach Library
Finished one-page teach sheets for popular gateway games, ready to print.
The Capstone
Teach one new player, then send in your teach for review to earn the Expert Game Guide title.
Common questions
Do I need to be good at games to take this?
No. You need to be the person who wants to play more. The training is about the people at the table, not about winning. Strong players often have the most to unlearn.
What does it mean to be certified?
Finish the lessons, teach one person who does not play board games, and send in your capstone: your own scores and the newcomer’s answers. The Ludarium reviews it by hand. If your newcomer said yes to another game, you receive the Expert Game Guide certificate by email.
How long does it take?
Each lesson is a five to eight minute read with one short drill. By email, one lesson arrives each weekday, so the 35 lessons take about seven weeks. Read ahead on the site anytime. The capstone takes one game night.
Is it really free?
Yes. Every lesson is free to read on this page, and the email course, the printable toolkit and the certificate review are free too. No card, no trial.
Which games does it use?
Games most people can find: Ticket to Ride, Azul, Carcassonne, Codenames, Wingspan, Pandemic and Catan, among others. The method works for any game, and the Teach Library has finished one-page teach sheets for many of them.
The training grew out of our short guide, How to Teach a Board Game in Five Minutes.
Get the next game on the calendar.
Teach any board game in five minutes, and get a yes to the next game night.