8 Tips for Introducing Kingdom Death to New Players (Patreon)

Introducing Kingdom Death to new players is always a fun experience, but it can be daunting and difficult for the newly initiated. I've introduced this game to dozens of people, with varying degrees of success, and in this article I've talked with nijiq and we have a list of eight tips that can help make Kingdom Death a great experience for a new player and get them coming back for more and more.

1. Take it Slow

Kingdom Death is a game with a simple rule set (initially) but it has a lot of moving parts and different phases, so it can be overwhelming for a new player.  Take your time and make sure that the person you are explaining something to understands it.

2. Attacking with Weapons is Complicated!

While most new players quickly grasp that 'speed = number of dice I roll to hit', the rest of the process is far more complicated than you, as an experienced player, will realise.  Time and time again I've seen newer players get tangled up with how accuracy and wounds work, especially because these two numbers shift up and down depending on blind spot, weapons, monster type, survivor stats and injuries/tokens.

I've still not found a good way to help players internalise this, so just take it slow (as per point 1) and explain each modifier. Try to make sure that new players understand that accuracy and strength are not related and that they grasp the concept of when Critical Wounds do and do not apply. 

Remember to make it clear that a 1 always fails and a lantern always succeeds (both on accuracy and wounds)!

3. The amount of Gear Options can feel overwhelming

The settlement phase is a section just filled with options, some people will know what they want to do, they'll already have a vision for their equipment in mind and you just need to help guide them towards it. But others might have no clue at all, they may even feel paralysed by the wealth of decisions. Here you want to try and teach them while making decisions on their behalf, help them understand why you are choosing the things you choose.

It's best to try and avoid 'alpha player' syndrome, where you end up making all the decisions for someone else, but you may need to make some decisions in the beginning.  If you do this, explain why what you're doing is good and also demonstrate things which could be done and highlight why they are either not so optimal or just bad.  

For example, you should explain why picking the Rawhide Headband, Body and Gloves is good - because you get the +1 evasion and that makes the monster hit less often, but it also lets you sometimes control what the monster is going to do. Explain why that is good, demonstrate it in your next hunt by doing it yourself.

However, and this is very important, if someone wants to do something, even if it is not optimal. Say if they want to wield daggers, Let them! Help them make their choice as good as possible and work around it.

4. Play the Support and/or Tank Character

Swinging with weapons and cutting monsters to pieces is a huge amount of fun and it's going to get people engaged more than anything else.  Playing Support is a thankless job and most people will not like it, so if there is no-one who wants to take bandages, the Whisker Harp and the Cat's Eye Circlet. You should do it, make things easier for the newer players, let them see how powerful HL and AI manipulation is by demonstrating it through your actions.  You have other games where you can do the cool stuff, when you are teaching you should be playing support.

Likewise with tanking, tanking is not for everyone, so you should probably take the role, unless you have someone else who is fine with standing in the tall grass and drawing the attention of the monster. It's not for everyone, most people want to cause damage. Fortunately, in the early game anyone in rawhide + monster grease can work as a tank, so if no-one wants to be a tank and you are already playing the support character you can suggest that everyone take turns in getting hit, or guide the group by pointing out that the person with the most armor should probably be the one who gets targeted.

5. Gear up the New Players First

Much like point 4 above, teaching Kingdom Death to new players is about their experience, their stories, it's not about you. You have more experience, you know more about how the monsters are going to behave.  You won't stand in front of a White Lion before attacking or position yourself in the blind spot of the Screaming Antelope.

So let your new players be the heroes, give them the cool weapons and armor, let them have the survivors that go out hunt after hunt after hunt. This is their story, let them shine and they'll want to come back for more.

6. Remove Certain Settlement Cards from the Game

Know your audience, if they are not going to like losing their survivors to events such as Murder, secretly remove them from the deck before you start playing and maybe introduce them back in later on in the campaign.  It's galling for a new player to have their cool survivor murdered before she has a successor child, or for the tank to fall down a crack in the ground and lose all their gear.  Kingdom Death is a customisable experience. Customise your Settlement Deck to suit them.

7. Consider Playing Hero Mode

Hero mode is in the back of the core book and it makes all survivors tougher and stronger. I know that some people scoff at such an experience, but Hero Mode is not without risk; injuries, retirement, skipping hunts and losing showdowns can all still happen.  If you really do not want to play with this mode, try a toned down version of it, only named survivors cannot die and you can only name a survivor when you are on a hunt.  This way you have a pool of nameless supporting characters who can be sacrificed, murdered, die in childbirth etc and still keep some of the flavour of the game without potentially ruining the experience for your friends. Perma-death is not for everyone.

8. Fudge things if you have to

It's a game, have fun, if someone is sad that their survivor just died, give them a reroll. Just warn them that the cheating count will have to be increased!  Not that this matters at all unless you have the Story in the Snow event card, but it will add some jeopardy to the experience for the new player.