u/frieren_____

I got way more comments than I expected. I couldn't reply to each one, but I've been reading through them whenever I have time. Thank you so much.

I asked beforehand if they could let me know what we might play, and they told me. We're going to start with a light game, though they are still figuring out what it will be. Second, we're doing a Murder Mystery style game. And for the final game, they said we're playing The Castles of Burgundy.

Oh, and they told me I don't need to bring any snacks, but I'm planning to bring some KitKats I bought from my recent trip to Japan! Even if we don't eat them that day, I'll just give it to them as a souvenir from my trip.

After reading through your comments, this is my plan:

1. Watch a rules video for The Castles of Burgundy.
2. Turn on Do Not Disturb mode on my phone the moment I enter the house.
3. Pretend I didn't watch the rules video and listen carefully to their explanation.

Thanks to you guys, I learned that explaining games to a newbie can actually be fun for experienced gamers. Thank you. 고마워. 천사같은 보드게임 고수님들 *ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚

(I used Gemini to translate this text, but when I asked it to translate it for Reddit, it felt like it was adding internet slang on its own. Sorry if it looks a bit weird ㅠ)

https://preview.redd.it/g1dqagejfe2h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9dce3a2cf7c28121feb06f3c22bb0eaecd4e533

I created this Reddit account and lurked for a bit just to ask this.

There’s someone I’m really interested in, and they are very into board games. Like, dedicated game room, regular game nights, constantly inviting people over — the whole thing.

I casually said I was interested in board games too, and somehow that worked, because I got invited to the next game night.

The problem is… the last board game I played was Splendor, years ago. That is basically my entire board game résumé.

I really want to make a good impression, but I know winning or playing “well” is probably not happening. So what do board gamers actually appreciate from a complete beginner?

Should I ask lots of questions? Try not to overthink? Bring snacks? Avoid being too competitive? Is there anything newbies do that secretly annoys experienced players?

Also, possibly a terrible idea, but if I wanted to bring a small gift someday, is it basically impossible to surprise a serious board gamer with a game they don’t already own but would actually love?

Please help a clueless newbie out. Any tips on how to behave at my first real game night would be highly appreciated.

Edit: Wow, I did not expect this to get so many replies. Thank you everyone!

I’m still reading through the comments, but there are way too many for me to reply to one by one without turning this into a full-time job.

So far, my notes are basically: be honest about being new, stay engaged, ask what we might play beforehand, don’t touch my phone during the rules, play to learn, and absolutely do not bring Cheetos.

I feel a lot less nervous now. Also slightly more aware of how much damage orange fingers can do.

The game night is this coming Friday, so I’ll report back if anyone is curious. Wish me luck.

Edit 2: Thank you so much for the comments! They let me know what games we're going to play : https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1tj6jaa/thank_you_for_showing_interest_in_my_post_about/