"You Never Told Me That Rule!" -- Rules You Most Certainly Told Them.
Dave Lartigue
United States
Springfield
Massachusetts
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Every game has at least one rule that, if you don't get, makes much of the action pointless or ensures that you will lose. When teaching the game to new people, you will be sure to stress that rule over and over, since so much hinges onit. And, invariably, at some point the new player will claim fervently that no, you NEVER told him that rule because if you had, he would NEVER have made that play. Let's hear the game, the rule, and if you wish, the story.
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Farid Widjaya
United States
Mountville
Pennsylvania
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In our every game there's always someone who is leading who wants to play a 6.
Me: "You cant play a 6 when you're leading."
Him: "O RLY??? You never told me that!!!!"
Me: "Yes I did, more than once even."
Him: "O RLY????"
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77.
Board Game: Manila
[Average Rating:7.00 Overall Rank:346]
Farid Widjaya
United States
Mountville
Pennsylvania
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A full ship arrived at 13 after the second dice roll.
Pirate: "YESSSSS!!! Out of the boat you guys!!!"
Me: "Um.. no. you can only kick us out if this was the third roll. You can only board the ship and share the money."
Pirate: "Well, I'm going to board the ship then!! Tehee!"
Me: "You can't do that. Its full."
Pirate: "WHAAAA??? That's lameeee!!! "
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Andrew Kluessendorf
United States
Waukesha
Wisconsin
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I was playing a game against an opponent I had played several times previously. They continued to spend turn after turn drawing train cards, even though they already had a cabooseful. I mentioned that I hate it when I can't get a color I need - they respond that it's not a color, they need a locamotive. I reminded them of the rule: Any three cards can be used as a substitute for a Locamotive card.
The look I got was something like this: 
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79.
Board Game: Evo
[Average Rating:6.98 Overall Rank:331]
Greg Todd
United Kingdom
Nottingham
Notts
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Played this with 3 of us. 1 was new to the game, but normally used to games and quite sharp.
Explained that you bid for new stuff with your victory points, so you have to be careful how much you spend. Every turn, the new player bid highest, and every turn, we both reminded him that he should lower his bidding sometime soon, as he was spending his victory points.
About 3 turns from the end, he was well behind, and I said, "You should really stop bidding at all now, I'm not sure if you can catch up" He said, "What do you mean? I'll win because I have the most dinosaurs".
To be fair, we had a good laugh about it, and he accepted that he was the one who'd got it wrong. Somehow, he'd assumed that the most dinos was the goal and had completely ignored our repeated advice to the contrary. The phrase "brain fart" springs to mind.
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Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
United States
Ohio
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After reading the rules to the other players for about half an hour when I had never played before, I had forgotten almost everything I said. And nobody else understood any better.
The result: Two hours of misery where everyone had about fifty cards face up in front of them.
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Lindsay Thomas
United Kingdom
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Alliances and agreements are not binding in any way.
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Josh Look
United States
Coventry
CT
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"You just put too many cards in [the skill check pile]!"
"No, I told you that you could put ANY amount of cards in."
"So for all this time, I was putting one card in when I could have been putting in more?"
...and suddenly, Galacitca's crew had a much easier time solving their many problems.
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Roy Hasson
Israel
Kfar Saba
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What do you mean we lose grain based on the remaining event card before the winter?
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Andrew of Mathematical Leanings
Modesto
California
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Ok, so it's legal to jump 2 sections of track (and land on the third) . . .
Half a lap later . . . let's see, to avoid the traffic, I'll aim this way . . .
[brilliant flick]
Hey, that's no fair, you skipped these pieces of track!
Or
Ok, if you flick someone else off, they go back to where you were . . .
[flicks someone off and puts them back to where I was]
Dad: "Hey, you cheater, I was up here!"
Me: "no no, you have to go back to where I started . . ."
Mom: "Yeah sure, and this is the part of the game in which Andrew makes up a few rules so he can win . . ."
[grumble]
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85.
Board Game: Gloom
[Average Rating:6.29 Overall Rank:1187]
Mike Anino
United States
Placerville
California
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2nd Player and I had played this a couple of times and decided to introduce it to my best friend 3rd Player.
Me: On your turn you can play two cards. Your first card can be any card including "untimely death" cards, your second car can be anything but NOT a death card.
later in the game:
3rd Player: OK, the Teddy Bear With a Brain goes out drinking and runs into a "lady of the evening" so he's "Seduced By A Strumpet" which is worth -25. Then "Was Squashed By A Shogotth" so he dies.
Me: No, you can only play untimely deaths as your first card of the turn.
3rd Player: Title of the geeklist.
Me: I thought I did, sorry. This time you can keep it, but remember, you can only play untimely deaths as the first card of your turn.
Later still:
3rd Player: The Box Brain guy decides to go grocery shopping, but everyone thinks it's weird to see him so I play "Was Pelted With Produce"(-15) and then he stalks off into the night never to be seen again as I play "Dissapeared in the Fog" which kills him.
Me: No, you can't do that remember? You can only kill someone on the first part of your turn.
3rd Player: You Never Told Me That
2nd Player: Yes, he did, when you did it earlier.
3rd Player: Exactly, I did it earlier, why can't I do it now?
Me: Because that's the rule, and we explained it and because I might have forgotten to say it you were allowed to do it that time, but that time only.
3rd Player: Fine. But you didn't tell me that earlier.
2nd player and I exchange knowing looks.
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Luk Van Baelen
Belgium
Beerse [near Turnhout]
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Another one that happened to me.
We were playing 6 and in the additional Building phase I scored a number of points to take me to 13, so I declared victory.
Found out the hard way that in order to win you need to have 13 points in your turn.
Needless to say everybody then joined forces against me [I had the longest Trade Route], but it was just a matter of time as I won anyway.
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Tyler Hudak
United States
Akron
Ohio
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Not really a rule, but more of a strategy.
"You want to try and get some cards, as they can give you alot of points at the end of the game."
Imagine everyone's shock when, as we're scoring, no one has more than 3 cards when I have around 15. Then they see where the points come from.
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David Culp
United States
Carrollton
Texas
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I HIGHLY stress that the mobilization token must go on the planet in which you want to move to, NOT the planet you are moving from! I show multiple examples and explain it a few different ways. During the game I will even point out when I play a mobilization token that I have played it on the planet I am moving TO.
It never fails, a new player at some point will reveal a mobilization token and then proclaim that they are moving their troops from that planet to another planet. When I point out that they cannot do this they then get upset and claim I never mentioned this rule.
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89.
Board Game: Agricola
[Average Rating:8.25 Overall Rank:2]
Paul Newsham
England
Hampshire
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Several for this one.
I dearly love my most frequent game playing partners, my in-laws. But my goodness how they need reminding... still...
1. You need to renovate to clay first, THEN stone!
2. You can only bake the grain in your supply, not the grain in your field!
3. You can plant more than 1 grain, or veg at a time, you just need one EMPTY ploughed field for each!
4. You must have a room for a new family member, unless...
5. You need to pay one food for each subsequent occupation even though last time you used that other action space to get your first occupation down... That's right. It's still your second occupation. I know it's the first time you've used THAT space, but ITS STILL THE SECOND OCCUPATION AND YOU STILL NEED TO USE A FOOD TO PLAY IT!!! AND I STILL LIKE PLAYING THIS GAME WITH YOU, AND IM SOOO GLAD YOU ENJOY IT TOO!!! NO REALLY!!! I'll stop shouting at you now... 
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Drake Coker
United States
San Diego
California
This is my tank for Combat Commander
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"Ok, add up your victory point cards"
"What, my cash cards don't count as victory points?"
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Philip Wood
United States
Madison
Wisconsin
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Tile placement rule #1 - you MUST place the new tile in the same direction as your fountain. You can't rotate it. OK?
"OK"
...
What do you mean I can't spin it? It won't fit with the wall there unless I do! I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known that!
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Simon Taylor
United Kingdom
HOPE VALLEY
Derbyshire/Yorkshire
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I learned this game from my father when I was about 7.
He learned it from his mother when he was young.
When I was about 13, I was playing it with my father's mother, and performed one of the rarer moves (probably something to do with black threes, or putting the eighth card of a canasta into an existing canasta of seven cards, or having to make a certain amount to play onto the table the first time when you scored a certain amount in a previous round or something). She was outraged that I'd done this as it benefited me and not her, and in the end, my father had to come in to referee it and remind her of the rules she'd taught him in the first place!
That was a very unexpected situation of "I never heard that rule before even though I'm the one that (indirectly) told you about it in the first place!"
Still, that was only one blip of an otherwise very successful partnership of visiting-Grandmum and playing-games :-)
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93.
Board Game: Rage
[Average Rating:5.89 Overall Rank:4076]
H.C. O'Neill
United States
Bethel
Connecticut
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I have taught this many, many, many times. There's some very common errors.
Me: "Gifts are played anytime it says you can play them. They come from your hand. They are NOT played ahead of time and used later."
Newbie: "gotcha"
Me: "You got that, they come from your hand. You have to hold them in your hand."
Time passes
Newbie: *plays git and stacks it on character. Is clearly NOTtargetting that characater*
Me: 'who are you targeting with that?"
Newbie: "I don't know. I'll use it later."
ME: "IT HAS TO COME FROM YOUR HAND"
(there are in fact 5 out of about 150+ Gifts that do let you stack for later, but they say that on the card that they work that way. I'll admit gift timing could have been defined better in this to indicate when you played these, but the stack ahead is totally baffling)
Me: "you win by having twenty or more victory points at the end of the turn. Even if you're dead. If you have 20 or more victory points at the end of the turn, you win."
Newbie: "right"
Battle ensues
Newbie: "ha, you're out of sept cards. You're decked! I win!"
Me: "You win when you have twenty or more victory points at end of the turn. Not by decking."
Newbie: "you didn't tell me I couldn't win by decking!"
Me: "I told you how to win... which did not list decking as an option."
More combat ensues
Newbie: "Ha, all your characters are dead! I win!"
Me: "You don't win from killing me. You win by getting 20 or more victory points at end of turn. Do you have 20 or more victory points?"
Newbie: "no... I have 2"
Me: "I have 30 and its end of turn. I win."
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luis carrera
Mexico
Mexico City
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"I've told you 5 times already... You CANNOT escape if you were seen last round!!!!!"
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95.
Board Game: Brass
[Average Rating:8.08 Overall Rank:8]
Jesse McGatha
United States
Sammamish
Washington
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This game is fraught with these rules:
1) You have to have PRESENCE in a city to build there with an industry card. You can only get PRESENCE by having another tile there OR A CANAL/RAILROAD CONNECTED TO IT. You can use a CITY CARD to get presence in a city.
2) You can play TWO cards for your ENTIRE TURN to place as if you had a city card.
3) You REMOVE FROM THE BOARD all Level 1 technologies at the end of the Canal Age.
4) You REMOVE FROM THE BOARD all canals at the end of the Canal Age.
5) If you want to build a tile with a coal requirement, you have to SHIP COAL across ANYONE's links from THE CLOSEST coal mine (which could belong to SOMEONE ELSE). You can also ship coal from a CONNECTED PORT, but you have to BUY IT.
6) When you build a coal mine that is connected to a port, you MUST FULFILL ANY DEMAND ON THE WORLD MARKET.
7) You CANNOT TAKE A LOAN after the last card is drawn in the Rail Age.
8) In the Rail Age, you CANNOT BUILD TILES WITH A CANAL ON THEM. You must develop through.
9) The stupid Birkenhead rule. You know what I mean. Blissfully, it almost never comes up.
10) In the first turn you ONLY PLAY ONE CARD.
11) You have to DISCARD A CARD to do anything in this game, even building links, taking loans, or developing.
12) Birkenhead and Barrow-in-furness cards are USELESS IN THE CANAL AGE. You CANNOT USE THEM except to throw away for loans, links, or development.
Etc. Etc.
The funniest one is (at least for the 1st edition) is the cheap plastic money. Some games use these cheap plastic discs (I think 1st edition Caylus, for example) using the D&D system where silver is a lower denomination than gold. This one uses gold as 1 and silver as 5 money. I always tell people "These are not silver and gold! They are nickels and pennies! They are worth 1 and 5 cents (pounds)! Got it?" To which they dutifully respond "Ok, cool." Later they take a loan in the form of 6 gold coins (supposedly 30 pounds), at which point we have to exchange their silver and gold coins.
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96.
Board Game: Keltis
[Average Rating:6.54 Overall Rank:796]
Brandon Freels
Australia
Rooty Hill (Sydney)
NSW
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If you get to the end of an expedition (the 50 space), you may still play a card of that color on a future turn if you can. When you do, you get to move one of your other guys on a different expedition forward.
Explained it at the start ... OK.
Explained it again when someone reached the end of a expedition path ... OK.
Round 3 endgame decider "If I had known I could have played my card..." ... BOOM! 
Fortunately the other players backed me up saying I did mention it. Still feel blah about not being clear for them.
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97.
Board Game: Brass
[Average Rating:8.08 Overall Rank:8]
Maciej Welc
Poland
Wrocław (Vratislavia)
Lower Silesia
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There is a misprint bug in the first edition - level 1 shipyards have no canal icon printed. When teaching the game I point it out and warn that level one industries can be built only during the canal period. In return in the late game I hear:
"How comes I can't built level 1 shipyard now. Check out that there is no canal icon on the tile!!!"
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Randall Bart
United States
Granada Hills
California
Red October
Earth is one of my favorite planets
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I always explain "The game will end the turn someone builds to 15 [17, 14] cities. We will finish out the build phase, then the person who powers the most cities will win. This person might power more than 15 cities or they might power less than 15 cities, but when someone builds to 15, the person who powers the most wins."
Two hours later I hear, "How can you win if you only power 13 cities?"
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Chris Denlinger
United States
Mishawaka
Indiana
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"The game is kind of like chess. You have one Seigneur, or Lord. It moves like the queen in chess; two pieces that move like bishops (but can also move one space orthogonally instead), two pieces that move like rooks (but can move one space diagonally instead), four pieces that can move five spaces, and five that can move three spaces. Blah blah blah jumping.
"If you get a piece into your opponent's home square, you promote it to a Sheriff. That moves just like the Seigneur, and if the Seigneur is removed, the Sheriff becomes the Seigneur. If you don't have a Sheriff when your Seigneur is captured, you keep playing until you can promote a piece. It promotes straight to Seigneur. This means losing your Seigneur doesn't put you out of the game.
"You win the game when your Seigneur reaches the center of the board."
...15 minutes later, I turn a Guard into a Sheriff
...15 more minutes: the Sheriff is now in the central section of the board
...5 minutes later: someone captures my Seigneur.
Him: "Why did you leave your king out there like that? You're out of the game!"
Me: "No, I'm not. In fact, since you captured my Seigneur, my sheriff gets promoted."
All: "You didn't tell us that!"
The game went back into the box, and didn't come out for three years. Anyone want a copy?
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In Daimyo you can win by two different way:
1) kill a rival Daimyo
or 2) occupy at least one of opponent's "area" with a minimum of three of your units.
With every new player I ALWAYS emphasize the second rule due to its importance. As the game begins the opponent always goes for a kill and leaves his defense open. And then I win by occupying the area...and then he goes like "YOU CANT DO THAT!!?".
I honestly think that even though they seem to be listening the rules, after I say the word "kill" they forget everything else
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. I think stone age is the best game for non gamer types and gamers alike. I figured the cards are about 40% of the scoring.
I screw up and forget to build a transport all the time 
