One downside to complicated Euro style games is that it's hard to learn the rules. I know this turns off a lot of people to them, but it is totally worth it.
Still, some games just take forever to learn, and trying to teach them to other people in a clear way without forgetting anything (man, they really get mad when you forget something) is a really intensive process.
No one hates learning rules more than our good friend Mozzie the bear. Here is a list he and I have compiled of "Games I Hate to Teach." He was kind enough to pose for all the pictures:
Terra Mystica rules come pretty easy to people who had played a lot of heavy euros. But there is a lot going on, and bringing newer players in can take a while. I taught this to my gaming friends in probably under 15 minutes, but at a boardgame meetup we went to it took a whole hour to teach to a less euro-centered player. So not the worst game to teach but definitely a lot of stuff and symbology to go through.
The Great Zimbabwe is a great game by Splotter Spellen. They are known for incredibly complex games printed in small print runs that cost about $120 per game. The Great Zimbabwe is actually one of their simpler ones, I feel. But it is the only one I own and still very complicated.
This game is the definition of fiddly. Trying to remember what needs to be shipped where and how far it can be shipped and wait do diagonals count and what's a hub and does your hub count as my hub and what are we doing?!
It's actually not bad once you learn the rules, but teaching is tough. And I couldn't play this right now without reading the manual a few times again.
3. ZhanGuo
Played ZhanGuo not too long ago. It was really really good. The rules aren't actually that tough either, but the rulebook is pretty disorganized, which isn't surprising as there does not seem to be a logical streamlined way to glide through teaching this one. You just got to plug and chug and this rule and that rule and this thing and that thing. Took an hour to teach it. Worth it, but still...
4. Luna
Luna's rules aren't even hard. But there are something like 14 different actions you can take! And each one comes with it's own little set of details! And there's a supposedly handy guide to all the actions, but you have to interpret all that symbology, which isn't clear the first time you play.
Did I mention 14 DIFFERENT ACTIONS! And some of them are similar and I can remember how the boat action is different from the wave action. Ever.
5. Asgard
Ugggh. Asgard... I saw this for $18 on amazon, read somes reviews and thought "Hey this seems pretty heavy and interesting and the theme is pretty cool and it's sooo cheap. Why not?." The idea and mechanics are quite interesting, but none of it works as well as I had hoped. Worst of all, It took forever to set up and forever and a day to teach it. Another poorly organized (and in some cases unclear) rulebook, with lots of little rules to go over. Lots of work to learn a mediocre game. Not worth it this time.
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