Episode 71 - A Focus On Teaching - Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast
Channel: Tabletop Bellhop
Date: 17/12/2019

At Tabletop Bellhop we answer your game and game night questions, go "Ask The Bellhop" at  https://tabletopbellhop.com/ . A Focus on Teaching - Board Game Teacher Tips. Dead Man’s Cabal review in The Game Room. Carpe Diem and Imhotep A New Dynasty first thoughts in The Bellhop’s Tabletop.

This is the 71st episode of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, an edited version of our live show recorded on December 11th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week Wednesday’s at Nine P.M. Eastern:  https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop .

**Disclosure**: Some links below are affiliate links. Using these links costs you nothing extra and we earn a small commission, which helps us offset the cost of producing this show. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some games mentioned in this podcast were provided by publishers in the form of review copies.

This episode includes:

**---Suggestion Box---00:01:02**
We read off and respond to listener feedback. Send feedback to moe@tabletopbellhop.com or sean@tabletopbellhop.com 

Imhotep, https://amzn.to/2qK517g
Machi Koro, https://amzn.to/2LNh6zI
Space Base, https://amzn.to/2PeCCjf
Horrified, https://amzn.to/35q8tmR
Sushi Go, https://amzn.to/35lQSwk
Sagrada, https://amzn.to/2PC2UuQ
Kingdomino, https://amzn.to/2YMLgbN
Legendary Forests, https://amzn.to/2YGCrAc
Cinque Terre, https://amzn.to/2PfTgyS
Sword & Sorcery, https://amzn.to/2soCmVC
Pandemic, https://amzn.to/2LNWB6m
Star Realms, https://amzn.to/38q3CUm
Hero Realms, https://amzn.to/38vUwFJ
Forbidden Island, https://amzn.to/2PHndqH
Forbidden Desert, https://amzn.to/2LPqK4W
Gloomhaven Music Note Solo Playthrough, https://youtu.be/RxyxTOgooZI

**---Ask The Bellhop---00:14:39**
This week we’ve got a question from S Darkwell who writes:

"A few months ago, I began a bi-weekly ish gaming night. My friends provide the location, and my girlfriend and I provide the games and teach them to play.

I've come to realize that I'm atrocious at describing how to play board games. I'm relatively new to these games myself, but if I were to simply sit down and play, I could do so without issue. The moment it comes time to teach others, however, my mind becomes scattered and I begin forgetting even fundamental rules. I regularly spend hours watching board game review/how-to-play videos, but they don’t seem to have improved my teaching skills in any meaningful way.

I suspect the issue is that in any given situation, my focus snaps to the social aspects of the environment. When I should be describing the board game, I'm instead noticing whenever anyone shifts their weight, glances elsewhere, or moves a component.

The irony is that in the past, I’ve been hired to give informative presentations on stage in front of hundreds of people and never had an issue. Something about the smaller more-personal environment makes teaching board games a far greater challenge.

Firstly, do you have any recommendations on how to better teach board games in general?

Secondly, do you have any suggestions on how to maintain focus on teaching the game instead of the people in the room?

Thank you in advance for the advice and be well!"

Links:
Ep. 5 - Back to School, https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast/ep005/
Ep. 23 - Second Semester, https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast/ep023/

**---Announcements---00:43:44**
Newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter. Get weekly updates about everything going on at The Bellhop in your mail. https://newsletter.tabletopbellhop.com https://newsletter.tabletopbellhop.com 

No December AMA
Since the last Wednesday of December is Christmas day we will be cancelling our December AMA.

A Call for Questions
We’re here to answer your questions, this show only works if we’ve got questions to answer….

**---The Game Room - Dead Man’s Cabal---00:45:35**
A review of Dead Man’s Cabal from Pandasaurus.

Dead Man’s Cabal https://amzn.to/35cp0ub

Written Review on our Blog: Dead Man’s Cabal. One of the most uniquely themed board games I’ve ever played: https://tabletopbellhop.com/game-reviews/dead-mans-cabal-review/

**---The Bellhop's Tabletop---01:08:47**

A look at what games hit our tabletops over the last week.

Carpe Diem, https://amzn.to/2PKeyE2
Imhotep Builder of Egypt, https://amzn.to/2EdlHHj
Imhotep A New Dynasty. https://amzn.to/2spJ5P9

**---VIP Guest Shout Out---01:24:31**
Head over to the Tabletop Bellhop Blog where you can read more about today’s topics and more.
The Tabletop Bellhop Blog: https://tabletopbellhop.com

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