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[Aidan Millow]

If you want a simple first game then I'd vote for no durations. People who don't know the game will sometimes have a horrible time remembering when and when not to discard them and get their benefits.
I'd also avoid attacks that scale in multiples as multiplayer games can get ridiculous with them.
There are also some cards with choices that new players simply won't know what to do with and you should avoid them as well.

Hence I'd rule out the following:
Pawn, Swindler, Saboteur, Torturer, Tribute, Embargo, Haven, Lighthouse, Native Village, Ambassador, Fishing Village, Caravan, Pirate ship, Sea Hag, Merchant Ship, Outpost, Tactician, Wharf.

Here's some things that you probably want in your first game.

Terminal Draw:
Courtyard, Masquerade, Steward, Nobels, Ghost Ship

A Village:
Shanty Town, Mining Village, Nobels, Bazaar

Virtual Money and +buy (the latter being contained in the former here):
Secret Chamber, Steward, Baron, Bridge, Conspirator, Minion, Cutpurse, Navigator, Salvager, Bazaar, Treasury

An Attack:
Minion, Cutpurse, Ghost Ship

A cantrip:
Great Hall, Wishing Well, Mining Village, Upgrade, Pearl Diver, Bazaar, Treasury

Here's a possible suggestion:
Courtyard, Shanty Town, Wishing Well, Bridge, Nobels, Smugglers, Warehouse, Cutpurse, Salvager, Bazaar

[LastFootnote]

EDIT: Second set: Native Village, Secret Chamber, Lookout, Swindler, Conspirator, Island, Bazaar, Merchant Ship, Torturer, Trading Post

This doesn't seem like a good set at all as an introductory game. Two cursers = yuck. Not to mention you have in there two cards using mats and Conspirator seems a little too advanced to try and get working in a first game.

I think having an attack in your first game is useful - many people enjoy smashing up other players, and the interactive element is good. I think cursers are a lot less good, since many people in their first game are already usually building barely working decks, and curses just make things all the worse.

I think the best second game is a very slightly tweaked version of the first game.

Dudes, the guy said that he needed to run two games simultaneously and that one of them would have new players. The second game there is NOT intended to be the played by the first timers. It's for the folks at the other end of the table. Get it?

[Davio]

I propose the following cards:

Caravan: A simple Duration yet loved by all
Pawn: A great little helper (drop this if players are AP prone)
Wishing Well: Getting it right gives players a good feeling
Bazaar: You can almost always use this
Upgrade: Trashing can be good, especially if you get better cards in return (or none if you trash Copper)
Nobles: You mean Estate, Duchy and Province are not the only VP cards? And they get choice!
Scout: Yes, seriously, only to show that not all cards are great But with Nobles, they might get some use out of it
Sea Hag: Such a simple curser, but can be very effective
Navigator: Simple, yet effective at times
Ironworks: Shows them you can gain cards during the action phase, lots of $4-'s on this board to use it on

[pedroluchini]

Suggested in the Seaside rulebook:

• Play your Durations in a row above where you normally play your Action cards
• At the end of your turn, sweep all the cards from the bottom row into the discard
• At the start of your turn, move the Durations from top to bottom row

[LastFootnote]

Suggested in the Seaside rulebook:

• Play your Durations in a row above where you normally play your Action cards
• At the end of your turn, sweep all the cards from the bottom row into the discard
• At the start of your turn, move the Durations from top to bottom row

I have found this to be less useful than the play-it-sideways method, especially when space is limited. Often in decks that have a lot of Actions, I'll be creating several rows for my cards anyhow, Duration or otherwise. I often put my just-played Durations above my other cards, but I also play them sideways when doing so.

[LastFootnote]

I propose the following cards:

Caravan: A simple Duration yet loved by all
Pawn: A great little helper (drop this if players are AP prone)
Wishing Well: Getting it right gives players a good feeling
Bazaar: You can almost always use this
Upgrade: Trashing can be good, especially if you get better cards in return (or none if you trash Copper)
Nobles: You mean Estate, Duchy and Province are not the only VP cards? And they get choice!
Scout: Yes, seriously, only to show that not all cards are great But with Nobles, they might get some use out of it
Sea Hag: Such a simple curser, but can be very effective
Navigator: Simple, yet effective at times
Ironworks: Shows them you can gain cards during the action phase, lots of $4-'s on this board to use it on

OK, here's why I chose my suggested set:

Courtyard: A light draw card with a simple choice attached.
Lighthouse: Helps the game feel more interactive without slowing it down.
Shanty Town: The simplest cheap village between the two sets.
Smugglers: Introduces the idea of a card gainer and adds a bit of extra interaction without slowing the game down.
Caravan: Simple Duration.
Cutpurse: The simplest Attack card between Intrigue and Seaside. Shouldn't get too out of hand in a 3-player game.
Explorer: A simple build-up-your-money card.
Upgrade: Introduces the idea of trashing a card to get a better card.
Wharf: A simple expensive Duration and introduces the concept of extra buys.
Harem: A very simple card that introduces the idea of Kingdom Treasure and Victory cards and makes a good Smugglers target.

There are a lot of reasons I prefer my set to yours.

• The first game is likely to be slow anyway as people learn the rules. Sea Hag is going to turn that first game into an interminable slog. Cutpurse introduces Attack cards in a less oppressive way.
• I specifically left out "Choose one" cards in the first game, again because new players are already making a bunch of new choices about what to buy.
• I thought about adding Bazaar instead of Shanty Town, but I think it's better to have a cheap village in the first game.
• The difference I feel most strongly about is Smugglers vs. Ironworks. Smugglers is way simpler, more compelling, and adds interaction to the game. I don't even think there's a contest there.

I think Wishing Well is a good card for a first game, I'll give you that one.

[Polk5440]

There are a lot of reasons I prefer my set to yours.

• The first game is likely to be slow anyway as people learn the rules. Sea Hag is going to turn that first game into an interminable slog. Cutpurse introduces Attack cards in a less oppressive way.
• I specifically left out "Choose one" cards in the first game, again because new players are already making a bunch of new choices about what to buy.
• I thought about adding Bazaar instead of Shanty Town, but I think it's better to have a cheap village in the first game.
• The difference I feel most strongly about is Smugglers vs. Ironworks. Smugglers is way simpler, more compelling, and adds interaction to the game. I don't even think there's a contest there.

I think Wishing Well is a good card for a first game, I'll give you that one.

I feel the same.

On Sea Hag: With 3 or more players it's just going to be unfun. With relatively new players, I have NEVER had people say they had fun after a Sea Hag game. The problems usually stems from a few things: An inability to see how important trashing is, dislike about Sea Hag not doing anything useful, third seat obviously gets the worst of it, and new players' refusal to play a slog-style game when they ignore trashing making the game EVEN LONGER.

On "Choose one": Same feelings. It's partly why I put in Embargo over Pawn and Island over Nobles.

Why I chose my set:

How about this:

Embargo, Warehouse, Wishing Well, Treasure Map, Island, Ironworks, Scout, Duke, Minion, Treasury.

Disjoint from LF's first set suggestion (so it can be played at the same time). Also can handle everyone, if you decide to play a 5 or 6 player game, instead.

No villages. It will be much simpler to follow (no "trees" of actions from experienced players). No plus buy (shows importance of Ironworks/gaining. No crushing megaturn).

No durations. For those who were concerned about that.

Treasury: a pseudo-duration, provides virtual money, and is very simple. My friends also really love the card.
Warehouse-Treasure Map-(Ironworks): Everyone loves gaining golds. Everyone has a chance to win with Treasure Map on the board.
Island: interacts with IW, provides alt VP, provides the only "trashing".
Minion (> Sea Hag): A light attack that won't be out of control in this kingdom.
Embargo: so Curses aren't just sitting on the table, and provides interaction.
Scout and Wishing Well: targets for IW, are fun to play, provide some draw, and interact reasonably well.
Duke: more alt VP. I think it's important in multiplayer for people to feel like they can go for different strategies and have a chance. Gives non-Treasure Map/Province people an out. Duchy dynamics are more interesting.

[itchiko]

Here would be my proposition:
Haven, Lookout, Warehouse, Shanty Town, Treasure Map, Cutpurse, Bridge, Treasury, Tribute, Harem

Why those cards:
- Treasure Map: i think that's a very good card for beginner, very easy to understand and very rewarding to make it work. That can give them a starting point to have an idea of what their short term strategy will be.
- Lookout: voluntarily the only trasher because it is pretty easy to understand that will doing nothing for you now it will help you next hand. The fact that trashing is actually good lo,g term should be left out of the first games, as it is often confusing for new players.
- Haven: good Treasure Map enabler. The duration is easy to explain. The fact that it rets in place between turn is very self explanatory.
- Warehouse: another good treasure map enabler. and easy card to pick understand. Plus since they will certainly not trash any coppers, it will works okay on non optimized deck.
- Shanty Town: the village of the board, plus they can potentially find the combo with warehouse/haven which are nothing great but would be rewarding for those that makes it work.
- Cutpurse is the simplest, less damaging attack of those 2 sets and helps seeing the interaction. (plus it gives an incentive to trash copper with lookout)
- Bridge is the +buy of the set to understand the concept of +buy.The good thing with bridge is that it is immediately rewarding of actually using that +buy even without a mega turn.
- Treasury because that is a strong 5 cost card that could not go wrong. It also may give some player the plan to try to accumulate plenty of it.
- Tribute: because that is a great card to show interaction between players that is not too aggravating for the receiving player. Since the deck will be a bit of everything anyway it should work correctly and offer a swingy luck based card for the high risk high rewards type of players.
- Harem: a good and simple alternate victory point card. To explain dual-type cards and to give mid terms objective to the player, without penalizing them for greening too early. It also give some good reward to play tribute that should be fun for new players.

All in all it is a pretty weakish board with nothing crazy. It has a lot of nice interaction here and there and new player would not be penalized too much to try all the card they wants. It also introduce most of the base concept. But everything should be working nicely, there are 2 plans that are easy to spot for beginners (Treasure Map, Treasury stack). Most of the cards are cheap so bad decision at the start of the game should not be penalizing too much and plenty of interaction.

[LastFootnote]

One other issue I have with Davio, itchiko, and Polk5440's sets are that they only have two options at $5 and neither is a powerful terminal. Tribute is close, but I wouldn't count it. I actually think that the fact that the Base Set's suggested first set has only two options at $5 is also less than ideal, but at least it has Mine. The Base Set dates from back when Donald thought $4 was the most important cost, so there you go.

Polk, I do like your set in general. I might swap out Minion for Ghost Ship just to have a $5 terminal.

[itchiko]

One other issue I have with Davio, itchiko, and Polk5440's sets are that they only have two options at $5 and neither is a powerful terminal. Tribute is close, but I wouldn't count it. I actually think that the fact that the Base Set's suggested first set has only two options at $5 is also less than ideal, but at least it has Mine. The Base Set dates from back when Donald thought $4 was the most important cost, so there you go.

Polk, I do like your set in general. I might swap out Minion for Ghost Ship just to have a $5 terminal.

While i understand the theory i thing that learning that terminal 5$ are usually critical is the same as learning to trash your starting deck: an important lesson if you want to go and play Dominion Correctly but something that can be left out of the first game. The first game should be all about exploration of possibilities and having fun with under-optimized decks.

Plus on the 2 sets available the option for terminal 5 are:
Trading Post, Tribute, Explorer, Merchant Ship, Wharf
Saboteur, Torturer, Ghost Ship

So removing the strong attack that will be pretty unfun for beginner especially in multi-players game.
I would vote Trading Post out since its purpose is not very easy to understand for beginner. And i would definitely veto Wharf: way too strong a card for a first game, and the card is not especially fun anyway, just stupid strong.

Of the 3 left my preference was to Tribute, but i guess Explorer or Merchant Ship would work as well but am i not sure either of those 3 qualify as powerful terminal anyway.

[LastFootnote]

One other issue I have with Davio, itchiko, and Polk5440's sets are that they only have two options at $5 and neither is a powerful terminal. Tribute is close, but I wouldn't count it. I actually think that the fact that the Base Set's suggested first set has only two options at $5 is also less than ideal, but at least it has Mine. The Base Set dates from back when Donald thought $4 was the most important cost, so there you go.

Polk, I do like your set in general. I might swap out Minion for Ghost Ship just to have a $5 terminal.

While i understand the theory i thing that learning that terminal 5$ are usually critical is the same as learning to trash your starting deck: an important lesson if you want to go and play Dominion Correctly but something that can be left out of the first game. The first game should be all about exploration of possibilities and having fun with under-optimized decks.

Plus on the 2 sets available the option for terminal 5 are:
Trading Post, Tribute, Explorer, Merchant Ship, Wharf
Saboteur, Torturer, Ghost Ship

So removing the strong attack that will be pretty unfun for beginner especially in multi-players game.
I would vote Trading Post out since its purpose is not very easy to understand for beginner. And i would definitely veto Wharf: way too strong a card for a first game, and the card is not especially fun anyway, just stupid strong.

Of the 3 left my preference was to Tribute, but i guess Explorer or Merchant Ship would work as well but am i not sure either of those 3 qualify as powerful terminal anyway.

Well, look at it this way. Your set has three terminal Actions and they all cost $4.

I think Trading Post is a perfectly fine choice for a first game. Turning Estates and Coppers into Silvers has obvious value. Would you also say that Mine isn't a good card for a first game?

And by "powerful" terminal, I really just meant a $5 terminal. Terminals can have more powerful and interesting effects because they don't give +1 Action.

[KingZog3]

One other issue I have with Davio, itchiko, and Polk5440's sets are that they only have two options at $5 and neither is a powerful terminal. Tribute is close, but I wouldn't count it. I actually think that the fact that the Base Set's suggested first set has only two options at $5 is also less than ideal, but at least it has Mine. The Base Set dates from back when Donald thought $4 was the most important cost, so there you go.

Polk, I do like your set in general. I might swap out Minion for Ghost Ship just to have a $5 terminal.

While i understand the theory i thing that learning that terminal 5$ are usually critical is the same as learning to trash your starting deck: an important lesson if you want to go and play Dominion Correctly but something that can be left out of the first game. The first game should be all about exploration of possibilities and having fun with under-optimized decks.

Plus on the 2 sets available the option for terminal 5 are:
Trading Post, Tribute, Explorer, Merchant Ship, Wharf
Saboteur, Torturer, Ghost Ship

So removing the strong attack that will be pretty unfun for beginner especially in multi-players game.
I would vote Trading Post out since its purpose is not very easy to understand for beginner. And i would definitely veto Wharf: way too strong a card for a first game, and the card is not especially fun anyway, just stupid strong.

Of the 3 left my preference was to Tribute, but i guess Explorer or Merchant Ship would work as well but am i not sure either of those 3 qualify as powerful terminal anyway.

Well, look at it this way. Your set has three terminal Actions and they all cost $4.

I think Trading Post is a perfectly fine choice for a first game. Turning Estates and Coppers into Silvers has obvious value. Would you also say that Mine isn't a good card for a first game?

And by "powerful" terminal, I really just meant a $5 terminal. Terminals can have more powerful and interesting effects because they don't give +1 Action.

Except Rebuild.

As for first games, put 1 non-punishing attack card. Don't put cursers. Something like Militia is good, because it looks like a good card and everyone can open with it, and it doesn't feel too hurtful. Also what I do is tell new players exactly what I'm going to do. I'm doing Smithy-BM, and explain what that is exactly, then I tell them they can do what I'm doing or they try something else and I point out a basic, but different strategy.

Don't put durations. Don't put Throne Room. Don't put one shots like Feast or Mining Village since they aren't that much fun if you don't know when to use them. Put a trasher that's obviously good, like Remodel or Moneylender. Put some card draw. Smithy is good for that. Don't put special treasures or victories, even Great Hall because it messes with how many point are available which is not how you should learn the game.

That's how I teach beginners. I was told later that it was a good thing I didn't start with heavy attack cards because that would have made my friend not want to keep playing. And don't destroy them. Play a less optimal strategy so that they feel like it's actually possible to win. Of course it depends on who's learning, but I often teach people who aren't big board game players and don't catch onto strategy as fast as others do.

[Joel]

Courtyard: A light draw card with a simple choice attached.
Lighthouse: Helps the game feel more interactive without slowing it down.
Shanty Town: The simplest cheap village between the two sets.
Smugglers: Introduces the idea of a card gainer and adds a bit of extra interaction without slowing the game down.
Caravan: Simple Duration.
Cutpurse: The simplest Attack card between Intrigue and Seaside. Shouldn't get too out of hand in a 3-player game.
Explorer: A simple build-up-your-money card.
Upgrade: Introduces the idea of trashing a card to get a better card.
Wharf: A simple expensive Duration and introduces the concept of extra buys.
Harem: A very simple card that introduces the idea of Kingdom Treasure and Victory cards and makes a good Smugglers target.

We had only three players, and thus only needed to play one game at a time, so I used this as an introduction. It worked well. The new player bought too many terminals, as expected (2-5 for Courtyard-Explorer and then Cutpurse-Wharf next shuffle), but still had a reasonably functional deck. I didn't buy Cutpurse and the other two players did, so they never had to discard two coppers in a turn.

When we play Duration cards from our hands, we play them sideways. When we resolve each one at the start of our next turn, we turn it right-side up. Then you just have to remember not to discard sideways cards during your Clean-up phase, which is pretty easy to do.

This worked well too, I had to remind people to turn their durations at the start of their turns, but people got the hang of playing durations sideways quickly. Thanks for the suggestions! Will have to try some of the other proposed games in this thread in the future.

[Polk5440]

Last weekend I also played two of the sets. 1 New player (had only played 2 games of Dominion before) and two other friends who play Dominion with me regularly (so four player games).

 

This set for the new player(s): Courtyard, Lighthouse, Shanty Town, Smugglers, Caravan, Cutpurse, Explorer, Upgrade, Wharf, Harem

(I went last; it's usually a good enough handicap). One went Courtyard-Explorer-money, three of us went for variations on a Wharf engine (including new guy). Three of us had a Cutpurse, I think. We all grabbed Lighthouses to various degrees. My deck was the best of the engines (and everyone knew it) and I was one turn away from pulling out front, when in one turn around the table (mostly thanks to Smugglers) a bunch of Shanty Towns and Wharfs got gobbled up.

The new guy had $6 and 2 buys and sat and thought for a moment. "The game ends when three piles are empty, right?" He bought 2 Shanty Towns. Lighthouses, Wharfs, and Shanty Towns were gone. He won 9-6-6-3!!!

Quick game.

Embargo, Warehouse, Wishing Well, Treasure Map, Island, Ironworks, Scout, Duke, Minion, Treasury.

Second game, people were more aware of three piling concerns.

(I went third, new guy went first). New guy went CRAZY on Ironworks-Treasure Map-Warehouse (well, I prompted him on warehouse a little when he was about to buy a wishing well...). Treasure Maps, Duke, and Embargoes were pretty quickly Embargoed. One player went Minions and money, another went Treasury, Warehouse, money. Neither of them picked up IW, so the Embargo scared them away from TM. I went for Ironworks-Island-Scout-Wishing Well. I ended up grabbing a Minion at some point. Turned out pretty well. 

At the end, I did have the most impressive Island and 41 points, but new guy won with 42 points!!!

[Davio]

I love it when new players beat me with unorthodox strategies; especially in multiplayer these funny things can happen.

Real life 3p with casual players is still my preferred way to play.