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[Morgrim7]

Recently I have started to give lessons to two of my sisters. This is assuming they know Basic Big Money, th benefit of trashing, and can normally pick out a decent BM/X strat and play it out. Be sure they are completely confident and comfortable with Dominion before trying this.
Here they are:
Lesson one: Engines. Introduce basic engines, and set up a board from Base only that contains base only. The board must also contain these cards: Council Room, Smithy, Village, Festival. Ask them to find the sources of +Actions an +Cards, and explain to them a +Cards and +Actions engine. Tell them to play this engine. Also tell them that you will play Smithy BM and carry it out. Let them win at all costs.

Lesson 2: Engine helpers. Set a more complex board, containing these cards: Border Village, Wharf, Peddler, TR or KC, Courtyard, and Worker's Village. Review last lesson. Ask them to find the +Cards and +Action on this board. Explain to them how some cards can help this engine, and see if they can find them (Peddler and TR/KC are the helpers). If they can, have them do a Border V. Wharf engine with Peddlers and TR/KC. Tell them you will play Wharf BM, and carry that out. Let them win.

Lesson 3: VP rushes. Same technique, have them do Workshop/SR or Gardens while you do BM X. This time, though, do not tell them what strat you will play.

Keep going on, introducing more decks and how to build them. Eventually, stop choosing the inferior strat, do not tell them what strat to play, and start going harder and harder.

Thoughts?
 

[Young Nick]

I don't think the "win at all costs" part is necessary. I'm not saying you should play optimally, but certainly go at least 75%. That way they will know if they haven't passed the course yet, so to speak.

[Morgrim7]

I don't think the "win at all costs" part is necessary. I'm not saying you should play optimally, but certainly go at least 75%. That way they will know if they haven't passed the course yet, so to speak.

I dunno. My idea with that was to show them that engines are good and they can beat BM a lot of times. Because if you beat them playing BM+X
while they are playing an engine, wha does that say about engines?

[werothegreat]

Chapel usually merits its own lesson.  Whenever I finally introduce Chapel to a player, I always tell them "Trash every Estate and Copper, even if that means not buying anything that turn."  They look at me like I'm crazy, but they usually do - and they are always pleasantly surprised with what it does for their deck.

I've been trying to get across the benefits of trashing in general, by encouraging use of Remodel and Mine in the First Game setup.

One of my friends, who was struggling to beat me for the longest time, I had him construct every kingdom we played with - put in +Actions, a draw, a +Buy, a trasher - and have him figure out a good strategy for it.  Now, he wins about half the time.

[Morgrim7]

Good idea. That lesson should be before the engine ones.

[philosophyguy]

Sometime after the Chapel lesson, I give my friends a lesson in using Actions for coin rather than Treasure. We play with the friend going Minion-Chapel vs. my Smithy-BM. That setup illustrates the idea of action chains, using engines for cash, and the power of attacks.

[Morgrim7]

I think that they will think that too confusing. Maybe introduce that in a later lesson.

[ftl]

A while back, I gave a 2-player dominion engine-building lesson. I have the lesson plan here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TRVImznfSm9ZqIaXK0zq0T6LkhxMmcnjnxCmGa2HysI/edit . The sets I had at the time were I think Base, Intrigue, Seaside.

Worked in my case.

[HiveMindEmulator]

Lesson one: Engines. Introduce basic engines, and set up a board from Base only that contains base only. The board must also contain these cards: Council Room, Smithy, Village, Festival. Ask them to find the sources of +Actions an +Cards, and explain to them a +Cards and +Actions engine. Tell them to play this engine. Also tell them that you will play Smithy BM and carry it out. Let them win at all costs.

Given just these cards, are you sure Smithy isn't BM actually better than an engine? How do you convincingly let let them win when playing the stronger strategy?

I do think you have to let people play bad strategies just so they learn about how the engines work, but if you want to lose, you can't play a stronger strategy...

[Morgrim7]

Oh, there are plenty of ways to lose.
-At the end of the game, secretly sneak some of your Provinces back into the box. Works every time.
-Sometimes when you could buy Provinces, only put down some of the money an buy Gold.
-At the end of the game, use that tactic to hit sevens and fours a lot.
-Overbuy Smithies.
-Rush Duchies way too early.

[mnavratil]

I have tried to take the opposite approach. I will often play the 'good' concept and beat the new player and then show them the concepts I used to win that particular game.

I think it is easier to show people how to play Big Money, and then show them that engines are good by beating them with the engine? This is especially true since many of the Big Money variants are much easier to play 'correctly'.

[Kahryl]

I really dislike it when a superior player teaches me a game by telling me what to do and why all my moves are wrong. Hello, it's a game!

When I teach someone Dominion, I stick to clarifying the rules and answering THEIR tactical questions. To make it interesting, I handicap myself by skipping a turn every x turns.

[ftl]

Kahryl does bring up the point - you should tailor your lesson to the person being taught, and what they would have the most fun with.

[shraeye]

Kahryl does bring up the point - you should tailor your lesson to the person being taught, and what they would have the most fun with.

Fun is paramount.  Dominion is super fun if you allow it to be.

[Eevee]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

[werothegreat]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I would, but the tumblbeast keeps popping up.

[Eevee]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I would, but the tumblbeast keeps popping up.

Damn em tumblers!

[Eevee]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I would, but the tumblbeast keeps popping up.

Damn em tumblers!

Its actually working fine for me?

[Insomniac]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

..Mafia ruins dominion skills.

[shark_bait]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

..Mafia ruins dominion skills.

Still.... above.... 40....

@Eevee, I'd recommend taking a solid minute or two before buying your opening buy.  I find that I almost always play better when I have thought through all aspects of the game and recognize exactly what I want to buy, how I will buy it, and when I will buy it.  This way, I don't get halfway through the game and realize that I missed an interaction with the cards.

[werothegreat]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I would, but the tumblbeast keeps popping up.

Damn em tumblers!

Its actually working fine for me?

I'm in!  Cleared my cache.  Want to play?

[Grujah]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I am level 24 but I own you anyway, if you log on now I can teach you stuff.

[Eevee]

.. anyone want to give me some? I've lost like 8 ranks in the past month (peaked at 44, will probably be 35 tomorrow judging by the fact I yet again have lost every single game I played today).

Seriously, if anyone wants to play a couple of games with me and tell me what the heck is wrong with my game, I'd appreciate it. Recently my winrate against people 10 levels lower than me is easily less than 50%. I'm definitely playing way worse than I  once played, but I dont have the slightest clue what the problem might be.

I am level 24 but I own you anyway, if you log on now I can teach you stuff.

Sadly cant play atm, but can confirm you own me.

@shark_bait

Thanks, I'll try to keep that in mind!

I actually realized I have started to try building engines and taking risks much more often than I used to. I feel I play big money pretty well, so maybe this less safe approach is part of the reason I do worse than I did earlier.

[Kuildeous]

I'm in!  Cleared my cache.  Want to play?

But you didn't clear the two coppers? Sloppy play. 

[werothegreat]

I'm in!  Cleared my cache.  Want to play?

But you didn't clear the two coppers? Sloppy play.

Maybe I'm going for a Coppersmith/Counting House engine.

[Kuildeous]

I'm in!  Cleared my cache.  Want to play?

But you didn't clear the two coppers? Sloppy play.

Maybe I'm going for a Coppersmith/Counting House engine.

Aha! Well, carry on then.