Teaching new players is an art form I have been developing for years. The single most important insight I have reached: never teach the full rulebook before playing. Identify the minimum rules needed to begin a meaningful game, explain those, and address edge cases as they arise. Most rulebooks are organized for reference, not pedagogy.

For Wingspan: explain the action selection, the bird card drafting, and the basic egg mechanics. Skip bonus cards for the first game. Play with fewer rounds if needed. The engine will feel obvious once it starts running.

For Terraforming Mars: explain the resource track, the card types, and one or two corporations. Let the cards teach the special rules. Skip Venus and the special rules cards for beginners.

For Spirit Island: start with Earth and Lightning. Avoid the higher complexity spirits until the core loop is understood. Play against Level 0 adversaries for the first two sessions.

The goal is not to teach the whole game — it is to create a moment where new players feel agency and see the system working. Once that clicks, they will ask questions themselves.