My typical experience of opening up a new board game with friends involves one person reading the rules for about 15 minutes while other people sit around awkwardly.
We want every player drawn into the world of Aethermon from the moment players first open the box.
Upon opening Aethermon, players will find a deck of cards labeled “Start here”. This card begins the tutorial in the form of a dialogue that directly addresses the players from one of Aethermon’s more significant NPC’s.
By addressing players directly from an intradiegetic narrator (a character who belongs in the world), Aethermon immediately begins to familiarise players with the theme and tone of Aethermon.
This tutorial will direct players from one card to another, demonstrating the core mechanic by which players will navigate quests in Aethermon.
Each subsequent card will walk players through one element of setting up Aethermon, beginning with the board (themed as setting up a map so players can track each other) ending with players selecting their Aethermon partner.
Once this is complete, players will be guided through a single turn of overworld movement and a single battle encounter, ensuring all players are appropriately equipped to begin their adventure.
This process ensures all players begin the game with the level of knowledge necessary to continue the game.
Of course, Aethermon will have a typical rulebook. And the tutorial will be entirely skippable – though I would note that the equivalent of buttonmashing in a board game is randomly drawing and discarding cards…
Stay on your toes AetherRen