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Any good ideas? I convinced her to play Arkham Horror and she eventually liked it. I convinced her to play Twilight Struggle and she eventually liked it. I convinced her to play Wrath of Ashardalon and she immedialty like it, but this game she just can't get into!
She says it's the theme and the dice rolling. Now she is much more of a Euro gamer, but I got her to play the games I listed above so I don't know why this one rubs her the wrong way. I know that it is a bit complex and the theme is very niche, but the gameplay is really good! Any advice? Have any of you had better luck with a signifigant other?
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David Taylor
United States
Austin
TX
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Some games just aren't for some people. Just to check: you did start off with the first scenario right?
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A Brave New Geek
United Kingdom
Southampton
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Hahahaha!!!! I am in exactly the same boat that has now sunk. My wife loves Arkham, Twilight Struggle, Mage Knight etc. though the line was drawn at Earth Reborn.
I am trying to convince myself that I will find another player..... 6 months on. :-) Great game though. You could see why a girl would probably not find it that appealing though.
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Andy Andersen
United States
Newark
Delaware
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If you find a way, let me know.
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Was George Orwell an Optimist?
United States
Corvallis
Oregon
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DH 0001 wrote: I convinced her to play Arkham Horror and she eventually liked it. I convinced her to play Twilight Struggle and she eventually liked it. I convinced her to play Wrath of Ashardalon and she immedialty like it...
You should be giving me advice. If I were you, I'd count myself lucky and recruit somebody else to play Earth Reborn with.
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DTaylor wrote: Some games just aren't for some people. Just to check: you did start off with the first scenario right?
I actually think the scenarios were part of the problem. We played scenario 1-3 and she didn't like the idea of there being a lot of rules she didn't know and couldn't use or the fact that since there is only one objective you could plan effectivly, but find yourself in bad shape because of some bad dice rolls (which she had). So we jumped ahead to a game of SAGS a few days ago with all the rules and she did say she liked it better...or rather hated it less 
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Luke Stirling
Australia
Southbank
Victoria
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In the end I made the choice to cut my losses in attempting to get my wife to join me playing Earth Reborn. Though she was willing to keep trying, after five games I decided it wasn't worth the slim odds that it would suddenly get interesting for her. There are lots of games that we play together. Turned out that Earth Reborn was not fated to be one of them.
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Joshua
United States
Wolverine Lake
Michigan
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I just got this game and my wife is actually geeked about playing it. She keeps asking me if I've finished the rules yet so we can play it.
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Andy Andersen
United States
Newark
Delaware
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Joshua the Gamer wrote: I just got this game and my wife is actually geeked about playing it. She keeps asking me if I've finished the rules yet so we can play it.
OK, are you happily married or is this just some fling? 
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mks
Poland
Kerguntuil
Côtes d'Armor, Bretagne
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My wife likes the game very much. In fact there are some times she wins for both sides some scenarios because, as she claims, this is more of an intuition-oriented game, rather than a strategic, all-the-way-optimization one.
Anyway, it seems in either case better to treat ER like an adveture game - just for the fun of it.
It's true, however, that we are still a couple of scenarios from the torture rules. Nevertheless, the zombie theme doesn't seem to bother her. She tends to prefer the Salemites and to call them 'her little zombies'...
But in reality I think it's mostly because of the quality of the game in comparison with some other games I played with her that makes it so super.
@Daniel: you can use the 'intuition' argument for convincing her
good luck!
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Joshua
United States
Wolverine Lake
Michigan
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Orangemoose wrote: Joshua the Gamer wrote: I just got this game and my wife is actually geeked about playing it. She keeps asking me if I've finished the rules yet so we can play it. OK, are you happily married or is this just some fling?
There is a secret to my happy marriage. I wont tell you however, because you're a packers fan
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Wade Nelson
United States
Saint Louis Park
Minnesota
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I finally got my wife to try Earth Reborn this past weekend. She thought the theme and style looked ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome, I say.
Here's what (I think) helped me get her to try it:
1) I read the rules necessary for Scenario 1, the game's backstory, and both factions' backstories.
2) I asked her to help set up the board. She likes puzzles so this not only made setup quicker, it helped spark her interest.
3) I gave her a quick 5-10 minute rundown on the Apocalypse and the story behind the two factions, with some of my own flavour thrown in. There may or may not have been much eye-rolling, but I tried to keep her entertained.
4) Gave her a quick rundown of the scenario backstory. Then I asked her which side she wanted to play. She wanted to try to save Vasquez.
5) Went through the rules just as they are in the book for Scenario 1, but more concisely since I had already read them. Explained what info she needed to know on the character card, how to move, interact, close combat, doors, and breaking down doors and walls.
6) We started the game. I helped her out here and there by pointing out what my characters' abilities were. I tried to keep the pace of the game up without rushing her turns, the core motivation being having fun with the game.
And...
7) She had a lot of fun. Vasquez died to Jack Saw, but only because Frank failed to break through a wall for the escape at a crucial moment. Vasquez still had a chance to run for it, but her poor close combat ability spelled her doom when I cut her off outside the building at one of the corners. We discussed that Vasquez would be a lot more awesome in later scenarios when she would actually be able to use her (ahem) guns, ooohed and ahhhed over some of the other abilities we'd get to use in the future.
8) I asked her the final, "What'd you think?" "That was fun," came the reply! I noted that Jeff Dealer might have left some brown streaks when he came sprinting out of the bathroom stall... "Stupid," came the reply, complete with eyeroll, but this time with a smile.
I've had this game on the shelf for probably six months or so. Bought it way back in the Tanga deal. It took this long to get her to play it. But I didn't force the issue, and that is always key.
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"She thought the theme and style looked ridiculous" - This is usually enough to keep some people from playing a game. It may be a good game but it's theme and style holds no appeal to them so they won't even bother.
Imagine something you have no interest in...say taxes? Your friend brings you IRS the game one night. They claim it has amazing game play and narrative. You notice that it "looks" boring as it doesn't have much art and the theme isn't coming through. The pencil and paper note-keeping seems fiddly and the rule book is huge. You can't really connect with the minimalist look of the game and it seems very mathy. In fact the game looks like more work than fun. It just doesn't look appealing and it's theme holds no interest for you as you are not into economic games. Maybe it's the best game ever, but it sure doesn't look like it.
Some people would still give the game a shot, but others wouldn't touch it unless they were bribed.
My wife is a good sport and will play most games with me, but some of them she just can't get past the theme. Probably nothing short of straight up bribery would get her to play Blood Bowl Team Manager or Conflict of Heroes. But she will happily play any co-op I throw at her as long as it's not about sports or historical conflicts.
I could probably get her to play Earth Reborn, but she would probably find the full game overwhelming, and the direct conflict intimidating. If it was a co-op adventure though she would love it.
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Jan Tuijp
Netherlands
Volendam
Noord-Holland
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pixel pusher wrote: IRS the game
Brilliant. Even better than Jesus Monopoly.
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Thanks for all the responses and tips. I actually just got Star Trek: Fleet Captains (for 48 bucks no less at cool stuff games!) and so we are going to try that tonight. The victory points through mission cards structure is somewhat similar to ER and since she likes the Star Trek theme better I'm hoping that this might be a good bridge back into playing ER one day...
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