Great leaders are not born, they’re made. Or, maybe more to the point, you can’t expect to lead a great game night without a little preparation and practice.
1) Read through the games ahead of time. Make sure all necessary supplies are prepared and in place at game time.
2) Have a couple of fall-back games prepared in case one of your planned activities falls flat.
3) Understand the rules of the games backwards, forwards and inside-out.
4) Run through the games ahead of time. Make sure you can explain the game quickly, particularly if your group is a little squirrelly.
5) Have an upbeat attitude. Depending on the group you might need to be unnaturally “bubbly” to generate enthusiasm.
6) Keep things moving. If a game doesn’t take off don’t let it die a long slow agonizing death. Kill it and move to another activity.
For some slapstick game pointers check out the 7 Sins of Game Leading.
