Too many options.

When you decide to play a new game that has too many options, whether of the video or tabletop variety, you may run into the problem of analysis paralysis.

I'll give you a couple of examples. In Blood Bowl you have to pick a team. In Total War you have to pick a faction/nation. In Cyberpunk 2077 you have to pick a life path and a character build. These are the games currently spinning around in my head, but there are so many others. In Magic the Gathering you have to pick a color or colors for your deck, in Warmachine you pick an army, in chess you pick... no there are only two choices in chess. I'm sure you get the idea by now.

So how do you pick a side? This is my system.

Step 1. The Rule of Cool.

What looks the coolest to you? Which style speaks to you the most?

In Total War Warhammer, I went with the Vampire Counts first, because I like fantasy Gothic and the undead, simple as that. In Blood Bowl I went with Dark Elves. On my first Cyberpunk 2077 character I went with a nomad and stealth and pistols.

In these examples I had an idea that it would work, because I knew a little about the games, but my choices were based mostly on style.

Step 2. Playstyle.

What kind of playstyle speaks to you the most?

In Blood Bowl, some teams are slow, tough and hit hard, some are fast, agile and dodge trouble and some are a hybrid. In Total War Warhammer, some factions are masters of ranged combat (usually the elves), some are slow and “indestructible” (dwarves) and some do both (Empire). In Cyberpunk 2077, you can't spec your character into everything, so you need to choose the style you need. Fast brutal frontal assault or sneaky precise infiltration? Quick hacks or a time slowing sandevistan?

Before making a choice try to look at how the faction you like the looks of, actually plays in reality. 

 

Step 3. Try Again.

Never be afraid to start over and try another team.

Sometimes Step 1 and 2 don't fit together at all. You may really like the aesthetics of a faction but hate the way they play. This is when you have to re-evaluate. In video games that is easy enough, just grab the next team/faction etc. and try again, but in tabletop that is harder. After all, if you have just put a couple of hundred monies on an army and you don't like it you can't switch just like that.

This is when research becomes important. Read some guides and watch some games before you decide, and you'll be in a better position. If you are talking about video games like I am, then starting over is completely valid. There is no point in forcing yourself to finish a game with a team you don't like just to be stubborn. Re-roll and be happy.

Step 4. Research.

This final rule may seem like a bit of an obvious point to make, but watch some videos before you decide, particularly with strategy games. Story driven games like RPG's can be spoiled, but strategy games are all about the experience. Then again, you should probably do a bit of research before you put down your hard earned money on any game.

Hopefully this is of some help to someone, your method may be different, but this is how I like to do it.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!