Hydras in Newbie Queue

[WhemeStar]

First off I apologize if someone has already brought this topic up already and I'm just making another thread about this.

I've been thinking for quite some time and I was wondering why don't we have hydras in newbies? I think having 1 max in a game and the hydra has to consist of 1 SE or IC player and 1 newbie. I believe this would be beneficial to newbies because they can learn how to play in hydras, and also learn how to play better by someone more expirence than them.

I've played in 2 hydra games so far. And both of them I gave up on the game and my hydra partner got mad at me (same partner both times). So I think allowing 1 hydra per game in newbie queue would help the newbies learn how to play in a hydra.

[Gamma Emerald]

They're too confusing

[WhemeStar]

Also to add on.

Instead of a hydra why not a mentor thing? Where am SE player gets a private chat with a newbie and helps the newbie play the game. But isn't in the game himself

[mhsmith0]

I think that kind of idea would be fine in like micro queue. But that's confusing to newbies and probably gives an edge to those with mentors, unless you think ALL newbies should get mentors, except that would never have enough mentors to work. Like, it's hard enough finding ICs; expanding the # of people who have to commit to teaching and being held to a solid standard is not really gonna work, sorry

[WhemeStar]

Who cares if they get an unfair advantage? They want to be helped so they should be. Also I don't really think it would be a pain to expand the queue because current SE and IC can sign up to be a mentor.

It would also help bring in more people IMO. As people would be more willing to play if they had someone helping them.

[Alisae]

Hydras are not normal.
Therefore they should not be in newbies.

[Ircher]

Hydras are not normal.
Therefore they should not be in newbies.

[Plotinus]

I like hydras, but no.

[Nexus]

Hydras are not part of a 'normal' mafia experience, therefore we should keep them away from the Newbie queue forever.

[RadiantCowbells]

That said, the idea of setting up a way for newbies to hydra with experienced players NOT in the newbie queue may be something worth considering!

[mhsmith0]

there's actually a thread on it, but I think there's just overall been not much interest. if someone really took over ownership of it, might help tho.

[RadiantCowbells]

The thread is very easy to miss. I was thinking something actually in the queue forum.

[Cheery Dog]

Hydras are not part of a mafia experience, therefore we should keep them away forever.

FTFY

[hiplop]

It's a neat idea but not one I think is practical.

[TesXX]

What if they had two sections of the newbie queue.
They could have one section that's recommended for your first game and operates like a regular newbie game, and then another section that could have hydras, ad experiment with new setups and stuff, but it's overall still for teaching newbies, and maybe would be best for a second or third game.

[Plotinus]

opens are kind of like newbie games but with hydras and new setups

[T-Bone]

Really, games outside the Newbie queue should also be newbie friendly. But that's a site culture issue, not a queue one. There's no reason playing with a hydra should be a negative experience in any queue.

[callforjudgement]

Some games can't be newbie-friendly due to their nature (e.g. ones that heavily distort mechanics, which rely heavily on in-jokes about site culture, or which are likely to drive a non-enfranchised user away from the site due to just being too weird).

However, I try to make the rest of my games as newbie-friendly as possible. If a completely new player signs up for one I'm likely to have a chat with them by PM during signups in order to ensure that they anticipate what games on this site are likely to be like, but if they seem to understand what's going on and want to play, I'll help them out there.