Comment by jordanwallwork

For most games you _don't_ study a manual for hours. Of course there are some crazy epic games for really hardcore gamers, but rule books for mid-weight game tend to take 5-15 minutes to read through and then you're ready to play, and a lot of people enjoy that time - familiarising yourself with something new, trying to understand what makes it tick. I personally find it an enjoyable ritual. Depending on the quality of the rules / complexity of the game, the first play through might be a bit ropey, but it's usually fine, and after that you're left with something that you can get hours and hours of fun from. Board games are awesome