Board Game Party Schedule
Board Game Party Schedule
[Caption above:] Board Game Party Schedule
[A timeline is shown, from about 6PM at the top to about 11PM at the bottom. Events are displayed as white rectangles, labeled as follows:]
before 6PM: people filter in 6:00–6:25: small talk 6:25–6:55: debate which game to play 6:55: remember that you need to order food 6:55–7:15: debate where to order from 7:15: pick a place, order 7:15–7:40: pick a game and start setting up 7:40–8:20: explain rules to new people 8:20: food arrives 8:20–9:00: eat food 9:00–9:27: resume setting up 9:27–9:52: more explanation 9:52–10:13: restless faction tries to start simpler game 10:13–10:38: general debate 10:38–10:57: “It will make sense once you play” 10:57–11:10: finish setting up after 11:10 PM: people head home

This comic shows a timeline of a gathering to play some sort of fairly complex board game.  These games often have many pages of rules, and a long setup time.  Often the very complex rules must be explained in detail, which can be extremely dull in a group environment.
Conversely, just beginning like at the time entry point "it will make sense once you play" without explanation often leads to new player frustration that, had they had a complete understanding, they would have made different choices and had a more reasonable chance at victory, or even worse, avoided constantly being informed of "illegal moves".
In addition, since it's a party, there are other activities that take place in addition to playing the game, notably ordering and eating food.
By the time you eat, prepare the game, and teach the new players, little time is left to actually play the game. This comic exaggerates this dynamic, for in the timeline, no one gets to play the game at all. Often during these gatherings the frustration with the factors above cause people to suggest settling on a simpler or more well known game.
The title text observes some of the guests supposedly playing a fictional [ citation needed ] board game, Meta Board Game Party – a game about board game parties. Because the quoted rule states that arguing in the "breakaway faction" is worth more victory points, it would be optimal strategy for them to do just that, for as long as possible. This seems to be a sarcastic explanation as to why they tried to get the whole group to play some other game and turned the ensuing debate into 45 minutes of bickering.
[Caption above:] Board Game Party Schedule
[A timeline is shown, from about 6PM at the top to about 11PM at the bottom. Events are displayed as white rectangles, labeled as follows:]
before 6PM: people filter in 6:00–6:25: small talk 6:25–6:55: debate which game to play 6:55: remember that you need to order food 6:55–7:15: debate where to order from 7:15: pick a place, order 7:15–7:40: pick a game and start setting up 7:40–8:20: explain rules to new people 8:20: food arrives 8:20–9:00: eat food 9:00–9:27: resume setting up 9:27–9:52: more explanation 9:52–10:13: restless faction tries to start simpler game 10:13–10:38: general debate 10:38–10:57: “It will make sense once you play” 10:57–11:10: finish setting up after 11:10 PM: people head home
