Most of my family loves to play "7 Wonders." I never learned.
Part of it, I will admit, is the complexity of the game. When I sit down for a tabletop adventure, it's to relax and enjoy myself. D&D is fun when there's a story unfolding with a chance to roleplay and use the imagination; it's not as much fun when the rules require special certification and if Chris and Tom spend every round of combat consulting three different sets of rulebooks on how to do the grapplechecks.
7 Wonders, it must be noted, has a set of rules that require more hours of study than my master's degree did.
But part of is also the difference in how my wife and I learn the rules. She reads the rules out loud, in full, to understand them. To be sure, this approach can work if you're wired for it. Rulebooks can teach everything you need to know to play, if that's how you learn.
I don't. I prefer to play, follow the lead of more experienced players. and then check the rulebook once I'm in the swing of things, to clear up vague points. It's not that I don't take rules seriously. It's because with the way I'm wired, rulebooks work much better as reference material once I'm acquainted with game mechanics than they do as an introduction to the game.
This practice has served me well for years. I learn the game quickly, develop strategies based on experience, and then finesse my understanding as I encounter gaps in my knowledge.
