Why players left the games club

An original fictional information text for reading practice.

The student games club asked former members why they had stopped coming. The organiser expected most answers to mention difficult rules. Instead, the replies described several problems with how the sessions were run.

New arrivals often found every table halfway through a game. Nobody explained whether they should wait, watch or interrupt. When a place did become available, the experienced players sometimes explained all the rules at once. A newcomer could not tell which details mattered immediately and which would become relevant later.

The room was noisy enough for quiet explanations to be lost. Some players agreed that they understood simply to avoid asking for the same instruction again. A few replies also mentioned jokes about slow decisions. The speakers may have intended friendly teasing, but the people receiving it felt that they were spoiling the session.

The club’s finishing time was another difficulty. Long games regularly ran beyond the advertised end, leaving members to choose between an unfinished game and their bus home. The collection of games had also become narrow: several respondents wanted cooperative games, but nearly every table used a competitive one.

Finally, the online announcements described a session as “full” when all games were allocated, even though someone might still be welcome to watch and join a later round. Former members read the word as a reason not to turn up at all.

Summarise, in your own words, the reasons former members gave for leaving the games club.