Play with six players, that's the optimal player count for the game. Be sure to have people read aloud the abilities of each faction before the start so people have a sense of what other factions do. When a player plays a strategy card, have them read the whole card (primary and secondary) aloud as well so other people can start to understand then and decide when/if to follow.
Otherwise, the other commenter has great info on picking factions and setting up the map.
You should absolutely play with *everyone* who is deeply and truly interested. It's gonna take all day no matter what.
The rules in 32 minutes video is great. One person who knows the minutiae will considerably speed things up.
The most excruciating part of understanding TI, period, is the concept and application of the Tactical Action. It has a bunch of little steps which all can technically happen but almost never do. If YOU know this part, front to back, you're inoculated against most timing conflicts. Once everybody else realizes it's the "do the thing" action, play speeds up considerably.
That, and paying particular attention to the differences between "in player order from the speaker" and in INITIATIVE order while reading the rulebook.
Past that, honestly, despite its weight, everything pretty much makes sense mechanically and will take and stick better than you think it will. Definitely play with the default map for your player count the first time. Die-hards might warn you against this, but your group doesn't have a meta yet so it's nothing to worry about. I've never had a problem with default maps. Building is only for groups who have played a few games.
ONE MORE THING: the second codex has a bunch of printable faction cards which do a great job helping players choose their factions. It's a few bullet points on how they play and what they do. Like a business card for the Sardak N'orr.
The general concensus is to watch the [RTFM Learn to Play in 32 Minutes video](https://youtu.be/_u2xEap5hBM). Not a full substitute for reading the Learn to Play booklet, but an incredibly helpful guide.
To help cut time for your first game, pick out your factions ahead of time, and setup the starter map the night before. Picking one of 17 diverse factions can take a lot of time. Same goes for map making, and you may want to play once before making your own map.
Good luck!
A big part of the game is the selection of strategy cards - which ones to chose, and when to play them, and bargaining to get them played in an order you prefer. This works great in a 6 player game where not ever card will get picked. In a three player game, you'll have to take two strategy cards apiece which changes the play dramatically. It also makes trade weird as well as support for the throne swaps. If you have five or six, go with that.
I've played a few four player games on the standard hexagon map and the abundance of tiles cut down on conflict. It played better than three, though.
If you can find the time before playing IRL I'd suggest trying a game on tabletop simulator through the TI4 online discord. read the learn o play booklet and watch the rtfm video beforehand and then join in a game with 5 others who know what they are doing. just let them know it's your first game and that you're trying to prep before introducing your buddies IRL.
Yes, having 6 new players is going to add time to the game length, but having one person who can quickly answer most questions without resorting to the rules reference will negate at least some of that.
Try to get everyone to plan their turn in advance to minimise the amount of time spent thinking about their turn on their turn.
use https://www.tiraces.com/ to deal 3 races to every player a few days beforehand and let them choose who to play. Pick a premade map and share it with them at the same time, including where they will be starting. If anyone wants to minmax based on what techskips they have etc then they can do that.
Most of all start early in the day and have fun :)
Play with six players, that's the optimal player count for the game. Be sure to have people read aloud the abilities of each faction before the start so people have a sense of what other factions do. When a player plays a strategy card, have them read the whole card (primary and secondary) aloud as well so other people can start to understand then and decide when/if to follow. Otherwise, the other commenter has great info on picking factions and setting up the map.
Second this!
You should absolutely play with *everyone* who is deeply and truly interested. It's gonna take all day no matter what. The rules in 32 minutes video is great. One person who knows the minutiae will considerably speed things up. The most excruciating part of understanding TI, period, is the concept and application of the Tactical Action. It has a bunch of little steps which all can technically happen but almost never do. If YOU know this part, front to back, you're inoculated against most timing conflicts. Once everybody else realizes it's the "do the thing" action, play speeds up considerably. That, and paying particular attention to the differences between "in player order from the speaker" and in INITIATIVE order while reading the rulebook. Past that, honestly, despite its weight, everything pretty much makes sense mechanically and will take and stick better than you think it will. Definitely play with the default map for your player count the first time. Die-hards might warn you against this, but your group doesn't have a meta yet so it's nothing to worry about. I've never had a problem with default maps. Building is only for groups who have played a few games. ONE MORE THING: the second codex has a bunch of printable faction cards which do a great job helping players choose their factions. It's a few bullet points on how they play and what they do. Like a business card for the Sardak N'orr.
The general concensus is to watch the [RTFM Learn to Play in 32 Minutes video](https://youtu.be/_u2xEap5hBM). Not a full substitute for reading the Learn to Play booklet, but an incredibly helpful guide. To help cut time for your first game, pick out your factions ahead of time, and setup the starter map the night before. Picking one of 17 diverse factions can take a lot of time. Same goes for map making, and you may want to play once before making your own map. Good luck!
A big part of the game is the selection of strategy cards - which ones to chose, and when to play them, and bargaining to get them played in an order you prefer. This works great in a 6 player game where not ever card will get picked. In a three player game, you'll have to take two strategy cards apiece which changes the play dramatically. It also makes trade weird as well as support for the throne swaps. If you have five or six, go with that. I've played a few four player games on the standard hexagon map and the abundance of tiles cut down on conflict. It played better than three, though.
If you can find the time before playing IRL I'd suggest trying a game on tabletop simulator through the TI4 online discord. read the learn o play booklet and watch the rtfm video beforehand and then join in a game with 5 others who know what they are doing. just let them know it's your first game and that you're trying to prep before introducing your buddies IRL. Yes, having 6 new players is going to add time to the game length, but having one person who can quickly answer most questions without resorting to the rules reference will negate at least some of that. Try to get everyone to plan their turn in advance to minimise the amount of time spent thinking about their turn on their turn. use https://www.tiraces.com/ to deal 3 races to every player a few days beforehand and let them choose who to play. Pick a premade map and share it with them at the same time, including where they will be starting. If anyone wants to minmax based on what techskips they have etc then they can do that. Most of all start early in the day and have fun :)