I've gotten and given quite a few red thumbs on this site over the 'let's not discuss strategy in chat while the hidden-info game is underway' issue. And in most cases it's pretty clear-cut to me - making comments about what's going on can reveal things about what you see and know, which defeats the purpose of the game, and I'm always going to be annoyingly scrupulous about that.
But the first round can be a grey area. Especially with players of various skill levels present, it might be reasonable to establish conventions/preferences/make sure everyone knows the rules of the current game version/etc. (Yes, you can put conventions in table settings, but some people might need to ask what they even mean.) But the cards are already visible. If you say something like 'just checking, are bluffs okay?' and when people say yes, you immediately give a bluff clue...doesn't really feel fair.
So: table launches. All cards are facedown. Allow time for greetings and getting on the same page. Once all players have clicked a 'reveal cards' button, the game proper begins and lips can (and should) stay zipped.
This could be a table option or maybe even the default.
But the first round can be a grey area. Especially with players of various skill levels present, it might be reasonable to establish conventions/preferences/make sure everyone knows the rules of the current game version/etc. (Yes, you can put conventions in table settings, but some people might need to ask what they even mean.) But the cards are already visible. If you say something like 'just checking, are bluffs okay?' and when people say yes, you immediately give a bluff clue...doesn't really feel fair.
So: table launches. All cards are facedown. Allow time for greetings and getting on the same page. Once all players have clicked a 'reveal cards' button, the game proper begins and lips can (and should) stay zipped.
This could be a table option or maybe even the default.