Components info for games you don't own

[Freila]

There is often a list of components in the official rules (which you can't always find), but even those aren't always detailed. The Love Letter rules say that there are 16 cards, but I don't know what exactly those cards are. There could be 2 of each kind, or an uneven distribution.

Knowing details like this can help with strategy like guessing your opponent's hand or knowing what might come next from the deck, but I don't know the best way to find out specific stuff like that. So far I've had mixed success from just playing the games and examining what happens, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a better way?

[Cheery Dog]

If the rules don't directly state the components list, then really playing it multiple times to learn the differences is the only way.

Unless you're likely to psychically pull out a second Carcassonne set of tiles to count when playing it in real life (or online I guess), it's no difference knowing it or not.

Love letter which you bring up is really easy though to know what the cards are and the amount of them, the board on BGA literally tells you. (1 Princess, 1 countess, 1 king, 2 prince, 2 handmaid, 2 baron, 2 priest and 5 guard).

There are some games like Toe Sham Bo that are more hidden however. But simple math (and learning the amount of undo/bomb) can help you solve such simple games.

[jhessejones]

Your best bet for this is looking over the BGG forums and files, but it is unlikely to find anything that detailed.
Part of the fun of the game is playing it more to gain a deeper understanding.
Innovation is a very good example of this.
Carcassonne is as well, but my rulebook actually lists the tile distribution on the back, which is a nice reference if you're planning on placing a tile that has 0 chance of ever being completed.
Love Letter being such a small deck will only take a few plays until you're familiar with all the cards.

[Freila]

@cheery dog I didn't realize those numbers were the amount of cards, thanks!
@jhessejones Yeah, trying to figure it out myself can be fun sometimes. It can take a lot of effort getting used to games with a large quantity/variety of components though, so I was just looking for an "easy mode" for when it's less fun.

It seems I'll just have to study the games and learn from experience. Thanks for the advice and help.