Beginners get thrown into the real Science Puzzles after level 4 of the Intro Puzzles. Many people do not realize there are more intro puzzles, or that they have not learned all the tools they need to be successful at the Science Puzzles.
The tutorial should wait until beginners have completed at least level 5 of the Intros. It should also provide an explanation that the Intro Puzzles are not complete yet, and that they are just being given a "taste" of the real thing.
Just for your information:
In the past, the game client would direct new players through the entire sequence of intro puzzles before they are directed to a "real" science puzzle. Some players found this too boring, so the compromise was to have new players alternative between a set of intro puzzles and "real" science puzzles. In both cases, the option to manually switch between the intro puzzles and the science puzzles is available through Menu -> Puzzle Menu.
Your thoughts are in alignment with mine to a degree.
Thanks infjamc - I understand the desire to make things more fun than just doing the intros. But at minimum, I think the tutorial needs to make it more clear what is happening.
Recently I've been answering a lot of questions in the (<15) puzzle from other beginners who think that they've finished all the Intro Puzzles, when in fact they have not. They are totally confused by all the stuff in the Science Puzzle that has not yet been explained to them.
I myself was under the same false assumption that I was done with the Intros. When I was thrown into the (<15) Puzzle after level 4 of the Intros, I was so frustrated with being unable to perform well (due to lack of knowledge of the available tools) at that I nearly uninstalled Foldit.