Jinx is spot on. Definitely learn all the abilities you can from the weapons and armor you equip! It'll help you in the long run.

If you want to play the jump rope mini-game in Alexandria, be prepared to have massive amounts of patience if you want to get all the prizes.

Be prepared to play the card game and have no idea what's going on.

Most importantly just remember to have fun. Enjoy the side quests and the colorful NPCs. This is a fantastic game. I loved that moogles were save points and helping deliver letters through mognet.