Ĉi tiu tabulludo ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua.

Ĉi tiu means this.

Esperanto often forms demonstratives like this:

• tiu = that
• ĉi tiu = this

The little word ĉi adds the idea of nearness. So:

• tiu tabulludo = that board game
• ĉi tiu tabulludo = this board game

You may also see tiu ĉi, which means the same thing. So both of these are correct:

• ĉi tiu tabulludo
• tiu ĉi tabulludo

Both mean this board game.

Esperanto often makes compound words by joining smaller meaningful parts together.

tabulludo is made from:

• tabulo = board
• ludo = game

So tabulludo literally means board-game, or more naturally, board game.

This is very normal in Esperanto. Compound words are extremely common, and they are usually written as a single word.

In Esperanto, ne usually goes directly before the thing being negated.

Here:

• estas = is
• ne estas = is not

So:

• Ĝi estas longa = It is long.
• Ĝi ne estas longa = It is not long.

In your sentence, ne negates the whole statement:

• Ĉi tiu tabulludo ne estas... = This board game is not...

That placement is the normal Esperanto pattern.

Tiel ... kiel is the pattern for as ... as.

So:

• tiel longa kiel = as long as

In the sentence:

• ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua

this means:

• is not as long as the first one

A few similar examples:

• Li estas tiel alta kiel mi. = He is as tall as me.
• Ŝi ne estas tiel rapida kiel sia fratino. = She is not as fast as her sister.

So if you see tiel + adjective/adverb + kiel, think as ... as.

Because the sentence is expressing equality comparison, not greater-than comparison.

Compare:

• tiel longa kiel = as long as
• pli longa ol = longer than

With negation:

• ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua = is not as long as the first one
• estas malpli longa ol la unua = is shorter than the first one

These can be similar in meaning, but they are not exactly the same in emphasis.

• not as long as the first one focuses on failing to reach the same length
• shorter than the first one states the shorter length more directly

It can mean either, depending on context.

• For physical objects, longa can mean long
• For events, activities, books, films, or games, it can also mean long-lasting or taking a long time

Since tabulludo means board game, the natural meaning here is about duration:

• This board game is not as long as the first one

So in this sentence, longa is best understood as lasting a long time, not literally being physically long.

Because unua means first, while unu means one.

• unu = one
• unua = first

So:

• la unua = the first one

This is an ordinal number, not a cardinal number.

Compare:

• unu ludo = one game
• la unua ludo = the first game

In your sentence, la unua refers to the first board game.

In Esperanto, an adjective can sometimes stand by itself when the noun is understood from context.

Here, la unua literally means the first, but in natural English we often translate it as the first one.

The omitted noun is understood to be tabulludo:

• Ĉi tiu tabulludo ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua (tabulludo).

Since repeating tabulludo would be unnecessary, Esperanto leaves it out.

This works in many cases:

• Mi ŝatas la ruĝan. = I like the red one.
• La dua estas pli bona. = The second one is better.

Because there is no direct object here.

The sentence is built around estas (is), which links the subject to a description:

• Ĉi tiu tabulludo = subject
• ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua = predicate description

The accusative -n is usually used for a direct object or for certain motion expressions, and neither applies here.

So the sentence stays in the basic form without -n.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Chee TEE-oo tah-BOOL-LOO-doh neh ES-tahs TEE-el LONG-gah KEH-eel lah oo-NOO-ah

A few useful sound notes:

• ĉ sounds like ch in church
• j sounds like y in yes
• u sounds like oo in food
• a sounds like a in father
• stress in Esperanto normally falls on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• ĉi tiu → stress on ti
• tabulludo → stress on lu
• longa → stress on lon
• unua → stress on nu

Yes. That is also correct.

Both of these mean this board game:

• ĉi tiu tabulludo
• tiu ĉi tabulludo

They are equivalent in meaning. Learners often meet ĉi tiu first, but tiu ĉi is also standard Esperanto.

So your original sentence and this version both work:

• Ĉi tiu tabulludo ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua.
• Tiu ĉi tabulludo ne estas tiel longa kiel la unua.