most of what I learned was from the tutorials,I would download & print them.  I kept a list near by as I learned the keyboard stuff.  once I had some basics, I would just go in & pull some verts around & see what happens. I'm not at all familiar w/ the game stuff.  I tried yafray some but prefer the internal renderer, it's just easier for me. I've played w/ a few other 3d apps. I felt they were like corel,"clunky". I personally like the creative freedom blender gives me. very fast & efficient. once you "get it" your gonna like it.   I've purchased both manuals [mostly to support blender]   I personally found them difficult to follow. maybe just cause I'm old.  [I found the graphic work in the 2.0 guide some of the best  I've seen]