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Author Topic: I want to start Organized play at my local store HELP!  (Read 2510 times)

Dravidius

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I want to start Organized play at my local store HELP!
« on: December 06, 2013, 04:07:51 PM »
Hey all,

I want to start organized play at my local store.  Where do I start and or what do I do.  If I am posting in the wrong area, kindly show me to the correct area and I will thank you. 

Cheers.

Dravidius

The Dude

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Re: I want to start Organized play at my local store HELP!
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2013, 07:44:56 PM »
Hey man! that is fantastic that you love the game enough to want to spread the word!! There are a few simple steps that you can take to help ensure it's success:

1. The first step will be to find players in your area. This might be the hardest step, depending on where you live, but you would be surprised at the number of people that would really enjoy this game. If you don't have any players yet, well, make some! If you already have a local game store, you have a perfect place to demo right there!! I would take to the Store Owner, or the Store Manager, about setting up and advertising a day in the future that you may use to demo the game. They might also have a demo copy of the game that you can also use to further gain more people to demo with. You can go to this link here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/klm2g6egim6hqyz/Mage_Wars-How_to_Teach_Mage_Wars.pdf
to download a small pdf called "How to Teach Mage Wars". This brief but incredibly informative guide will get you up and running a game in no time. In fact, that is what our demo guys use to learn from when we go to conventions to teach the game to up to eight people at a time! I would also look at maybe buying a second copy of Mage Wars if you don't have one, so that you can build up to 8 apprentice spellbooks, because depending on how crowded that demo gets, you may need them. This is by no means necessary, of course, and you can just as comfortably do four people at a time as well as eight. Make sure you talk about the game as much as you can to people who don't know anything about it. This has gotten a lot of otherwise uninterested players into the game who simply did not know the game to realize how awesome it is!

2. Now that you have established a player base, I would suggest you talking to your Store Owner about purchasing a Play Kit. There are three of them out right now, but it is only the beginning. The first is Mage Wars: the Fight for Etheria. It includes prizes, storylines, and interesting win conditions for you and your friends to talk about later on down the line.

3. Set up a good time of week/month for your players as well as your game store to come in and play. You can also establish an Event Organizer if you don't want to be one, it may even be as simple as talking to one of the employees who is interested in the game!

4. Have fun!! This is the most important aspect of the whole shebang, and cannot be excluded with any hope of success!!

Well, I hope this helps man. These are the steps I took to get my first local demo running, and they worked wonderfully. I hope the same for you.


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tom

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Re: I want to start Organized play at my local store HELP!
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2013, 11:43:30 AM »
I would talk to the store owner and make sure he is cool with you starting a group that meets and plays in his store.  Coordinate with him to find the best times to run the group.  You don't want to organize an event only to find out when you get to the store that there is another large event scheduled for that day!

Advertise the heck out of your event.  Make up some flyers for the store to hang up, talk it up with your friends and make some posts on the internet.  When I run events I make threads both here and on BoardGameGeek announcing them.  Also keep a close eye on your announcements and answer potential players questions promptly.  You might be surprised by just how many people live in your area and are looking to meet up and play.  That being said, temper your expectations.  It will take time to forge a group of players.  Start small and keep plugging away and I am sure your group will grow over time.

I have met a ton of great people so far playing Mage Wars and I can't wait to meet more.  Stay positive and have fun with it.
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ringkichard

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Re: I want to start Organized play at my local store HELP!
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2013, 03:01:15 PM »
I have to chime in here that Tom knows of what he speaks, and I wouldn't drive an hour to play with him if it were otherwise.
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