how to keep magic players

G

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Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (More info?)

i was also wondering if any of you had any advice on how to keep
exsisting players and attract new players. at the store i play at we
have been losing all our players i've played at this store since it
opened about a year and a half ago and i'm very loyal to it and want to
make sure it keeps magic tournaments going. but last saturday we only
had 4 people show up. we're pretty casual and play for fun most of the
time and it lets us actually be creative and build decks the way we want
and not have to netdeck to win. well any advice or help you have is
appreciated.
 

Doyle

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Apr 13, 2004
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Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (More info?)

spyderman82@webtv.net (J H) wrote in message news:<22070-408DA774-110@storefull-3154.bay.webtv.net>...
> i was also wondering if any of you had any advice on how to keep
> existing players and attract new players.

Where are you? If you are in a smaller town or a place that is overrun
with card shops there may be a limit on how many players you can
attract. A town with a good number of students has a fertile player
base. If your shop can reach out to other gamers in the community you
might be able to recruit some new gamers. As a player, do you have
some friends that don't play? Some acquaintances?

What sort of events do you run? The more specialized your tournaments
are the fewer players will be attracted. Vintage tournaments are
likely to be sparsely populated. Standard tournaments draw a decent
crowd. Draft tournaments and sealed deck tournaments are open to the
largest crowd. Prereleases and preview events generally draw out the
casual gamers from their kitchens and basements. Leagues offer a means
to play the game with few extra costs. There isn't necessarily much
that you can do as a player about what your store offers, but some
suggestions might be well received.

How open is your shop to new players? To females? Some shops are about
as welcoming as a KKK rally. The players cluster by their friends and
stare at the new people before swooping down like vultures to offer
great trades like Craw Wurm for a dualland. Some shops are poorly lit
and generally grimy. Other shops have beginner common decks available
to newbies to learn how to play the game. Other shops are clean,
well-lit, and friendly. As a player you can go out of your way to
welcome new gamers and help teach them the game. You can make sure
that you clean up the area that you play in.

There are a few things that you can do as a player rather than a store
owner. But the more attractive the environment the more likely you are
to increase your player base.

mypetrock
 
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Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (More info?)

J H wrote:

> i was also wondering if any of you had any advice on how to keep
> exsisting players and attract new players. at the store i play at we
> have been losing all our players i've played at this store since it
> opened about a year and a half ago and i'm very loyal to it and want to
> make sure it keeps magic tournaments going. but last saturday we only
> had 4 people show up. we're pretty casual and play for fun most of the
> time and it lets us actually be creative and build decks the way we want
> and not have to netdeck to win. well any advice or help you have is
> appreciated.

I'd have to know why you are losing players? Are there other stores that are
drawing them away?

For casual groups like yours, the best bet is to post up some flyers in the
store as well as some other areas. Such as a nearby college campus or your
high school (depending on how old you are).

The problem with staying casual is that there is no incentive to play other
than just for fun. A typical FNM tourney has prizes, ratings, and the
chance to play against good competition to prepare for big tourneys like
States or Regionals.

In your situation, I'd talk to the store owner about sponsoring a regular
tournament with some type of prize. It could be just once a month, but it's
something that might draw more people into your weekly sessions.

Ken
 
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Guest

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Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (More info?)

i'm in oklahoma city which isn't that small and i'm friends with the
owner its just that he's lazy about doing stuff, we used to have a big
mage knight crowd and he skipped a few tournaments one month and now its
gone, we're pretty varied in tournament formats exept for type 1, we
don't do it very much, the thing that bugs me is that the store is in a
mall he could attract so many people via prereleases and heck if he
tried hard enough i bet he could get state finals at the mall it drives
me crazy cuz i really like playing there we treat newbies like friends
and don't give bad trades or stomp them into the ground. the store has
potential i just don't know how to motivate the guy. about the only
thing i've been able to do is catch people that walk in and try to get
them to learn how to play. anyways now that i know how dragon works i
think i'm going to start finding some cards heh heh heh. thanks though
you gave me some ideas i might try
 
G

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Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (More info?)

I had a shop, back in the day, and we made up playable starter decks and
sold them for $2, along with lessons for free. Rather than playing for
ante, we gave cards as rewards for the newbie games, but just commons that
would work with their existing deck. It's a cheap investment and shows a
new player that someone is taking an interest in them.

Newbie tournaments are fun, but hard to keep limited to newbies, unless you
really know your customer base. Hence the low value prizes. Even if
someone experienced decides to slip in, they get little in the way of
reward.

If they get hooked, then you start the "fine tuning" lessons, which
inevitably lead to buying non-commons. ;)

JP

"J H" <spyderman82@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:22070-408DA774-110@storefull-3154.bay.webtv.net...
> i was also wondering if any of you had any advice on how to keep
> exsisting players and attract new players. at the store i play at we
> have been losing all our players i've played at this store since it
> opened about a year and a half ago and i'm very loyal to it and want to
> make sure it keeps magic tournaments going. but last saturday we only
> had 4 people show up. we're pretty casual and play for fun most of the
> time and it lets us actually be creative and build decks the way we want
> and not have to netdeck to win. well any advice or help you have is
> appreciated.
>
>