Editor's Note: As we slide into the Christmas season, we'll be dialing down content as we take some time with our families. Thank you for all your support this year!
Just a few years ago, the main topic of conversation was bringing players to the table at your local game shop. The same concern is very much alive and well, but for different reasons. Today, I can find 19 different Armories listed within 30 minutes of me. This has become good and bad for players of the game. Choice is on the side of the player; but with a large number of gatherings, the player base is spread wide, and can make attendance at any given event lackluster. If we had one Armory for the entire city, we'd have enormous events that no game shop would be able to run effectively!
Ideally, as players we would meet somewhere in the middle, allowing for comfortable-sized groups to gather and learn from each other. However, not every player has the same goals.
I don't want to focus on bringing in new players. If that's information you desire, check out this great article by Joey Senart. Instead, I'd like to talk about making your community the best it can be, from identifying the goals of your players to being intentional about your climate.
Style of Play
Most of us are familiar with the various formats in Flesh and Blood. Classic Constructed, Blitz, Limited, and to a lesser degree Ultimate Pit Fight are prominent mainstay formats. And while you might think I'm going to spend a paragraph talking about the formats available, they're just a piece of the equation when discussing playstyle.
Across dozens of conversations, I have heard people say that X notable players are in their scene, and a name drop or two of someone who has won a Battle Hardened, Calling, or even larger scale event. One friend reminds me that “My scene is stacked. The Card Guyz are local”. Another group tells me of multiple individual players that reside there.
That advertisement is a blessing and a curse all in one. The competitive-minded individual should be thrilled at the opportunity. I can play and learn from one of the best! Plato himself once wrote, “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation”. Approach and learn from these individuals the best you can.
As for why, I always love the story of the four minute mile. The four minute mile was once thought impossible to do. In 1954, Roger Bannister finally broke the record. Since then, knowing it was possible and seeking to beat the record, over 1700 athletes have broken beyond the 4-minute threshold. In essence, once something has been done, it paves the way for further success.
Most big names players don’t have an apathetic scene of uninterested non competitive players to learn from. They find a scene or outlet to learn from. This aids in raising the ability of their community in addition to their own!
If you are a competitive-minded player, you should be chomping at the bit to play the big names in your local scene. That said, we also have to realize that there exist a portion of the community who don't wish to play a cutthroat game executing mental gymnastics for 3 hours or more straight. These players should also be given their time to shine.
Do we need to distance the competitive community from the casuals? By no means! These two can absolutely co-exist. Competitive players do need to be mindful of the goals of their opponents and foster a learning environment. Context does mean a lot. If you find yourself facing a casual player at a Pro Quest, you're not expected to throw the game. At your weekly Armory, I challenge you to look at these games differently. As a competitive player these are perfect times to stretch your deck to its limits. Ask yourself about playing different styles with your deck - your aggro or fatigue deck, executed as midrange. Finding and trying exercises like these can be great for your discovery in your own deck and ability.
As I said before, context means everything. Your goal shouldn't be to throw a game, but make it a learning experience for yourself and the other person. Take care that your interactions do not come off as gloating. “Wow! I didn't think I could pull that off without any Art of Wars!” - you may be saying this as a testament of how you or your deck performed in an unusual situation, but the casual player may hear, “This guy is so bad, I don't even need my good cards.”
Keep in mind the implications of what you say.
The other thing that happens is that all of the casual players attend one store and the competitive players attend another. While this isn't a horrible thing to happen, we want to be careful this doesn't make an Us vs Them situation where neither group really has an interest in the other. Players get into the game best in a casual setting, unless you are pitching to a hyper-competitive individual. Many players do want to continue up the mountain after their initial investment. They likely don't want to show up to an event and be completely destroyed, but will start asking questions as they look into competitive events.
Plug In To Your Community
How do you connect the right people with the groups that match their goals and skills?
This sounds like a no brainer, but you should make some friends within your community. Don't limit this to just your local game store - maybe you want to broaden it to your whole state. While you should already know everyone at your Armories, the next piece can be introducing yourself to the people you see at your Road to Nationals, Pro Quests, and Skirmishes.
Create a group chat in messenger, discord, or a phone tree. You'll find that, contrary to popular belief, people don't always check the FAB events page and go to all the events they see. Likely they attend events that they discover via social media or word of mouth.
Also, show vested interest in the scene. If able, show up to someone else's events. Showing interest in their scene will, in turn, make them interested in yours. At the end of the day, a community will work and operate on different levels, ranging from the kitchen table to LGS to state and, yes, even larger still.
There are a couple of other benefits to adding the personal touch to the community as well. Having personal relationships within your community is going to increase retention. It's easy to leave a game when you don't feel you'll really be missed, just that your seat will. It becomes a lot harder when most of your friends also play the game.
The last benefit you'll see from this is it'll make any large trips you decide to do cheaper. When I attend any travel event - such as a Calling - I am surprised by the number of people I know who are there. Content creators, players from different game stores, players from past travel events, competitive players, and the roster just keeps growing. Use your resources and be a resource for your communities.
Foster the Right Atmosphere
Atmosphere is important when inviting new players and bringing them back week after week. No one wants to visit an unpleasant place week after week - but let me talk about some great examples.
The Board Room of Charleston, West Virginia is, at it's core, a local game store. But it also has so much more. Mood lighting, tabletop gaming, a family-friendly atmosphere while at the same time providing a place to get your great local brews. What The Board Room strives for is a casual place to enjoy and talk with friends, all the while creating the feel of being at your local bar. The store is very clean, and it appeals to all ages. This creates the perfect environment to bring players from different walks together and have a respectful and great time. Having an ideal medium does wonders for fostering the community.
Atlantis Hobby in Mankato, MN has a unique feel as well. While they are clearly a tabletop gaming store, the fish tank and fish appliances all give to the mood.
Dumpster Cat Games in Minneapolis, MN is a small store located on the side of a pizza joint. The small, tight-knit community brings players back. Not because the store feels like a dumpster, but because the owner cares about the community and offers fantastic prizing.
While I could go on naming multiple game stores in various locations across the US, they are not one-size-fits-all, and most have a unique feel. Not to sound like a broken record, but a lot of what can give that game store a unique feeling is the community housed there.
Take Pride In What You Have
One of the most important pieces you can have to protecting your community is to be proud of it. Whether you have 4 or 40, you should always uplift and help one another. Let's take the LGS as one example. The standard LGS employee can only process so many things at once. Every person that comes through the door will not hear that they are playing Flesh and Blood on Thursday nights. If you prioritize giving your money to the LGS and they see you as a loyal group, they will want to invest in you. Most LGS owners don't want to carry a dwindling game. It's increased risk and the more product that sits on the shelves the riskier it may seem. If you are buying what you are able to from the LGS, they are more likely to support you, and be proud of their community as it is faithful to them.
New players aren't wanting to show up to an event that you tell them “We only really have four”. If you say you have “A dedicated group of four really cool people that are a blast to play the game with” it has a much greater impact when inviting others to join. Other players checking out your store may feel better about bringing a friend to your LGS than their own. Never take what you have for granted because no other store has that. Likely, no store will replace it when it's gone.
When a local game store is lost, it's seldom replaced.
I invited a friend of mine to play his first Flesh and Blood game at a store called Enchanted Blade in Dennison, Ohio. The community was welcoming, and it created a place that he decided to revist several times. The owner himself was a Flesh and Blood player, and I would regularly catch him at large-scale events. Sadly, Enchanted Blade is no longer open for business. The community is still together via discord, but its closing did make a ripple in the local community. The sad but important piece is, it's not there. Likely, no one will create what it had.
So remember to take pride in your community no rather the size. Show the same appreciation to the LGS owner who lays out space for you to run your own event as the one who buys your group fajitas during your PQ. Lastly, take pride in your character and atmosphere.
Don't Simply Re-Allocate - Build!
Also understand that we are a community. Whether you have 1 store or 20 in your area, the goal is not to destroy another community. It's to grow yours.
Be mindful of all the limitations that players may have. Their selection most likely is not a personal attack against you. While time and money are important to everyone, we all have priorities we need to attend to. I'm a father of 3, which has limitations on my free time. I wish I could attend an armory every day, but it's not feasible. Others have monetary duties. Inflation has taken a toll on not just FAB players, but other TCGs as well.
Understand there may be other motivations for not attending your event. For those that are vocal, it becomes easier to say, "I'm leaving the game because I don't like it's direction” vs “I'm leaving the game because I can't financially sustain it”.
Attacking other groups, or pitting communities against each other, are likely not going to make your community seem any better. If you take players away from another store, they might very well move again. We want to ensure we are fostering our community and doing so in an uplifting manner. The more that are focused on this, the better.
In Closing
I think everything we said today can be summed up as being positive. Yes, players get burned out on meta, players need a break, or there can even be a set that you just aren't interested in. All of those things are perfectly ok. If you find yourself in that position but still want to be involved, then it's a great time to be an advocate for your local scene. If you want to bring in new players, special events are still a great way to do so. Welcome events, pre-releases, social play nights, are all great opportunities to bring your friends in. If you just want to bring a friend to your weekly Armory, that's a good time too!
The news doesn't always cover the happy “fluff” pieces because that doesn't generate viewers. Reports of crime, war, and disease generally flood our feeds because that is more likely to get a click than the good Samaritan donating to the homeless shelter. Likewise, negative twitter posts are going to get all of the attention. Wild stances or users on a “soap box” are going to have the largest audience. Most saying such things aren't looking for a resolution. They are looking for views. But amid all the doomsaying that permeates every TCG, there's so much more good happening. Focus on the positive, and find growth on the bright side.
