Hang out at websites like this one, and you’ll hear a lot about the importance of local game stores. I discussed the topic a while back in my “Where to Play” article, and every now and then, I like to mention how your support is integral to the survival of your home store. It’s me doing my part to keep that issue on your radar. Without your patronage, that store won’t last, and you’ll find yourself without a place to play the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game.
Local brick-and-mortar game stores are precious because, when run correctly, they offer you a ton of services and advantages that big-box retailers and online stores just can’t provide. Sure, UncleFloppersCheapCards.com might be able to undercut the real stores in your area due to their lower overhead costs (they don’t have to pay a lease). And Target and Wal-Mart offer you the convenience of grabbing a few packs while you shop for everything else you need (in fact, they might be your only local option if your town isn’t blessed with a strong hobby retailer). Both of these options have advantages, but neither compares to what your local store can offer.
The trick is getting them to offer it.
Today I want to look at what your local gaming store can do for you, and how you can go about encouraging them to do it. If you’re relatively new to this hobby you might not know all the things a gaming store can provide, and sometimes the stores don’t know either. A little bit of initiative on your part can help create a lasting relationship that benefits you, the store, and everyone else in your area, but first you need to know what’s possible.
Weekly Events
The most obvious thing your local gaming store can offer that big-box or net retailers can’t are in-store events. Gaming stores can run sanctioned and reported tournaments for free, drawing players together and giving you a weekly place to compete for prizes, rating, and Honor points. All the store needs is a certified Level 1 Tournament Organizer to run the events.
But really, as nice as local tournaments are, Battlegrounds and Release Celebrations are where it’s at. They attract more people and offer more prizes. As long as the store has a direct account with Upper Deck Entertainment, and most do, they can order Battlegrounds kits. Each kit comes with materials that are used as added prize support, turning your regular local tournament into a Battlegrounds event. There are also extra prizes for Marquee events (bigger tournaments that run just about every month). The Marquees double as Release Celebrations when a new booster set debuts.
The kits are offered on a not-for-profit basis by UDE, so while the store doesn’t get them for free, they’re very affordable for everything that comes with them. Despite that fact, many store managers don’t know what Battlegrounds are, how they work, or just how many more people will come to their stores if they’re offering these events. If you want Battlegrounds at your local gaming store instead of regular sanctioned tournaments, it’s probably as easy as politely expressing that to the person running your tournaments. If the store doesn’t offer sanctioned tournaments to begin with, talk to whoever’s working the till at the time and express your interest. If you’re referred to someone else (it’s common for just one person at a store to handle tournaments), get as much info as you can and contact that individual.
There are two business reasons for a store to run tourneys and Battlegrounds. The first is support for their existing customers, and the second is the potential to gain new ones. There’s nothing wrong with making it clear that you want a particular type of event, but it’s also good to note that others like yourself will feel the same and that the store’s business will benefit because of it. Be prepared to explain what a Battleground event or sanctioned tournament entails. A little homework will help you fill in a store owner or manager who may have never heard of the program. The more info the owner or manager has, the more likely he or she will be to start running events you’re interested in.
A Meeting Place for Players
As fun as throwing down on your own turf can be, meeting friends at a game store for an afternoon of card flopping has a lot of advantages. If you’re like me, your apartment gets a little cramped when you and your four best friends spread their cards (and themselves) all over the place. If you share that living space, your roomies, spouse, family, or significant other may not appreciate a regular procession of your friends. Your local game store probably has plenty of room by comparison—and no qualms about the company you keep. Need some new sleeves? They’re right there. Got a hankering for a draft? I heard you can buy packs at game stores! Whatever you may need, being within six feet of it is pretty darn convenient.
Hanging out at your local gaming store also means that people who wander in are going to see you and your friends playing the WoW TCG. If they happen to be WoW TCG players too, they’ll probably strike up a conversation and you’ll make new friends (and new people to trade with!). If they’re not WoW TCG players, they may be even more interested in what you’re doing—afternoons of casual play are a great chance to introduce new players to the game.
I’ve been to a lot of stores that pack up their card tables the moment tournaments or leagues are over. That’s suboptimal, and a lot of store owners don’t understand that just having those tables out with an open invitation is going to get customers into their stores. By the same token, a lot of players don’t visit their local gaming stores unless there’s an event going on or they need to buy something. Hey, if you’re lucky enough to have a solid gaming store in your area, use it! As long as you’re respectful of the store and buy something every now and then, owners and managers should have no reason to discourage you from hanging out.
Onsite use of the products you purchase gives you a chance to demonstrate that you’re a valuable customer. If you buy some packs to draft with and then take off, you’re not really scoring face time with the store’s staff. Hang around and draft at the store instead, and suddenly you’re a face with an opinion and a purchase record. That builds a relationship, which in turn lets you propose new services with greater ease.
If a store resists your presence for any reason other than a really packed tournament night for a different game, just tell them you want to draft with some friends and need a place to do it. Tie your request to a purchase proposition, behave politely, and only a very stubborn individual will refuse to accommodate you.
After-Hours Functions
This idea is less common, but it still happens pretty frequently. Several stores I know run overnight events for their players. Release Celebrations, massive Draft competitions, alternate-format play, and even Raid Deck events lend themselves to an all-nighter schedule, and it’s a great chance to eat inhuman quantities of pizza and have a ton of fun with other players. If you’ve never done an overnight event, talk to the manager of your local gaming store now and see what can be done. It’s epic for the players and really great for the store.
Overnight events draw new players far and wide, and they generate a ton of hype in your area—everybody always leaves with stories, and those stories get around. It’s amazing marketing, and it carries a lot of weight with players in and around the city the event was held in.
Overnight events can also be easier for players with full-time jobs to attend. It’s hard for someone who gets off work at 5:00 or 6:00 pm to make a normal start time, and starting an event any later than 6:00 pm usually means, at best, a rushed set of Swiss rounds. You’d be surprised how many players come out of the woodwork when a store changes its schedule to a time that accommodates the night-owl crowd, and that means more sales.
Granted, the store will need someone who’s willing to watch the store and run everything overnight, and that can be a hard sell. But if the owner or manager is good about supporting your gaming interests and runs a lot of special events anyway, he or she might be surprisingly open to the all-nighter concept. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy (and believe me, it is), give it a shot.
Those are just three things that your local game store could be doing for you, and we haven’t even left the realm of events yet! Next week, I’ll continue tackling the topic of getting the most out of your local game store by examining services they can offer you with regard to actual purchases—in other words, how the store can make it easier, more pleasant, and more possible for you to buy the things you want.
