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Right, evening chaps.

Today, I had an interview for the vacant Full Time slot at my local GW. One of the things I brought up was my dedication to improving the gaming community in our area. You see, during a period of pre-interview sucky uppy chitty chat with my local manager (what? I'm unemployed and want the job!) he mentioned he was concerned about the number of games we see in store.

Ever since I last worked there, it's been the same old veterans, and a very poor retention rate of gamers in store. Now the gamers are out there. I know they're out there. But getting new blood into the old horse is what the store has failed at. And lets face it, turning up to a Veterans Night where everyone else is a long term friend, can be quite intimidating, especially when we are all well into our twenties!

So, how to rectify? Well, using the GW Store Finder, and telling it to flag up Gaming Clubs, within 25 miles of the Store, we have 4 registered Gaming Clubs, as in they are part of the GCN. So, that's my starting point. Plan A is to contact said clubs, open up an effective dialogue, and invite them to a free, In Store Tournament. Place is big enough. Take down the Painting Table, and you can fit 6 4x4 boards in the store. 12 man, free mini-tournament ought to liven things up.

But then, we also have School Clubs. As with most English towns, there are a daft number of schools where I live, and most of them seem to have some kind of Wargames Club within them. So thats another resource as yet unharnessed, so my thought is to organise some kind of Schools League. Easier said than done, as for legal reasons all initial contact with the Schools apparently has to be done through Lenton. Not insurmountable, but makes opening up the initial dialogue a bit trickier.

And those are my two initial ideas. Simple enough, harnass the existing population, turning the Hobby Centre (as they are called) into a Gaming Destination. Now, not only does the store benefit (just had your arse handed to you? Why not buy Unit X for next time! Or three ) but it helps to galvanise the local Gaming Community together, hopefully getting an exchange of gamers.

Now I am also aware of at least two other local Games Clubs which aren't on the GW Main Radar. Need to put feelers out, but I'm thinking 6 tables = 12 Gamers. 12 Gamers / 6 Clubs = 2 Participants each, perhaps one 40k and one Fantasy, or run seperate systems on different weekends (hey! No skin off my nose )

And so I turn to Dakka. First of all, I would like an honest critique of my above ideas. Please don't focus on the Store's branding in this case. Just treat it as if it's your local Gaming Store, whether GW or FLGS. Would you be interested in these ideas? If so, is there anything you can suggest from experience, if not, do you perhaps have an alternative situation.

I might be jumping the gun a little (still waiting to hear back, but got to the last three, and I've worked there before..) but it doing a little free ground work never hurt anyone!

There was never a wargames club at any school I've been to :(

Maybe college, but I didn't look very hard. I had a job and lived off campus.

There's at least four within easy travelling distance of the store, so that should be okay. Teeny tiny league sure, perhaps only enough for quarterly/one per term (semester for the Colonists) Tournaments, but it's all about getting bods through the door. Even if they don't spend, is a known retail fact that the busier your shop is, the more people will go in. Probably something to do with pack instinct. So, even if they don't do the spending, the generally increased traffic gives us staff more people to flog the stuff to.

But over and above any immediately increased revenue, the main focus is on increasing the regular head count.

Establish a market.
Basic explanation of the game, and then you get a couple of the kids to play each other. Start out with Space marines, talk a little about them, then turn around and use the Orks. Don't over sell them, just teach a few how to play. Then show them a basic squad box and talk a little about what the different selections do. You could then discuss the armies at length, talk about some of the options, etc.
Bottom line is to establish the player, and talk to them about the product, and YES… Mom and Dad, too.
A big part of parting with the cash is Mom and dad saying, “Hey Jr., that’s a bit expensive, maybe you might want to reconsider this and buy the play station or computer game.” Then you pull out the Arts and Crafts card. Show them the scenery, tout the “Hey you want to keep little Jr. or Juniorette home, this will help.” Or else you can pull out the elaborate armor schemes, the elder harlequin’s, the Sisters of battle, the Chaos Space Marines, demons, and demon hunters, etc. Talk to Mom and Dad about the game, what you want to do with them. And the little “Hey it costs, but it doesn’t cost too much...” speech. Compare it to the Computer, discuss the creativity outlet, etc.

One big issue people have is the overselling aspect of the clerks in the GW shops. You get the interaction with the customer and discuss the basic of the basic, Troops. After the troops discussion you can give the prospective customer a little back story on the game, the races, then discuss your stores in house campaign, and how the prospective customer can become part of it for their choice of faction. If they are getting it, then back off. Go to somewhere else, come back and show them something different, and leave the discussion open. The fine line between busting chops and discussing is fine, so take it as you would any other new introduction.

The Campaign- Basic campaign of the planet (You and your store come up with a name). You write up an official looking documentation, possibly put it down on parchment paper complete with the wax Imperial seal, and ribbon, and then drop it on your Space Marine Players. Your Chaos players get one that looks like it was written on a skin, maybe use a piece of leather, or some wax paper, and then the orks, who get one on a cardboard tablet, painted up to look like a metal plate, plastic piece painted up to be a ripped off armor shard, or a leather or construction paper document. Etc etc. per the races relevent to your store. ( some stores have one or another favored race) Then you have a instore army of one of the other races, such as an army of chaos, or demons, or orks, etc. ( Basicly your store army is used by new players to introduce them to the campagn, which will be ongoing) Other things can be to get yourself a couple of those Ospery books and come up with a War.
Begin the whole show by developing the whole back story, the initial causes, etc. then start the fun. Don’t get too political, or you’re going to play with fire. Basic, “This is planet X, your races are fighting over it, and your in command of this contingent…” sort of thing is perfect. Discuss the different terraign, ( Which by the way, players can come in and work on, thereby learning how to make scenery, paint, etc. and Your store may get some free stuff made by the players out of it.)

You can get the hills, woods, the desert stuff, the city space stuff, the buildings bunkers, etc. Depending on your players, you can drop little snacks on them, such as burn off the little simple design templates from the GW website, discuss the terrain, special rules, etc. ( Later on you can have things like scenery tournaments, building days, etc.

NEW PLAYERS- You want to include new players in basic skirmishes to start them on the road to oblivion, have noob night, have workshops, use yourself and your fellow vets as mentors, not just to sell the models and run their ass off, to get people into the hobby. A new guy comes in, you have a set sales pitch. You use it, but you have to jazz it up or your pitched block is going to fall on deaf ears. Discuss how the new prospective player can come in and help influence the campaign in thier choice, ( Oh, we don't have too many (OOOO) players, your going to have a tough go at it for your first few games, heres something you can do to help your army out) Then you discuss tactics, talk about the different units( Hey, use these Khorne Berserkers, they will get you a such and such...) Or even get the prospect into the group by introducing them to the other players.( here's Joe, he's a space wolf player, too.)
The bottom line here is to make the hobby sell itself. It’s hard to be a new player, especially when you are trying to get in on an established game group. The other players being included in the experience will give you a peer group, thereby making your "Sales job" a little less stressful. Of course this can go south, but that’s where the Vets come into play.
The Veterans- This player doesn't need to be sold. These guys are going to eat you if you try the usual sales routine. You will try another approach by treating them a little more like a peer, and discuss the topic of the day. (Use a topic of the day and go with it, then you continue to develop a relation with the established cliental.) Being a new shop guy, you're more or less going to have to earn your stripes with them. Be it play them in tournaments, discuss the hobby through fluff discussions’, etc. etc.etc.
Once you’re in, you’re in, though. You can then start the “hey, how about you guys teach little junior here about your guys,” thing. Don’t drop the new guys in, just get them talking a little with the Vets a little, and then show them around a little to the different aspects and army choices.

The tourney angle is another one. Get them in the door, give them a reason to stay, and get them interacting.

Put the fun back into the game, not just worry about making the hard sell.

An interesting question during the interview was what proportion of Store Hours should be spent on Noobs and Vets respectively. I said 66% Noobs, 33% Vets. Veterans are of course important, and a third of the hours dedicated to giving them cool stuff to do seemed a bit right. Noobs are important as well, as they are the Veterans of tomorrow (man how cheesey did that sound?) but being Noobs, they inherently need additional guidance a Veteran would not. For example, lots of painting lessons, Sunday beginners etc. Their very nature dictates that they need more of the time!

So yeah, bridging the middle ground is the trick, turning then into Core gamers. But you're right, getting mum and dad up to speed about what it's all about is a good idea. Lots of angles to push there (from Dad/Son Building projects to the reading comprehension etc)

But, what would get YOU into my store? The Noobs will come, they always have, always will. Retention is the problem. It's a pricey product, nobody can deny that, but keep the gamer active enough, and the value of the stuff just keeps getting better (take the total cost of your current army, including the rulebooks needed, paints brushes glues etc, and divide by the amount of hours you'll take up in a year involving it. Works out surprisingly favourably, even compared to going to see a film).

To restate my maxim (feel free to disagree as ever) An Active Gamer, Is a Spending Gamer. How do I make you A, so you become B? I'm confident enough in the formula that A will be followed by B. The other question would be, what would make you spend the money in MY store? Loyalty is all well and good, but it's something that has to be earnt. Perhaps a prize of some sort for the Tournament Winning Club (going on the mix of scores from the various participants) would be a good sweetener, even if it's just some Gift Vouchers (the GW version of Store Credit) for the Club, with the hope being the winners will also have a little bit from the Club Kitty to bump it up. Would £25 be a decent amount? Enough to get some gubbins on their own, but also around the right value to encourage a top up? Of course, any prize value would have to be weighed up against the potential gains from the (hopefully) increased sales, otherwise it rather defeats the point of the whole exercise, which is to increase takings through fairly regular events.

I would particularly like to hear (read?) the thoughts of the more jaded members of Dakka, those who tend to shop mainly online and game in private clubs. You're the kind of guys I'm going after with this. Not so much challenging your outlook, more trying to change the causes of said outlook.

From my many wasted hours online, I get that many feel GW Stores to be too kiddycentric, which I can quite understand. So it's you guys input which is going to be of most value. All I ask is for an honest, balanced criticism of my plans. Tell me what you think is good, tell me what you think is bad.

My main goal is to come up with effective ways of increasing footfall and attendance over time (I'm not kidding myself. The first couple of Tournies, maybe longer, are liable to be quiet until word spreads!). Who knows, if I can crack this, it could become something akin to company policy (provided I get the job. Horse before Cart Ross, Horse before Cart).

Though not one of the more 'Jaded' folks here and with no knowledgd of which store is yours, I'll use my local as an example, I go there once a week on thursday night for vets night and occasionally on saturday to pick up new releases but i NEVER play on any day other than vets. the reason for this is twofold:
1) any day thats not vets seems swarmed with small children (such as saturday participation games) I would be more inclined to play in these large participation games if they ran 2 on a sunday (1 for noobs and 1 for vets or the like).
2) While I can understand noob gaming (point 1) and accept it on the weekend, it would be nice to have a table or two free turing the day in the week for open gaming, so i could just arrange a game with a mate, book a table and show up at any time, rather than just being limited to thursday nights.

the other issue I have with gaming in my store is that they only put out 5 tables on vets night, with an average attendance of 25-30 people and vets running from 6-10pm there just is not time for everyone to get in a game. (also, our store needs more terrain)

the other thing that gets me into a store on weekends is painting competitions, so more painting competitions, one a month or one every two months would be good for me, maybe best character one month, vehicle the next etc etc, it would also get me to actually paint stuff (I loves me bragging rights).

Onto tournements, I would say (using my local store as a model) that you would have to run a tournement 'evening' that is not on vets night, and allow games during the week in the day otherwise if someone cannot nake it on one night then they are stuffed. (and our vets nights too crowded as it is without trying to get tourney play in there as well.)

Also, run more specialist games, especially blood bowl, every store i've been to if the phrase 'blood bowl league' appears suddenly the store gets mobbed for the duration of the league.

what store is it you're running for anyway? good luck to you.

hopt the comments help

SAdly, specialist games would be beyond my ability, due to what I assume is Company Policy.

However, my local store already allows through the week gaming. Not as if the boards are in use, so let us know in advance so we can make sure one is set, and all is good.

Tournament Evening. Hmmm. Interesting. I was planning on hosting them once a month on Saturdays, just tell the Kiddies that they won't get a game that day.

Perhaps for the schools I could run a Campaign Evening once a week, seperate from the Core Gamers evening on a Sunday. I don't mind working an extra hour or two to be honest. I enjoy running things like Campaigns!

So, Schools and Inter-Club things aside, and bearing in mind that much as I'd like to it appears I can't really do much about Specialist Games (other than cross club pollenation, always a good thing and facilitated through the core game Tournies and stuff) is there anything else?

Grotsnik: I've been in to the hobby for 10 years. I suppose in this day and age, that makes me a grognard, though I am barely into my middle years.

While I was living in Toronto, the GW store I most often went to was awesome. There was a good mix of veterans and new blood. The manager was top notch - unfortunately, I don't know anyone there now, other than the manager, since everyone else has since moved on... myself included.

Realistically, for me, the only draw to the store was:

1. The staff.
2. Store events such as painting and modelling events, and tournaments - though a painting competition would be 10x as likely to elicit any action out of my lazy butt compared to a tournament. I am far too busy these days to devote enough time to any sort of league play.

Being of the old school pay where you play type, I would try to buy from the store if I used any of their services. This has become harder as of late, due to reduced stock (not the fault of the store). While having product shipped to your door through store orders might be the norm for the UK, I have since moved to "middle of nowhere" Canada, and I am not aware if it is possible through GWNA now, and I am fairly certain this was not offered through the now defunct GW Canada.

On a side note - I do not know if this is the case across the board for GW stores, but it seems to me that the painting and modelling skill of the GW staffers seems to vary greatly, and on average, is not at the same level that it once was in the 90's.

-EDIT- Hosting a bitz-swap event would be great.

So have you heard about the job yet?

Which is your store anyway? I get the impression you're a southerner like me.

I am indeed a Southerner. If you are El Flashman from Warseer, then you already know which Store I mean!

Not heard owt just yet, but no news is good news. Going up tomorrow anyways for an all day painting and gossip sesh.

Tournaments must be Swiss I went to my local GW for a tournament got knocked out in the first round and haven't actually gamed there since (although I've moved as well). I'm a club gamer and don't go to GW as in my local city we have 2 flgs who both offer our club a discount. I will always buy from them if I can help it as they support my club and I feel I should return the favour. In both FLGS's i'm a regular and know the staff by name.
I'm guessing theres two kinds of customers browsers and buyers. Buyers will have a set list and ask you to help them find it. Browsers will have a quick scan look at the shiny models and maybe pick something up. If somebodys looking for something don't offer them something else. If I'm after a specific model thats what I want. This is even more true when it comes to paint. Frankly if you've gone to the effort to look for something for me and will order it in that's fine.
The reason I kept with the hobby is I was already a modeller and wargaming offered me something to do with my models. The inter-club tournament would get me to attend however. This is a good start. Also try and arrange games sessions with something other than the new releases.

Swiss Tournament? Whats that when it's a home?

I was planning to just have the participants one the tables, and after the game, move one board to their right/left. Not entirely sure how to run a 'Top Table' Tournament, and I'm not sure there would be much point with such low numbers!

So, thus far, the ideas seem to be, in no particular order...

1. Schools League/Campaign/Tournament
2. Interclub Tournaments
3. General Campaigns (seperate from School one?)
4. Painting Competitions.

Now, Painting Competitions. The store has run a few over the past year or so, and they seem to increase footfall which is of course nice. But how do you prefer them? Age Banding? Different Categories for different Games?

Looks like I may have the job, so now is the time to speak up!

If I can make this work well, you never know, it could be adopted as policy!

A school league would be the sweetest thing since 6 point orcs. I would say go for that if nothing else, as those leagues could easily bring in more blood than the others as they probalby don't have the same level of youth as the school ones do.

MDG, how about a "bring a friend to game day." Have players bring a friend who hasn't played GW games, or used to play GW games in and run them through some demos. Offer some kind of incentive (some kind of prize drawing?) along with a painting tutorial and you might get a few more players out of it.

This worked well back in 2000 when a buddy of mine was an outrider and I was his "plucky sidekick." We had lots of demo/league/bring a friend kind of days at several different stores. We were getting quite a little group going as 2 or 3 FLGS's. Then GW fired him for criticising games day Chicago.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:Looks like I may have the job, so now is the time to speak up!

Step 1 - Set up a PayPal account.
Step 2 - Buy us things using your discount.
Step 3 - ????
Step 4 - Profit!!!

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:Right, evening chaps.

Today, I had an interview for the vacant Full Time slot at my local GW. One of the things I brought up was my dedication to improving the gaming community in our area. You see, during a period of pre-interview sucky uppy chitty chat with my local manager (what? I'm unemployed and want the job!) he mentioned he was concerned about the number of games we see in store.

Ever since I last worked there, it's been the same old veterans, and a very poor retention rate of gamers in store. Now the gamers are out there. I know they're out there. But getting new blood into the old horse is what the store has failed at. And lets face it, turning up to a Veterans Night where everyone else is a long term friend, can be quite intimidating, especially when we are all well into our twenties!

So, how to rectify? Well, using the GW Store Finder, and telling it to flag up Gaming Clubs, within 25 miles of the Store, we have 4 registered Gaming Clubs, as in they are part of the GCN. So, that's my starting point. Plan A is to contact said clubs, open up an effective dialogue, and invite them to a free, In Store Tournament. Place is big enough. Take down the Painting Table, and you can fit 6 4x4 boards in the store. 12 man, free mini-tournament ought to liven things up.

But then, we also have School Clubs. As with most English towns, there are a daft number of schools where I live, and most of them seem to have some kind of Wargames Club within them. So thats another resource as yet unharnessed, so my thought is to organise some kind of Schools League. Easier said than done, as for legal reasons all initial contact with the Schools apparently has to be done through Lenton. Not insurmountable, but makes opening up the initial dialogue a bit trickier.

And those are my two initial ideas. Simple enough, harnass the existing population, turning the Hobby Centre (as they are called) into a Gaming Destination. Now, not only does the store benefit (just had your arse handed to you? Why not buy Unit X for next time! Or three ) but it helps to galvanise the local Gaming Community together, hopefully getting an exchange of gamers.

Now I am also aware of at least two other local Games Clubs which aren't on the GW Main Radar. Need to put feelers out, but I'm thinking 6 tables = 12 Gamers. 12 Gamers / 6 Clubs = 2 Participants each, perhaps one 40k and one Fantasy, or run seperate systems on different weekends (hey! No skin off my nose )

And so I turn to Dakka. First of all, I would like an honest critique of my above ideas. Please don't focus on the Store's branding in this case. Just treat it as if it's your local Gaming Store, whether GW or FLGS. Would you be interested in these ideas? If so, is there anything you can suggest from experience, if not, do you perhaps have an alternative situation.

I might be jumping the gun a little (still waiting to hear back, but got to the last three, and I've worked there before..) but it doing a little free ground work never hurt anyone!

Lets look at your idea. You want to introduce a game into schools that is notorious for things like idolotry and a large amount of mobid images Guess you didnt think of this. What happens when the first right wing religious parent sees her Johnny playing a game with these images. Hmm better yet hes painting skulls and pointy things, and screaming kill, maim, burn in the basement when he should be at Sunday School sorry wont sit well with the PTA. Dont fuel the argument that these games get kids to bring guns to school.....

Any time you think of introducing something into the school system you should think long and hard about what you are bringing to children. There is a reason GW doesnt recruit at schools becuase they are a mature content game.

Next you want to organize everyone in the town to join hands and sing kumbayah as they usher in the next best thing since canned pizza to their town and drum up business for the local shop that should get you hired no doubt.

I must admit these are great ideas for bringing up to the guy who wants to hire you.. but be mindful of the letigous society we live in.. you dont want to cost GW any legal fees.

So good luck on getting the job.. i hope you can start paying your taxes again, we need it. i hope your ideas sprout wings and fly away to huge profits and a town full of wargamers who love to get together and play the game we all love.

Just so you know, the right answer to the how much time should be spent on noobs vs vets is 100% noobs, 0% vets.

The purpose of the GW store is to recruit new gamers into the hobby and get them into it big time.

ONce you are a veteran, you should either go to a bunker store, or build a gaming table at your home.

Tournaments do almost nothing for the hobby community. Most players do not buy new stuff for a tournament, they go with what they have.

You are better off getting new players and walk in traffic to introduce the game to their friends.

You'll probably get all this in your training. My friends did.

for a gaming club i am/was a member of, we had a small discount with a particular gaming store, it was only 10% or so (which is essentially sales tax in the area), but it did mean we would go to that store first, and would go there more often.

never actually been to an offical gw store, so i don't know if you could swing that sort of thing, but the idea of a discount, even if it doesn't really amount to much, will bring in more people

Sadly, a discount is far beyond my reach. But I can offset that with prizes (pronounced 'pyizes') for various events. Nothing big, but free stuff is free stuff, especially if in the form of the aforementioned Gift Vouchers. Offering this might well cause it to become a quarterly thing!

Windswept. Thankfully, living in the UK I don't have to worry about the litigious side of thing. When I previously worked there, I liked getting to know the Mums and Dads of the Noobs. It helped to drive sales as they then felt less like a walking Wallet, as opening up a dialogue with them enabled promotion of the wider hobby, beyond just buying models. Plus it's good for them to know I'm more concerned with selling the stuff their child needs, rather than just the biggest hittiest stuff.

And it's not so much about becoming a sort of hippy gamer commune (though I do long for a pastoral existence. My ancestors were Crofters on Orkney, making my bloodline Orcadian. Mmm! Orcy in the blood. Explains a lot!) as trying to avoid people gaming in isolation. Private clubs are of course important for the Hobby, because as you rightly said, Veterans should not be dependant on the store for their kicks. But equally, they can in their own way be constrictive and daunting for new members. House rules etc can take time to adapt too after all. So a friendly Tournament location will help the clubs connect and challenge each other. Way I see it, everyone wins.

And of course, it is all ultimately about increasing sales, but doing so in a less mercenary way. I want your money, but I want to earn your money. In the UK, FLGS are fairly rare, compared to GW Stores. This can lead to a sort of complacency which I am determined to avoid. Plus, should I regain my chair as Chief Nerd Herd Shepherd, running the Veterans Nights, I will hopefully be allowed to do what I used to. Run it beyond hour until I get tired and want me bed. In my heyday, the Veterans were so numerous I almost *had* to run Vets night until Midnight! But whether I'm allowed to now is a different matter of course.

So, in short, don't focus on potential drawbacks. I'm a pretty smart cookiee (in that I saw the Cookiee Monster and ran away shrieking) and I am confident I can overcome them. Sure, the Tournaments themselves might not boost sales of their own, but get the Club gamers to pop down on VEts night to help swell numbers, and they will soon start spending in store.

Remember, this is all based on my hypothesies, namely...

'An active Gamer, is a spending Gamer' as well as 'the more you play, the more you spend'. First is pretty self explanatory. The second however, is slightly shakier, and does need a wider range of opponents to drive it!

Man I am looking forward to this!

You could offer free tea/coffee for parents. Not all would want one, but I bet all would appreciate the offer and you could get chatting to them about the creative hobby aspects etc. Imagine the good will you'd generate.

More active support of the school clubs is a good idea, to keep interest and momentum levels up. Have you thought about getting a CRB check? I think that would help you if you are trying to contact teachers and schools regarding their games clubs etc. It might also make it easier to organise events with younger gamers.

First off, congratulations on getting the job, MDG.

I'm a resident in the town-that-shan't-be-named, and I'm really impressed with the new store. It's got a lot of great terrain, a nice airy atmosphere and loads of gaming space. While the staff seem very pleasant and I enjoy a chat when I do pop in, there's a big Warhammer Fantasy Battle vibe, and an atmosphere that's geared more around gaming than painting. Not a problem per se; but not something that appeals to me as a painter and 40k enthusiast.

Perhaps it's just British reserve, but I always feel a bit shy when I pop in! The older hobbyists I have spoken to are, like the staff, by-and-large pleasant and friendly, so the only thing that's stopping me hanging around some more is an activity to do in store. The younger gamers have lots of material geared at them – starter games, painting lessons etc., but there doesn't seem to be much devoted to older hobbyists unless they want to do something competitive.

I know that a lot of the veterans there are much more gamers than painters, but it'd be great to have some painting activities. Again, I'm not really particularly competitive even in painting, so perhaps some simple interactive painting sessions to get people started? Y'know – the store donates a squad of models, and the vets sit around a couple of painting tables and paint them up to be displayed in the window. This'd be a great way for people to swap tips on particular techniques, and a great opportunity to try notorious, difficult or otherwise intimidating techniques like yellow; chequers; freehand etc. – and more importantly, for people to develop a personal style.

Hell, no need to donate the models – just get everyone involved to chip in a pound. What I liked best about the last store at which I regularly attended Games Night (GW Swindon, a couple of years back), was the friendly mixed atmosphere; and the fact that there was a great mix of painters and gamers; and WHFB and 40k.

Painting can sometimes seem a bit of a chore if you've no-one to chat to, so I think lots of gamers just give up on it. To my mind, it's the best bit of the hobby, so I'd love some events that revolve around it as an enjoyably passtime, rather than as something to do to get your models on the table.

The mini-tournament sounds like a fun idea – what'd sell me on it and get me in to participate would be to involve some background in it. Being a 40k player, you could base the fate of a world on it: just a nice flyer with some background, and then a flowchart that gets read out depending on the results of each round. I'm not entirely sure what the equivalent in WHFB would be – perhaps a province of the Empire?

In addition (and apologies for the screed of text), how about allowing some of the Specialist Games to be played? I've got an Aeronautica Imperialis wing, a load of Inquisitor figures and a Blood Bowl team or two – and these are much better to carry to GW and then go for a pint afterwards than a pile of boxes for an army.

I wish the local GW store cared about my GCN club, it's less than 200 meters away and they don't seem to give a rats-ass about us

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:I would particularly like to hear (read?) the thoughts of the more jaded members of Dakka, those who tend to shop mainly online and game in private clubs. You're the kind of guys I'm going after with this. Not so much challenging your outlook, more trying to change the causes of said outlook.

From my many wasted hours online, I get that many feel GW Stores to be too kiddycentric, which I can quite understand. So it's you guys input which is going to be of most value. All I ask is for an honest, balanced criticism of my plans. Tell me what you think is good, tell me what you think is bad.

My main goal is to come up with effective ways of increasing footfall and attendance over time (I'm not kidding myself. The first couple of Tournies, maybe longer, are liable to be quiet until word spreads!). Who knows, if I can crack this, it could become something akin to company policy (provided I get the job. Horse before Cart Ross, Horse before Cart).

Chicks and Tequila? (smack) evidently She Who Must be Obeyed thinks otherwise. So,

I need other players. I need decent chairs. Potentially a vending machine. But mostly interaction to get a decent crew in, especially on week nights.
I work a lot. I need pre-arranged games so some kind of forum or method to make arrangements. I'm not into just showing up. I'm not going to stay there, and just hang out. I can't stand the crowd of hangers on that always seems to hang out. I've got much better things to do and my house is better than your place to do it.

Brimstone wrote:I wish the local GW store cared about my GCN club, it's less than 200 meters away and they don't seem to give a rats-ass about us

That comes as no suprise to me. I think this problem is endemic with GW and clubs.

windswept313 wrote:

Lets look at your idea. You want to introduce a game into schools that is notorious for things like idolotry and a large amount of mobid images Guess you didnt think of this. What happens when the first right wing religious parent sees her Johnny playing a game with these images. Hmm better yet hes painting skulls and pointy things, and screaming kill, maim, burn in the basement when he should be at Sunday School sorry wont sit well with the PTA. Dont fuel the argument that these games get kids to bring guns to school.....

Any time you think of introducing something into the school system you should think long and hard about what you are bringing to children. There is a reason GW doesnt recruit at schools becuase they are a mature content game.

Next you want to organize everyone in the town to join hands and sing kumbayah as they usher in the next best thing since canned pizza to their town and drum up business for the local shop that should get you hired no doubt.

I must admit these are great ideas for bringing up to the guy who wants to hire you.. but be mindful of the letigous society we live in.. you dont want to cost GW any legal fees.

So good luck on getting the job.. i hope you can start paying your taxes again, we need it. i hope your ideas sprout wings and fly away to huge profits and a town full of wargamers who love to get together and play the game we all love.

He's in England (actual England) They don't have guns or right wingers, just soccer hooligans and quality beer.
I have indeed heard of schoool clubs previously so that part could work-but usually its through a student who sets up a group with a teacher as lead.

But as noted, interacting with local clubs (evidently thats a bigger deal in the UK) would be a key lever to fun and profits.
Break out the bottle of said tequila (smack yes dear) er some soft drinks and you're set.

Frazzled wrote:He's in England (actual England) They don't have guns or right wingers, just soccer hooligans and quality beer.
I have indeed heard of schoool clubs previously so that part could work-but usually its through a student who sets up a group with a teacher as lead.

Quite true, GW are a product of and part of the curtain twitchers (right wingers) GW is quite safe.

The only fly in the ointment may be that GW don't (AFAIK) do CRB checks on their staff (I don't remember having one). You would IIRC need an enhanced disclosure to run clubs directly with children and there are additional hurdles involving such things as images of children and how they can be used. Although the school would make sure you were on the right track here and the club would probably be co-run by one of the teaching staff.

This feels awfully like talking shop.

doc, random thing here mate, never known about working for GW, but do you get paid on commission?
if so im looking to start a new army

Having worked as a GW staffer (and manager for a while), the single most important lesson to retaining gamers is...



....drum roll please....




NOT BUYING STUFF!!!!.

This may seem like wierd advice, but let me explain. Little Johnny comes into the store and is overwhelmed by all the shinies. (S)he wants the biggest shiniest shiny they can!!!!

Now the first thing that happens is that mum rolls her eyes. She's already freaked out by gawky adolescents going drool wo-man (not to mention the inevitable eyeing up by the staffers - you know who you are ).
BUT, you jump to the rescue! You know that little Johnny does not need the monolith, cos last week he bought a marine tac squad. You explain that he can't use it in his army, but he could do with a commander. You explain to mum that this is a lot cheaper and more useful and you tell little Johnny that he can bring in his marines and get a painting lesson followed by a game.

Mum is now thinking that maybe the hobby is not such a bad idea - friendly staff who aren't pushing sales, a safe environment where she can leave Johnny as she does the shopping, etc. Johnny is now excited at the prospect of getting some stuff painted and getting games in!


Of course, the beauty is that this is a con! You know that if Johnny enjoys the hobby he'll take it more seriously and GW gets lots of money for a long time from grateful relatives who now don't have to stress over christmas and birthday presents and the community benefits from a gamer who is being taught the value of forward planning, building legal armies and developing their skills.


And all this because you blew a sale.


Just don't tell the people in accounts. They don't understand


Hope this helps!
C_C