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Space Hulk really was the premier product for this sort of thing. It had a good core gameplay system on it's own, a decent selection of cool models, and is the most affordable out of the bunch.

Unfortunately it's the only one they don't make anymore. And that makes me a sad panda.

Let's have some rumours then...

Too expensive. Far too involved. Too much of a pain in the ass to work with.

Infinity is a much better match.

Sisters of Battle by end of 2017?

EDIT: You can quote me on that. If I'm right then I will be a hot diggity dog.

If not, we've never met.

 Azreal13 wrote:

I'm curious how you consider actual rules provided for free or a bunch of Space Marines "rules gymnastics."

The OP wants to build a 40K community to buy 40K product. Why should he make their first exposure to 40K be an expensive 40K-themed boardgame? Because it has the similarity of having minis in the box?

Okay, let's run with that example. I explain what a great deal BaC is, I tell him he gets like $300 of minis for $150. Sweet! Let's assume he loves Space Marines; we have to, right? Now what does he play against his friend? I guess they could split it and play SM against SM? Are you gonna tell him about that Contemptor, or just proxy it as a generic Dreadnought? That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Instead, let's use Deathwatch: Overkill as our example. Yeah, two different opposing forces! Cool! Again, hundreds of dollars of minis for $165. Where are the rules for these crazy mutants and bitchin' dudes in black power armor? Oh, there aren't any. Oh, wait, you can play them as these formations you can get in an old printed copy of this mag or download them. Or just proxy them as Imperial Guard and some Sterguard from C:SM. That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Neither one of these boardgames contain rules for 40K, and neither of them offer a complete experience of tabletop wargaming in the 40K universe. They're expensive deadends for a new player.

The harsh reality is that 40K products are probably too expensive to be safe stocking decisions for a small retailer. X-Wing stuff tends to be cheaper and have WAAAAAY more widespread appeal due to the IP.

 the_Armyman wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:

I'm curious how you consider actual rules provided for free or a bunch of Space Marines "rules gymnastics."

The OP wants to build a 40K community to buy 40K product. Why should he make their first exposure to 40K be an expensive 40K-themed boardgame? Because it has the similarity of having minis in the box?

Okay, let's run with that example. I explain what a great deal BaC is, I tell him he gets like $300 of minis for $150. Sweet! Let's assume he loves Space Marines; we have to, right? Now what does he play against his friend? I guess they could split it and play SM against SM? Are you gonna tell him about that Contemptor, or just proxy it as a generic Dreadnought? That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Instead, let's use Deathwatch: Overkill as our example. Yeah, two different opposing forces! Cool! Again, hundreds of dollars of minis for $165. Where are the rules for these crazy mutants and bitchin' dudes in black power armor? Oh, there aren't any. Oh, wait, you can play them as these formations you can get in an old printed copy of this mag or download them. Or just proxy them as Imperial Guard and some Sterguard from C:SM. That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Neither one of these boardgames contain rules for 40K, and neither of them offer a complete experience of tabletop wargaming in the 40K universe. They're expensive deadends for a new player.

I've read enough of your opinions about the current crop of board games in the intervening time on other threads to realise it's futile continuing this line of discussion with you, and as I can't engage with you on a professional level, and you're either being wilfully ignorant or really don't understand how getting someone into a 40K universe related product is such an excellent way of getting them into the core 40K game, I won't be wasting any further energy on it.

 the_Armyman wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:

I'm curious how you consider actual rules provided for free or a bunch of Space Marines "rules gymnastics."

The OP wants to build a 40K community to buy 40K product. Why should he make their first exposure to 40K be an expensive 40K-themed boardgame? Because it has the similarity of having minis in the box?

Okay, let's run with that example. I explain what a great deal BaC is, I tell him he gets like $300 of minis for $150. Sweet! Let's assume he loves Space Marines; we have to, right? Now what does he play against his friend? I guess they could split it and play SM against SM? Are you gonna tell him about that Contemptor, or just proxy it as a generic Dreadnought? That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Instead, let's use Deathwatch: Overkill as our example. Yeah, two different opposing forces! Cool! Again, hundreds of dollars of minis for $165. Where are the rules for these crazy mutants and bitchin' dudes in black power armor? Oh, there aren't any. Oh, wait, you can play them as these formations you can get in an old printed copy of this mag or download them. Or just proxy them as Imperial Guard and some Sterguard from C:SM. That's alright as long as he's playing with his pals, I guess.

Neither one of these boardgames contain rules for 40K, and neither of them offer a complete experience of tabletop wargaming in the 40K universe. They're expensive deadends for a new player.

That is a lot of words for "I don't understand cross promotion", but don't worry we all get it now.

OP we aren't trying to be downer, just trying to get you to think as a SELLER. Because that what you are now a SELLER first, gamer fifth. Never forget this if you want your store to last.

jamesk1973 wrote:
Too expensive. Far too involved. Too much of a pain in the ass to work with.

Infinity is a much better match.

Except then people know you like anime...

I say you should go for it and try to build a 40k community, or some wargaming community if not 40k.

Put your name and store location on any and all websites that allow you to find other gamers. Get yourself a couple store armies and paint them up as nicely as possible. You will also need some nice tables and terrain.

Talk to the people that play other board games, RPGs, or X-wing. See if they have heard about it and if they would be interested. Offer to let people use the store armies to try it out.

I remember when I got started into the hobby I always thought it looked cool, and then I found out that my local gaming store had a community. The only reason i knew was because the store's website had a calendar, and they had WH40k listed on saturdays. I went out a couple of times, and there were only a few people there, but the fact that people actually showed up for it and there was terrain and tables that were free to use was a big seller to get me committed. I have since spent thousands of dollars at that store.

If you play it, they will come.

Our FLGS stocks 40k but not fantasy anymore except things that sell. The only thing he puts on the shelves are codexes, supplements, troops. and any unit that sells a lot of volume over time compared to others. So the Riptide is safe as is the Chaos Marine Terminators or so he has told me. I could list more but you know.

Anything else needs to be ordered in. He has 40k models on display all over that he painted, tables for play, in store terrain to use, and let's customers use the codices on the shelves if they're careful and not being sold at that moment obviously.

We have a few different groups that play. I know all of this because I would be playing there every weekend if I could, but alas I'm too far. :(

Still it serves as an example of how to build a community. Loyal customers should get little discounts here and there that spend a lot of money since they'll usually prefer to go to your store over other competitors. Although obviously you only want to do this with customers you establish a rapport with. Then the local store also does discounts at Christmas and all the usual times and sometimes unusual times and announces it over social media ect. Usually well in advance so their customers can save some paycheck.

Myself and 6 others started our 40k community. We all played Dawn of War, and a couple of us knew there was a table top game we could play. So we went to our friend who had recently opened a gaming store. We expressed interest in getting our hands on this game and he made the orders. A few months after he began stocking it full time. People saw us playing, having a good time and became interested. They picked up the game, they showed their friends, we advertised here on the forums, and it went from there. Myself and 2 others are the only ones left of the original group but the group has continued to grow and flourish even today. We've had 3 or 4 people walk in and took the game up in the last 2 months. It is also the 2nd best selling game in the shop beaten only by magic, which has started to decline.

Bring some of your own models in to display, play a game when you have people in the store. We had a lot of people join us once we explained that in the long run it can be a hell of a lot cheaper than playing magic.

Also don't under estimate people in the surrounding area. There players out there. They may not have played in a while because there wasn't a shop that had gaming space. There are always guys looking for new gaming communities to join for one reason or another.

Oh I should also mention.

Have a clearance/second hand bin ("clearance" stuff don't necessarily have to be clearance, just stuff you somehow got in mistake or something and can afford to throw away for a few bucks cheaper). It's a good way of drawing oldbloods to your store and they will come out of the woodwork once word gets out.

I think betrayal at Calth might not be a bad idea. See if you can get a few. It gives people an intro to the assembly, lore, painting, and possibly gameplay.

If people like the taste, they will ask for more.

If you want to jump into the deep end, you will want demo nights will fully painted armies. You need people to drink the cool aid on 40k to get it going.

What you need to do is buy Painted models for dirt cheap off of ebay and then re sell them with basic base coat, 3 colors, skip the wash, detail, and highlights and sell them at regular box prices to new players. Now you have a bunch of newbies ready to play the game and not waste time painting.

That is how you build a community quickly!

I've been trying to get my co-worker, who happened to already collect miniatures and models to get into this game. I finally just gave him some spare tyranids I had, and the old codex and he finally uderstood. In the last few months he has gathered enough to play me, who has been collecting for years. This game is for the collectors that want to do more with their collections.