I need help on ideas to a) build a new community and b) get a store owner excited about supporting the game.

My friends and I have just gotten into the game. I am going to try and build a community at my local store, but my store owner is skeptical. He doesn't carry a lot of the product (except a handful of newer ships when they first come out) because he says it is hard to compete with the prices on Amazon. When you folks first pitch this to your local store, how do you get them interested? Where is the money for them?

In terms of the community, for us we have been happy playing at a home. We would like a larger community to give a bigger variety of game play style, etc... Do leagues work? How are most tournaments ran?

I appreciate any help.

Thanks

Where are you located? What is your population base? Is there any local colleges, etc...

Leauges are nice way to play. The leauge at my store has achievements to help shake up the meta encouraging builds that might not be tournament level but are fun to play with and it helps with encouraging the skill of say a more advance player play against a lesser skilled player as the more advanced player tries to go for achievements. The last one used an escalation system starting at 60 then 75 then to a full 100 points per squadron. The point system is mostly fair at my store and it still rewards good competitive play along with challenges for advanced players. Here how it works.

• 1st win for the day 4 points.
• every other win 2 points
• every loss 1 point
• every unique opponent (playing with different players that day) 1 point
• each achievement (can only be earned once per league) 2 points.

Example achievements,

• Win a game with no wave 4 ships
• Field a squadron with only large ships.
• Win a game with no large ships.
• Core set pilots and upgrades only
• No upgrades
• Win with only 90 points in squad.
• Win with Lambda shuttle.
• Destroy 2 ships with proton torpedoes and/or advanced proton torpedoes in a game.
• Hit 3 or more ships with a single proton bomb or seismic charge.

As you see a lot of the achievements are designed to go against the meta to shake game play and squadron customization up a bit.

Leauges are nice way to play. The leauge at my store has achievements to help shake up the meta encouraging builds that might not be tournament level but are fun to play with and it helps with encouraging the skill of say a more advance player play against a lesser skilled player as the more advanced player tries to go for achievements. The last one used an escalation system starting at 60 then 75 then to a full 100 points per squadron. The point system is mostly fair at my store and it still rewards good competitive play along with challenges for advanced players. Here how it works.

• 1st win for the day 4 points.
• every other win 2 points
• every loss 1 point
• every unique opponent (playing with different players that day) 1 point
• each achievement (can only be earned once per league) 2 points.

Example achievements,

• Win a game with no wave 4 ships
• Field a squadron with only large ships.
• Win a game with no large ships.
• Core set pilots and upgrades only
• No upgrades
• Win with only 90 points in squad.
• Win with Lambda shuttle.
• Destroy 2 ships with proton torpedoes and/or advanced proton torpedoes in a game.
• Hit 3 or more ships with a single proton bomb or seismic charge.

As you see a lot of the achievements are designed to go against the meta to shake game play and squadron customization up a bit.

Do you play only on certain days, or how does that work? Can some players just show up and play more than others to win the league? Does the store keep track of standings? Just curious because I'd like to start something similar.

Leauges are nice way to play. The leauge at my store has achievements to help shake up the meta encouraging builds that might not be tournament level but are fun to play with and it helps with encouraging the skill of say a more advance player play against a lesser skilled player as the more advanced player tries to go for achievements. The last one used an escalation system starting at 60 then 75 then to a full 100 points per squadron. The point system is mostly fair at my store and it still rewards good competitive play along with challenges for advanced players. Here how it works.

• 1st win for the day 4 points.
• every other win 2 points
• every loss 1 point
• every unique opponent (playing with different players that day) 1 point
• each achievement (can only be earned once per league) 2 points.

Example achievements,

• Win a game with no wave 4 ships
• Field a squadron with only large ships.
• Win a game with no large ships.
• Core set pilots and upgrades only
• No upgrades
• Win with only 90 points in squad.
• Win with Lambda shuttle.
• Destroy 2 ships with proton torpedoes and/or advanced proton torpedoes in a game.
• Hit 3 or more ships with a single proton bomb or seismic charge.

As you see a lot of the achievements are designed to go against the meta to shake game play and squadron customization up a bit.

Do you play only on certain days, or how does that work? Can some players just show up and play more than others to win the league? Does the store keep track of standings? Just curious because I'd like to start something similar.

The store has a league sheet for each player that it keeps and we play on Thursdays. League officially starts at 6pm on Thursdays until the store closes around 10pm.

Now the store has some league packages that they have ordered from FFG so at the end they have some prizes to give out (usually only alternate artwork pilot cards) Now showing up every Thursday does help but the last league winner missed the first Thursday, and to be honest I missed the last 2 due to illness but still my standings on the leader board are alright. Now the store does offer a make up day after the 2nd week for those who first sign up for the league giving them the entire day that they signed up to catch up. That is only for new players to the league though. Those seasoned veterans that missed a week will have to rely on their skills to make up. After all, it is better to give new players a boost so they get enthusiastically into the hobby.

If you are worried about say scheduling agreements in that some players may have more time on their hands then others who may be overloaded with responsibilities such as work or school find out what times during the week most are available for. Then set a scheduled time when points can be earned for league events. If there isn't a time where everyone can meet at once you could set 2 different days and times and then simply set a point limit per week. It is up to you and your fellow players how to best set up the league. However way you set it up though I suggest you find a way that makes it inviting to new players so you get more faces to the table and broaden your experience. Also a league that grows is a successful league. Otherwise then you just got another friends only club for X-wing.

I am going to try and build a community at my local store, but my store owner is skeptical. He doesn't carry a lot of the product (except a handful of newer ships when they first come out) because he says it is hard to compete with the prices on Amazon. When you folks first pitch this to your local store, how do you get them interested? Where is the money for them?

They're not going to make a lot of money. If you're organizing events and running the league, and the store doesn't have to lift a finger to help, then they're going to get their money back for keeping the lights on from the occasional purchase by an X-Wing player. If they actually have X-Wing merchandise on the shelf, that's a nice way to make some money.

The first thing you need to do is build a community. Set up a weekly game night and tell people about it. Post on all the X-Wing forums, post on the store's Facebook page, post post post post. Use the internet and get the word out. Keep at it, because it might take a while to find enough regular players.

When you have eight or ten regular players, set a tournament date. I recommend running a three-round tournament with no elimination rounds, 100 point squads, $5 entry fee. Keep it simple. Offer a nice prize to the winner, and pay for it with the entry fees.

If the store owner sees that there's an ongoing interest in X-Wing, they'll probably start ordering more X-Wing merch, because players do appreciate having a place to get together and they will buy stuff at full retail once in a while because they appreciate brick-and-mortar stores.

Try asking the shop to order the FFG tournament kits and pay for them with tournament entry fees.