Pretty sad that they can't have fun playing x wing and think so little of themselves and there ability. Tournaments are fun and people go there to have fun. Yeah some people have fun winning, some people have fun flying certain ships and lists. If people think they won't fun I argue they're more worried about losing than having fun...

It's not that they don't have fun playing X-wing or don't think much of their ability. They don't like playing the other people that tend to go to tournaments with prize support (especially if they travel over 2 hours). They tend to be people who play with power lists and some can be rude. Why bother paying for an event playing lists they don't want to fly against with the possibility that your opponent is a jerk?

The jerk players are less of a case with X-wing, but there are other game systems where this is definitely the case.

Idk it sounds like the store isn't very open, accepting or friendly when they just assume everyone who comes in is a jark player and they don't want to play with them.

I would be more likely to go to a local tournament with fierce visiting competition. I love losing great games to great players. If my local meta was packed with whiners who would only play if they were given easy opponents I'd probably play less x wing.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

I think you are missing the fact that FFG has a vested interest in keeping the shops happy. FFG is a business, LGS are businesses. Of course they want to make sure they are making money off of these things.

I understand that some people feel it is their 'right' to buy their figures from online stores cheap then go around to shops that are providing space to play for their customers and demand that they get to have the same level of service provided to them, including spending money on prize support that will end up not providing any profit to the store. It does seem a little selfish though.

Of course I could just go and try and snipe prizes from some other LGS...

Eh, it's happened to me sometimes with Netrunner and left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll definitely travel for stuff and like to meet new people, but it can be an issue and go wrong sometimes. Right when I was trying to start Netrunner there was a big kerfuffle where the store owner charging modest entry fees, like 5 bucks, and not running events if there weren't at least 6 people so he could at least break even, angered a bunch of people. They boycotted the local store and I couldn't find any games. I finally got a few people playing and we started to get enough that we could actually have an event, and lo and behold, they show up, make a point of not buying anything, and all the people who actually played at the store got shut out entirely. I tried to go to some other places to play, but they wouldn't use their real decks, so it was really tough for us to get better. I couldn't get them to actually come to our game nights either. A number of them were sporting 2-4 store championship playmats as well. The guy who won one that I traveled to so I could get better beat me in a close game after standing behind me while he had the bye the whole time, and I couldn't get him to stop looking over my shoulder. He also had a down's syndrome impersonation he was fond of shouting around. The whole thing was really discouraging and I'm on the point of quitting the game.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

I like that they feel entitled to the swag instead of having to earn it and that since a list came from the great and mighty internet there is no way to beat it.

You were on the right track. In order to see "prize sniping" as an injustice, you'd first need to presume that the prizes rightfully belong to the local players rather than the out-of-town people. So this reads as sour grapes, to me.

The fact that store championships can draw players from a wide radius is an indicator that the game is healthy and has a lot of appeal, not a bad thing. If someone wants to be able to beat the "strong players... from the city", the only resources required (outside of the initial investment in the game, of course) are time and information. No one has a particular monopoly on either one.

The thing you are missing here is that it hurts the store owners running the shops...

First, I don't think this is a legitimate concern. If tournaments are popular and profitable for the store, they're popular and profitable regardless of the makeup of the competitors. If local playersget demoralized and stop attending tournaments, then the tournaments will be less popular and profitable than club or league nights, and store owners can make their decisions accordingly.

Second, even if it were a legitimate concern, there are lots of ways to mitigate the problem. In addition to the solutions Major Tom suggests, there's a pretty straightforward way to "tax" people coming in from out of town:

(1) Charge an entry fee.

(2) Offer a waiver for the entry fee as a participation prize on club/league night. (That is, everybody who plays at least N times during the league season gets a pass on the $20 entry fee.)

Tah-dah! You've incentivized participation in the stuff that really earns you money, plus earned more money on the people attracted by the tournament you're running.

...If someone wants to be able to beat the "strong players... from the city", the only resources required (outside of the initial investment in the game, of course) are time and information. No one has a particular monopoly on either one.

Why would the out-of-town players assume that they had an advantage over the locals?

They shouldn't! But that advantage seems like one of the assumptions underlying the OP.

I like the idea of keeping it free for the locals while letting the store make money off of the visitors. I still worry that it might scare them off, but at least it is a chance at free prize support.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

If someone playing a decent list "sucks the fun out of the game" that's not really on them. That's on the person whose enjoyment of the game is based on playing against bad lists.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

"Netdeckers [who sap] the fun out of the game" and "strong players from the city" are two distinct groups. Sure, some people are part of both groups, but you can have very casual, strong players from out of town and you can have local netdeckers who sap the fun out of the game.

Bandit Keith strikes again...

...If someone wants to be able to beat the "strong players... from the city", the only resources required (outside of the initial investment in the game, of course) are time and information. No one has a particular monopoly on either one.

Why would the out-of-town players assume that they had an advantage over the locals?

They shouldn't! But that advantage seems like one of the assumptions underlying the OP.

I was questioning that implicit assumption in the OP. My quote wasn't terribly clear, but Vorpal Sword was included because his point was very closely related.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

I like that they feel entitled to the swag instead of having to earn it and that since a list came from the great and mighty internet there is no way to beat it.

In my mind it is like this:

Lets say there is a cooking club who get together every week at a local supermarket and have a cookoff. They buy their ingredients there and have a nice relationship with the owner. One day the owner decides that he wants to show his appreciation for all the money they spend there, and orders a really nice set of pots and pans for a special weekend cookoff.

Now if someone like Gordon Ramsey comes to the cookoff, with all his ingredients in hand, just to kick all their asses and walk away with some pots and pans, I would totally understand them being a little upset by it.

I think you are missing the fact that FFG has a vested interest in keeping the shops happy. FFG is a business, LGS are businesses.

It seems to me that this line of thinking runs against your whole point. If a store championship event doesn't turn profit, then a store shouldn't be running it in the first place.

If they are making money off it, then it doesn't matter who actually shows up.

including spending money on prize support that will end up not providing any profit to the store.

You don't seem to actually understand how these things work.

The store should be charging enough $ to cover the cost of the tournament kit + prize support. They don't run tournaments at a loss, that's just bad business.

So yes I do in fact have a right to buy my stuff online or at another store, show up at a SC pay the entry fee and expect same level of service that everyone else there gets. It is simply illogical nonsense to expect anything else. It's also really bad business to do so, because all you're going to do is drive away potential customers that way.

I personally feel like it’s a privilege to have strong players come from the city to show us yokels how to play.

Or a bunch of netdeckers turn up to take your swag with their internet squadrons and educate you in sapping the fun out of the game.

Multiple ways of looking at it.

I like that they feel entitled to the swag instead of having to earn it and that since a list came from the great and mighty internet there is no way to beat it.

In my mind it is like this:

Lets say there is a cooking club who get together every week at a local supermarket and have a cookoff. They buy their ingredients there and have a nice relationship with the owner. One day the owner decides that he wants to show his appreciation for all the money they spend there, and orders a really nice set of pots and pans for a special weekend cookoff.

Now if someone like Gordon Ramsey comes to the cookoff, with all his ingredients in hand, just to kick all their asses and walk away with some pots and pans, I would totally understand them being a little upset by it.

I would too, but if the Food Network sponsored the event, I would be surprised if out-of-town specialists didn't show up. Weekly tournaments are to your scenario as store championships are to mine.

So random person they don't know and don't know his skill level is the same thing as Gordon Ramsay coming in winning?

One day the owner decides that he wants to show his appreciation for all the money they spend there, and orders a really nice set of pots and pans for a special weekend cookoff.

Then he should make a point of only inviting those people who spent all that money there.

If the whole purpose is to show appreciation for a group of people then doing something that is open to the public is pretty much completely contrary to the stated goal.

The point of a SC isn't to show appreciation to the regular customers, it's the first step in the FFG's OP season leading up to the World Championship.

So random person they don't know and don't know his skill level is the same thing as Gordon Ramsay coming in winning?

For casual players that bring in lists with all their favorite ships, it sure can feel that way. I don't know of anyone that drives three hours for a 10 dollar prize, who doesn't plan on trying to crush everyone there.

One day the owner decides that he wants to show his appreciation for all the money they spend there, and orders a really nice set of pots and pans for a special weekend cookoff.

Then he should make a point of only inviting those people who spent all that money there.

If the whole purpose is to show appreciation for a group of people then doing something that is open to the public is pretty much completely contrary to the stated goal.

The point of a SC isn't to show appreciation to the regular customers, it's the first step in the FFG's OP season leading up to the World Championship.

Incorrect. The purpose of a SC is to make money for FFG.

the only store championship around me was 2 1/2 hours away, so I had no choice, I happen to have won and I didn't feel any sour grapes from anyone.

I felt well accepted and had a great time meeting and playing with new people.

so, when you say prize snipers or that only people who shop at the store can go, that is leaving out people like myself, who has to drive at least an hour to a regular tournament, who live in areas between the big cities from having the same opportunities you do.

in short, welcome them, shake their hand, then crush them. that way you don't have any issues.

For casual players that bring in lists with all their favorite ships, it sure can feel that way.

If I show up at a store championship with a bad list, I shouldn't expect to win in the first place, regardless of who showed up from where.

I would too, but if the Food Network sponsored the event, I would be surprised if out-of-town specialists didn't show up. Weekly tournaments are to your scenario as store championships are to mine.

Except that the food network didn't sponsor it, they just sold the market the pots and told everyone about the cookoff.

So random person they don't know and don't know his skill level is the same thing as Gordon Ramsay coming in winning?

For casual players that bring in lists with all their favorite ships, it sure can feel that way. I don't know of anyone that drives three hours for a 10 dollar prize, who doesn't plan on trying to crush everyone there.

So if someone travels for an event they should make sure there list isn't good? What if there favorite ship is the decimator or falcon? Why don't the people just try and beat him and have fun whether it happens or not?

the only store championship around me was 2 1/2 hours away, so I had no choice, I happen to have won and I didn't feel any sour grapes from anyone.

I felt well accepted and had a great time meeting and playing with new people.

I don't think you are what the OP meant by 'prize sniper'. You get a free pass

The purpose of a SC is to make money for FFG.

Which they do, by having it be the first step on their OP season. I fail to see how the two things are mutually exclusive.

FFG makes money by selling the kits, but they still care about having people show up for the SC's because those feed into the Regionals, Nationals and World championship.

I went to 5 store championships spanning 4 states. I love playing this game, and I also wanted a plaque. All in all I took 2nd at 2 of them and top 8 at the other 3. I gave my dice bag to last place one tourny, kept one and used 2 others as prize support at another tourny.

The extra focus tokens I will use to trade for other acrylics (I traded 4 for 4 stress)

I didn't travel to these to snipe prize support, I traveled to play new people and attempt to get a plaque with my favorite art work, and failed. But had a good time at every event.

People should look at it as a growing competitive community, not an invisible monster.