Preamble

I was just reading the thread about the prizes for the nationals, and noted that some people were a little underwhelmed by the prizes.

For example, in Star Trek: Attack Wing, the prizes for (even the most mediocre) tournaments were always limited edition ships.

It was and is (IMO) a reward system that does far more harm to the game itself than good.

This introduces an artificial scarcity in the game economy -especially where the prize ship itself is a competitive resource- that ended up creating a have vs. have not kind of playing field. I hated it - even though I won a lot of ships this way.

Main Thought

So I thought I would throw the doors open to see what the community felt would be an adequate prize or prize "package" for the nationals.

Here is a package I think would be cool:

• An alternate flip-side image damage deck
• A set of Acrylic Maneuver templates, and
  • A form-fitting template organizer/carrying case with insets for each of the templates
• An Alternative Art version of a less common upgrade card
• Maybe an alternate painted model from the starter set.

This isn't a comprehensive list - it is just some of the things I think would be cool. I wouldn't mind hearing other people's thoughts.

The range rulers should be more decorative than just saying regionals 2015 or worlds 2015, honestly I have seen nicer templates that people have had custom made. I think at the regional level the winner should get a full set of acrylic tokens and win a ship of some sort, not a ship with different stats but one with a unique custom paint scheme.

A Star Destroyer themed playmat , compatible with the Death Star and Starfield Mats.

There are so many possibilities.

Custom Tournament Tray to carry around your list at a tournament.

Custom play mat.

Higher quality stands and bases, possibly with different colors.

Unique set of cardboard numbers, possibly with pictures instead.

Shirts

Custom name badges

Towels, shower curtains, bathrobes (Jedi bathrobe with World Champion embroidered on it anyone?)

Water bottle

Alternate models for ships is a great prize idea. No field advantge but maybe a special paint scheme or even a special mold would feel like a real prize but not having any in game advantage. Limited edition ships with unique stats are crap if that is what Star Trek did and make me glad I have no interest in it. I hate games (of any kind) that give champions a further advantage they don't need in the first place or they wouldn't be champions.

A carrying case for upgrade cards.

Bags of plastic pegs for everyone playing.. both sizes...

Is this looking for a problem where there isn't one? Especially since a goodly portion of the framing question was about an unrelated game.

A carrying case for upgrade cards.

You mean like a deck box? We already get those...

A special painted ship would be really cool. At my FLGS they give away a custom painted ship to the winner of their monthly casual tournaments

Two words: Acrylic Dials. No third party company can make em' due to licensing issues (and no, the 'universal dials' that some companies offer doesn't count).

Acrylic tournament legal asteroid tokens and debris tokens would be neat too.

Alt art versions of cards people actually need, i.e. the rarer upgrade cards you only get in certain ships, or the uniques from the Corvette. Here's a few straight off the top of my head:

R2-D2 (crew)

C-3PO

Leia Organa

Han Solo (crew)

Engine Upgrade

Autothrusters

Veteran Instincts

Stealth Device

Anti-Pursuit Lasers

Stay On Target

Advanced Sensors

Flamethrowers.

Pre-release

Win and get those unreleased wave 7 or Raider boxes just like the Imdaar Alpha release. Raider to 1st, chose one wave 7 for 1-4 and 5-8. They just get to play with it sooner than everyone else but it will still become a fair playing field.

Money. Cash. Like a Korean starcraft tournament. Get some sponsors, and give 100k to the winner of the worlds!

As others have previously said, I would be 100% behind a custom alt art paint job of a ship. If it's offered to the top 4 of regionals/nats/worlds, it goes along with the theme. Top 64 get alt art cards. Top 8 get "alt art" tokens. Top 4 get alt art ships. Each becomes more and more noticeable on the playing field.

Or, they could make nats prizes alt crit tokens! Which clearly they previously wrote off since we started getting the second edition of TL, Focus, Evade, and Shields prior to getting the first edition crit tokens.

Money. Cash. Like a Korean starcraft tournament. Get some sponsors, and give 100k to the winner of the worlds!

Good God no...

This is a terrible idea.

How about an autographed print?!

Fantasy Flight has so much awesome art out there, I'd love to have something to hang on the wall!

A walk on role for the next Star Wars Christmas special.

Or talking jar jar body pillow.

Sorry, you lost me at Star Trek Attack Wing...

Something that isn't cool so that way I don't want to have it.

Dat Lando alt art.

Dat Darth Vader alt art.

Dat Imperial Boba alt art.

Flamethrowers.

With yogurt as the picture.

In answer to those who were put off by the mention of Star Trek Attack Wing, and the (perhaps overly lengthy preamble.

Chalk it up to unfortunate experience: One thing I really, really, didn't want to see in this thread was someone saying, "we should give out limited edition ships like they do for Star Trek Attack Wing!" --shudder--

I am so utterly against that sort of reward-system model - the kind that creates demand by introducing an artificial scarcity of resources (read: limited edition ships), that I may well have spent more time pre-ambling about it, than er, .. ambling about the topic at hand - which was basically, if the prizes given seem uninspired, or lacking luster - what sort of alternatives would the community come up with.

I was looking for, specifically the kinds of comments and posts this thread has been receiving so far. Great job people!