Hi all

Not sure if this should really be in the OP section but here goes:

I've recently started running a casual X-Wing league out of our local gaming club with the intention of giving the local player base a place to meet and play and to draw out some of the newer players I know exist but are a bit nervous about us destroying them. So far; so good. We've got 11 players in the current league with more interested in joining the spring 2016 league and prize support from the FLGS.

The next stage is running events. Having been talking with the owner of the FLGS; he wants to try and put on bi-monthly events in the area. My dilemma I'm hoping for some advice on goes like this; I want to run local tournies but don't want to be excluding the newer players, many of whom still feel nervous about competitive play. I'm looking for ideas on how to get the events rolling without making any of the newer guys feel like this is now our chance to well and truly smash them. Any advice on how to get a series of regular events going without making it too competitive but still attracting the competitive crowd?

I'm glad to see you're getting a local community up and running. My experience with running events is that in general, no one takes them too seriously (at least around here). As long as everyone is having fun, it really doesn't matter how one does in the placement. If you run an OP kit, it costs $20, so if the store doesn't want to front the cost to make the entry free, set it at $5 bucks, and then give the excess back to the players as door prize gift cards / ships.

From there, I prefer to hand out one of each to the top two players, give everyone at least one of the participation alt arts, and then the remaining stuff in the kit hand out as a random door prize (excluding the top two who already got their stuff). And if you give out $10 gift cards, over 50% of the players will walk away with stuff. For example, 8 people show up, you collect $40, adding 2 $10 gift cards to the prize pool. The top two win a full set of things, and there are 2 more sets of stuff from the kit to hand out, plus the two gift cards. 4 of the 6 who didn't win the tourney will get door prizes. 6 people total will get something. Another example to show it scales, 16 people show up, you collect $80, adding 6 $10 gift cards. Two win the full set of stuff, and there are 8 total door prizes for the remaining 14 players. 10 out of 16 walk away with stuff. 32 people show up, collecting $160. 14 extra gift cards added, 18 out of the 32 get stuff.

And all of that is assuming no "assistance" from the store (besides providing the play space and ordering the OP kit). Often, stores will freely hand ships out or stuff if there's a big group because 1) the $15 ship costs them more like $8 and they'd gladly offer it up for $10 of entry fees, 2) they know that by bringing more players into the store, they're more likely to make more sales today and in the future outside of the tourney. Which can increase the prize pool or prize quality.

But with all of that said about the prizes, the main thing is that the community continue to play casual. Even without any real prize support, more people are willing to pay $5 to get 3-4 good games in and have fun playing a game they like!

I think keeping the event cheap and spreading out the prize support to give as much stuff to everyone as opposed to the top players. Maybe random gifts? That will encourage people to just show up to get the goods. Also, people will just want to have fun instead of being hyper competitive. I've always found lowest player gets his $5 back.

Thanks for the replies chaps!

All the X-Wing events I've been to have been a really nice atmosphere but I think a lot of our newer guys are old GW players so just the word "tournament" makes them turtle up like Soontir. I was thinking participation prizes, wooden spoon and other random prizes (fastest win, best repaint, etc.) could help encourage people to show.

I guess I'm going to have to start really doing the maths on numbers for venue hire, op kits etc. to see how cheap we can make it whilst covering costs and offering everyone an incentive to play.

Just try to keep it casual, because former GW players not only turtle up, when they hear THE MAGIC "T" word.

We suddenly revert to animal instincts and start powergaming.
OVER9000

Just try and get one of the newer players to participate. They'll have fun and spread the word.

I'll echo some of the things that people said here (reasonnable entry fee, spread out prizes, more prizes if more people show up, etc).

The one thing that I will add is this: when a community first starts to go on the tournament scene, there will be a pivotal point where someone will bring a competitive list (the latest meta, a net list, whatever). When that happens, I would suggest that veteran members help to coach new players so that they can rise to the challenge. If you manage to do that then you will have a community that will need their "tournament X-Wing fix" on a regular basis, prizes or no. You will also create a dynamics where your community can join store championships, regional championships, etc as a group and have fun together!

So basically: do not shy away from playing powerful lists or creating a taboo out of them. Share the information, post strategies on your community's Facebook (or what not) and encourage player competition and creativity

A lot of good suggestions here!

Speaking as someone who has never been to a tournament of any kind (but a long-time fan of tabletop games) I would suggest that you need not worry about newer players "turtling up." As others have said, it's all about having a laugh and I think prizes for different stuff would help. Wooden spoons, painting prizes, most sporting, etc. are all prizes that suggest the importance isn't placed on winning the whole thing.

This is certainly one of the reasons why I'm heading to my first tournament next week. I'm going to bring along my painted stuff (hoping to make a chance at winning Best Painted), bring along a smile and good humour (hoping to make a chance at winning Most Sporting) and, most importantly, bring along a relaxed attitude that means I won't be disappointed if I don't win anything at all!

I know I've got lots to learn about the game and a tournament setting is the best place to do that. It's just a question of being humble, looking for lessons to take away from your losses and enjoying every minute that you get to spend playing games with friends (future or current).

tl;dr: Everyone has different reasons to going for tournaments, don't worry that everyone's going to be put off because there are good players.

Just my two cents!

I've also just had a chap from our league who owns a toy shop message me about running a tournament out of his next toy show. Seems things are really starting to pick up round here

Also make sure you let everyone know you're running a casual tournament. You can even include the rules...

Casual

Casual events emphasize fun and a friendly atmosphere. These events help build local communities and are a great way for new players to experience their favorite game without worrying whether they know every little rule. This tier may include leagues, weekly game nights, and any event using a X-Wing variant.

If people know what you're doing it may help keep the event casual and laid back.

This is certainly one of the reasons why I'm heading to my first tournament next week. I'm going to bring along my painted stuff (hoping to make a chance at winning Best Painted), bring along a smile and good humour (hoping to make a chance at winning Most Sporting) and, most importantly, bring along a relaxed attitude that means I won't be disappointed if I don't win anything at all!

I know I've got lots to learn about the game and a tournament setting is the best place to do that. It's just a question of being humble, looking for lessons to take away from your losses and enjoying every minute that you get to spend playing games with friends (future or current).

That's pretty much been my outlook on gaming tournaments and events. I went to my first Batman Miniatures tourney a couple of months ago and came dead last. I won the wooden spoon prize and best painted crew prize then turned up at the next one and won the whole thing. Both were just as enjoyable experiences (except for one game maybe) so I do agree; it's as much about learning the game and meeting other players as anything else. I also had my worst ever X-Wing tourney performance this weekend gone but certainly had a good laugh with all the new players I met and conversely enjoyed taking 2nd in the previous tourney much less as the whole vibe was more competitive and there were a few guys who just didn't seem up for a laugh.

So far people have responded to the league quite well so I'm hoping if we just keep it fun the dreaded "T-word" will just be another label for playing SPACESHIPS!!

Thanks again for all the responses! I'm off to download Cryodex and do some maths on costs etc.

I'm an ex-GW guy and know the feeling on tournaments. I think having prizes for normally bad things is the way to go...at least at first. If you have prizes for accomplishing good things (fastest kill, etc), then you still add a bit of aggressiveness. Consider instead prizes for most green dice totally blanked (minimum 2 or 3 dice) or even most blanked red dice, as well. Things like that will take the sting off the loses and bad luck. It's a way to draw in even the most reluctant players. If your luck and skill is so bad, you might end up with the most prizes. I find that's the way to get those concerned about tournaments to play.

I think that's how you start, but you do want to slowly migrate away from that after a couple of times. Get people to go to tournaments and get over their fears. Then, you can start to shift more of the prizes to actually doing well. It's true that you will probably want to start to shift it to a more competitive environment. Maybe then start with the fastest kill, etc.

All I have to say is that having fun is the most important thing for me. Oh, I like winning, but I hate cut throat environments, too.

One of the things I have started doing in the tournaments I run, is to provide prize support for the person that ends up finishing last in the tournament. Usually some form of store credit. This way if a person gets pummeled all day, they are at least getting something for sticking it out and competing. They have to stay for all the games in order to qualify. I know how depressing it can be to get pummled all day flying a list you like or just had a bad day of the dice gods turning against you.

Also as was stated a random drawing is nice as well, just something to spread around the entry fees. The store gets something and the players do as well.