My FLGS just found out it will be hosting an Armada Regional again this year.

I suspect other shops will find out soon and we should hopefully see an announcement as well.

In the US...

When the Sentry Box (Canada) applied, we were told we'd know on or about the 27th.

But, y'know, 29th and all with no notice so far. But I expect it'll be only a few days, maybe early next week...

Regardless, we're still ahead of last year. Last year, Regionals were not announced online until the 16th of October.

And of course, they won't actually start until November.

18 hours ago, shmitty said:

My FLGS just found out it will be hosting an Armada Regional again this year.

I suspect other shops will find out soon and we should hopefully see an announcement as well.

Are they going to publish a prize list beyond the kit beforehand? I have my doubts about how many people I can get to road trip after the last regional there The only prizes were the prize kit...and there were enough Corvette A's for everyone to get 2 of them, but they didn't distribute them.

The Kit itself specifies the absolute minimum - and that's one of the main card per participant, and then breaking the other prizes down by ranking.

Stores can (and do) do more than that. But one shouldn't expect more than the minimum.

I mean, I don't distribute doubles at the Regional or Store if I have extras. They go into a pool for later prizing and stuff... But then again, its also the circumstances of being in an isolated area. I'm not so fussed at getting outsiders to play, because there is no local outsiders. I'm all about encouraging repeat play at the store. Don't just come. Come back .

For participation prizes in kits, I distribute 2 to everyone if there's enough for that to happen. I also work with the store to add some store credit, too. Like you said, the extras then go into local prize support. With a Regional, you're likely getting players who traveled for hours aka regionally. As a traveler, I don't particularly want my Regional entry fee - which was $30 - to subsidize cool prizes for the local players who may not have even been there.

I don't dispute that the store didn't follow the rules of the Regional prize kit, I just thought the prize support could have been improved without them spending a dollar more. When I talked to the store owner about it, he got really defensive about how expensive the Regional prize kits are and how they barely covered the costs (ignoring how much other money people spent on non-tournament items including the game I was going to buy after it was over). Part of this is on FFG though for not putting that guidance into the kit.

Without knowing what the prize support might look like, I'm really hesitant about getting a hotel room (possibly two nights), spending gas money, etc. etc.

30 minutes ago, comatose said:

For participation prizes in kits, I distribute 2 to everyone if there's enough for that to happen. I also work with the store to add some store credit, too. Like you said, the extras then go into local prize support. With a Regional, you're likely getting players who traveled for hours aka regionally. As a traveler, I don't particularly want my Regional entry fee - which was $30 - to subsidize cool prizes for the local players who may not have even been there.

I don't dispute that the store didn't follow the rules of the Regional prize kit, I just thought the prize support could have been improved without them spending a dollar more. When I talked to the store owner about it, he got really defensive about how expensive the Regional prize kits are and how they barely covered the costs (ignoring how much other money people spent on non-tournament items including the game I was going to buy after it was over). Part of this is on FFG though for not putting that guidance into the kit.

Without knowing what the prize support might look like, I'm really hesitant about getting a hotel room (possibly two nights), spending gas money, etc. etc.

And I apologise for being passionate about this. I know, for a fact, its my own lack of repeat circumstance that drives it... If the Sentry Box Calgary gets the Regional this year, then I won't get a chance to play in a Regional. Simple as that. Sure, I get to run a Regional, but not being able to play is a bummer.

Again, its all in the situation. Here, we only have Calgary and Edmonton, with Red Deer halfway between. So there's not a lot of travel. And not a lot of Hotel Room getting. Plus, the one we have is it. Every other Regional won't be even remotely close - being most likely, Vancouver and Seattle, at 8-10 hours drive in one direction, and if SK gets one, that's likely to be 12 hours in that direction...

And those surrounding areas are either mountains or prairies and basically uninhabited anyway.

I just know that for some, repeat occurances are worth more than even the prize entry fee. because you need those repeats.

And you have every right to be hesistant about it, its your money to spend, after all.

Its just very, VERY tricky to "call out" or "talk to" a store owner about it. Because not only is it their business, its often their proprietory business alone. How I run things is certainly very different to how anyone else runs it. How the Sentry Box (Largest General Gaming Store in North America!) runs their things is completely different to how Myth Games across town runs theirs.

Because doing so, especially on the day, can lead to negative perception. (And honestly, that somewhat has happened, hasn't it, since its being questioned a second time...)...

Personally, I am my own on what I know I am mandated to get. If the minimum of the play experience and the minimum of the kit isn't good enough to fund it, then it doesn't fund it.

Anything I get beyond that should be extra. Because it is extra. It is a nice bonus.\

But hey, at least I acknowledge in the hypocritical end, that most of my response is driven on Jealousy... And probably shouldn't be taken at face value, if at all.

20 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

Because doing so, especially on the day, can lead to negative perception. (And honestly, that somewhat has happened, hasn't it, since its being questioned a second time...)...

1

I think every store and every situation is different, so I think what works for you, your attendees, and your store is what works. I actually didn't say anything on the day, partly because I still had a 3.5 hour drive back home through Chicago. I don't even know that I would bring it up now except that the owner in this case acted very put out about hosting a Regional when I brought it up to him later but apparently thought it the outcomes were good enough to still try to host another one.

On 29.9.2017 at 11:25 PM, shmitty said:

My FLGS just found out it will be hosting an Armada Regional again this year.

I suspect other shops will find out soon and we should hopefully see an announcement as well.

Looks like regionals for Nordic countries are coming online now.

No dates set, just the stores having been notified who gets the regionals or not.

A store in Portland just announced they are hosting a regional...

Hmm. One of the Sentry Box's preferred dates.

14 minutes ago, themightyhedgehog said:

A store in Portland just announced they are hosting a regional...

Time for that Portland trip I've always wanted.

ugh, I'm strangely excited about this list coming out and the anticipation is killing me.

On 10/04/2017 at 0:26 PM, themightyhedgehog said:

A store in Portland just announced they are hosting a regional...

There might be a handful from my area that fly in for this one.

3 minutes ago, shmitty said:

They announced this SUPER early, it was like 4 days ago on facebook. I almost think they pre-announced it in anticipation of FFG announcing it "soon"TM

*Edit* : Though i guess they wouldn't know they were getting them until FFG confirmed so maybe not. Why FFG do you make me wait on pins and needles for such a meh announcement.

It’s frustrating especially if it’s an early store less than two months to advertise........

Any word on when the dates will be formally published?

5 minutes ago, jamie nasmyth said:

Any word on when the dates will be formally published?

No

It was earlier last year.

With the reveal of what was in the kit being Mid-October.

And the final update to the Listing being the last week of october.

So far, we have neither.

Tickets for November Worlds only just closed today... So it might be that they've been focused on that side of thing a bunch, and will not look elsewhere to information and releases.