Some WM/H community issues

[cody]

So the tournament today brought up some issues I'd like everyone to be aware of.

1. Low turnout. We went from 27 in January, to 13 in February, to 4 today. We've gotten a pretty good deal in terms of getting saturday table space back and prize support, but I doubt that will continue without numbers to support it. I know Crucible is this weekend, but WM/H is sufficiently popular that we're not going to be able to avoid scheduling conflicts with out-of-state cons throughout the year. In-state of course we'll try to avoid, which is why we did this weekend instead of second staturday, to avoid the mayhem cup conflict.

What do people need to make tourneys more worthwhile? Is is a notification issue? What would help, beyond reminding people on Wednesday, the DL calendar, and posting events on centex?

2. Bickering during games. DL got some customer complaints regarding behavior in one of the games today. I've previously been pretty low-key about a certain amount of smack talking between people that I assume know each other well enough to deal with it if tempers start to flare. But I can't tolerate situations that endanger our playing space, or our reputation.

Be polite and keep your temper in check, or I will warn you once, then ask you to leave for the day if it keeps up.



In happier news, Ben Andraka is the overall winner for the quarter with 8 straight victories despite missing today. Talk to me next time you're around on a Wednesday, I believe DL has some shinies for you.

[m3g4tr0n]

Congrats, Ben!

As to the other issues, I suspect it's probably the lull between cons. Maybe people are a little burned out. I know I'll be at next month's. Perhaps others will too.

[Cowboy247]

I don't show up because i have no chance to win... I don't get to practice very much so my lists and my game sucks.. so i don't go, because i don't want to waste 3 or 4 hours getting my ass handed to me. Now have some tourneys that are a tad different, and you might get more interest. Like mangled metal, or who's the boss, or where your opponent get to pick your list that you play, or a true team event. Where there are 4 players 2 per team each with a 25 point list against the other 2 people. Would love to play something like that. It doesn't have to ALWAYS be competitive.

[jesse]

I missed yesterday because I did not know it was happening. My fault for not paying attention to the boards.


I completely disagree with cowboy about the different events, sticking with steamroller will get the most attendance IMO.

[muffinman]

Sweet! I didn't know you were tracking things on a quarterly basis. Watch out guys, Skorne is OP!

Sorry I missed today, I would have really liked to come down but I was out of town on a camping trip.

Like Cowboy said, it might be a good idea to do some sort of slightly different event at some point, even just as an experiment to see if it bumps up participation. We seem to have a lot of newer players in Austin lately, so something to get their feet wet in competitive play might be good. either lower points or some sort of special event or non steamroller thing. On the other hand, I know a lot of people (myself included at least to some degree) prefer steamrollers, so if putting on different events doesn't actually get more people playing it's probably not worth it.

I know a lot of the numbers we had for Jan/Feb were out of towners, which we can't rely on to come down to Austin each month.

[Minus67]

most fun ive had going 0-3

[m3g4tr0n]

Sweet! I didn't know you were tracking things on a quarterly basis. Watch out guys, Skorne is OP!

Word! Bloodrunner spam is insane!

[m3g4tr0n]

I missed yesterday because I did not know it was happening. My fault for not paying attention to the boards.


I completely disagree with cowboy about the different events, sticking with steamroller will get the most attendance IMO.

I'm on the fence about that. Steamroller is fun, but there are people who might enjoy a little diversity from time to time.

[Korwen]

I missed the Saturday Tournament because, well, I'm a procrastinator and I didn't have all the models I wanted to use assembled, so instead I assembled minis all day.

That being said, I partially agree with Cowboy in that it could be interesting to try some "fun" style events, like Who's the Boss or the new Commander's Crucible, but I would still expect that normal Steamroller events might have the highest turnout.

I will comment however that if you only play in tournaments you have a chance of winning, you're playing for the wrong reason. Tournaments are an opportunity to play 3-4 games against opponents who are also trying to win, which makes for excellent practice. It's not a waste of 3 or 4 hours if you get your ass handed to you, as long as you learn from the games you played. The players who are good at playing Steamrollers will also be good at Mangled Metal/Tooth and Claw, or Who's the Boss.

If you go into every tournament with the mindset that winning is the only measure of success and the only way to have fun then I would suggest the mindset needs to change before the format does. Not trying to be rude or demeaning, just saying that losing is a very, very important part of learning to win, and losing to good opponents is usually more enlightening than winning against inexperienced/new ones.

I don't show up because i have no chance to win... I don't get to practice very much so my lists and my game sucks.. so i don't go, because i don't want to waste 3 or 4 hours getting my ass handed to me. Now have some tourneys that are a tad different, and you might get more interest. Like mangled metal, or who's the boss, or where your opponent get to pick your list that you play, or a true team event. Where there are 4 players 2 per team each with a 25 point list against the other 2 people. Would love to play something like that. It doesn't have to ALWAYS be competitive.

[Bettythebear]

My personal take on this as a newb (for the last couple years) is that not only would a steamroller not be enjoyable to me because of not standing a chance, but neither is playing on most Wed nights even since most people seem to be just prepping for the next steamroller tournament. Granted I don't really think my opinion matters since I've pretty much given up on WM, at dlair anyways, but the only person I've ever found to be remotely accommodating to a new guy is Cody.

I missed the Saturday Tournament because, well, I'm a procrastinator and I didn't have all the models I wanted to use assembled, so instead I assembled minis all day.

That being said, I partially agree with Cowboy in that it could be interesting to try some "fun" style events, like Who's the Boss or the new Commander's Crucible, but I would still expect that normal Steamroller events might have the highest turnout.

I will comment however that if you only play in tournaments you have a chance of winning, you're playing for the wrong reason. Tournaments are an opportunity to play 3-4 games against opponents who are also trying to win, which makes for excellent practice. It's not a waste of 3 or 4 hours if you get your ass handed to you, as long as you learn from the games you played. The players who are good at playing Steamrollers will also be good at Mangled Metal/Tooth and Claw, or Who's the Boss.

If you go into every tournament with the mindset that winning is the only measure of success and the only way to have fun then I would suggest the mindset needs to change before the format does. Not trying to be rude or demeaning, just saying that losing is a very, very important part of learning to win, and losing to good opponents is usually more enlightening than winning against inexperienced/new ones.