How to Attract the Masses

Well, NJ Con is officially over, but our group has been discussing the venue site and whether or not it's worth hosting a tournament with NJ Con again next year.

Problems with NJ Con and PP Tournament:
1. Not generating revenue for the Con. The Con organizers were great in purchasing the really nice trophy set, but we had only 8 people show (9 if you include our Pressganger). The superb trophy kit costs $75 - essentially we paid for the kit ourselves and not for the Con overhead cost. Also, to run a tournament requires a lot of space and tables - which could go to running other games for the Con.

2. Location. This year the Con was hosted at Ft Dix, NJ, instead of Kennilworth, NJ. For those with no knowledge of NJ geography, Ft. Dix is South/Central NJ and Kennilworth is North NJ, towards Manhatten. We lost a fair number of players that might have been able to come out from NYC or NY. We should have gained players from southern NJ, but that didn't happen. And the PA guys we spar with couldn't make it out for one reason or another.

3. Demands of PP events vs what the Con can provide. Honestly, PP Tournaments require more events than just one SR 4.0. However, to generate that, we need a hotel where we can have that kind of feel for. On the flip side, NJ Con is only Fri-Sat, which presents problems for many individuals. Had it been Fri-Sun or Sat-Sun, I think we might have been able to do two tournaments, attracting more people. It's not an easy drive or location, so we need to make it worth people's while.

What could we have done differently?

1. Marketing. The Con organizers marketed very heavily with flyers, etc. However, I'm not sure about our own marketing. We made announcements on various forums, but very few of us traveled to other game stores and made these announcements ourselves. Last year we were blessed with being a stop for a Templecon promotion, but that didn't happen this year. Additionally, I now know of several gamers in S. Jersey who are looking to branch out but missed the tournament. Why didn't we reach them? More over, there's a gaming club in N. Jersey that I know we don't ever interact with (HQ the Club), but they've made it out to open gaming days at several stores.

I believe that just posting on the forums is flawed. Very few of us actually patrol the Events forums. I do, just to find a group to game with etc. But that's just it. It also requires constant readership and consistent contact.

2. Offer to drive people. NYC folks need to take a train or drive. Driving into and out of NYC is a hassle. Offering a pick up might be a good idea.

3. Two tournaments? There's also another crowd out there, one we don't deal with. Monpoc. Maybe we should start involving that a bit more?

How is this not our fault or the Con's fault?
1. Some close proximity LGS decided to run a tournament on the same day. We possibly lost some PA guys because of the double-up on dates. Why come out to NJ Con when the LGS is closer? Also, some of the PA guys just saw the closest store to them close, so supporting the tournament venue was possible a huge motivation. I don't blame them. It's closer and you're supporting a local gaming spot.

2. We actually have more than 8 players in our LGS. We have close to 20. Problem is most players are fresh into the game - less than 1 tournament under their belt and only 6 months of playing. It's intimidating for them to come out to compete against us when consistently 5 of us take home top, 2nd and 3rd. We have JWC Tournaments for that - hosting a 2nd one before NJ Con might have been an idea, but timidity came into play.


How to solve this problem and what is the solution?

I don't think we should abandon NJ Con. From what I hear, the Con organisers want to have it at a hotel next year in central NJ (such a place does exist), although Ft. Dix wasn't a bad venue. However, they're not sure about the logistics next year. Apparently they grew about 10-20% and were able to save money for next year.

For us, we'll have 16 players hopefully coming out to NJ Con next year who aren't afraid to compete. Most of us veterans are actively trying to improve the games of the rookies.

Also, maybe give out free passes by traveling to different tournament spots as a marketing tool. It's an incentive to at least get someone there, who may or may not bring his/her posse. Winners of the tournaments get a free pass, etc. etc. TempleCon does it.

Finally, in discussion with the NYC and Philly folks, we were talking about creating a trophy that would entice people to come out and try to take it back. Promote an already healthy rivalry.

Any other suggestions?