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CAV Developer's Journal
By Rob Davis
July, 2007
Since CAV 2 was released back in February, I've felt that it would live or die based on how quickly the player base could grow. Obviously, the more people that are playing the game, the more successful and fun it can be. Not only from a business standpoint, where more customers generally equals more sales, but from a player standpoint as well. More players means more opponents, more opportunities to play and more potential friends to meet.
In my years as a Black Lightning demo team member for Reaper, I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of people and introduce (and sometimes reintroduce) them to CAV. At my events, I have also observed that the number of bystanders and people new to CAV is directly proportional to the number of players that are participating in the game. I think that when people see a group of five or six people playing something together - and having lots of fun doing it - they see it as more than just a game between friends; it's an event of some sort. More importantly, they seem to reason that if so many people are enjoying playing that it must be a fun game, and thus should be worth taking the time to check out. So they start asking questions. That opens the door for a quick demonstration, and hopefully before you know it, you have another CAV convert on your hands!
Introducing someone to an activity that you truly enjoy is exciting. It's also rewarding, as your group has someone new to play with and against, and better yet it helps grow your group even more. You never know if the next person you talk to could have two or three friends looking around for a new game to get into. Maybe that person will turn out to be an awesome painter and can help your entire playgroup improve their painting skills. Or maybe he could even turn out to be a good spokesperson himself and help your group to grow even more over time.
Of course it all starts with the simple step of you playing CAV at your Friendly Local Game Stores. Here are a few other simple steps that can help your CAV group to grow:
- Whenever you play, have a spare army on hand. If someone stops by and wants to play, you've got an army ready to go.
- Play your game in an area with good visibility. Sure that table in the back may be quiet or warmer/cooler because it's away from the front doors, but it's also secluded. If you want to attract new players, play somewhere where everyone coming into the store will see you.
- Painted models attract more attention. Even if you're not the world's greatest painter, a simple two-color paint job looks a lot better to potential players than a lot of unpainted minis on the table.
- Remember that you're auditioning your group to potential players. Someone might love CAV, but not want to play with your group if they don't feel like they're welcomed or think that they would not enjoy playing with you. Take the time to make passerby's feel appreciated and welcome, and not looked at as an intrusion into your group's playing time.
- Encourage your FLGS to carry CAV products. Having product on hand goes a long way towards making a potential player feel good about the game.
Advertise. Lots of FLGS's have a wall where gaming groups can hang a contact list with the time and dates that they meet. Most have a website with a forum, be sure to post about your upcoming games there. If you're willing to spend a bit of money, I've never seen a FLGS that didn't love posters! Ask if they're willing to hang one of these --> someplace and put your group's contact info on it.
We here at Mil-Net are even willing to give you a helping hand. Starting in August, we'll be starting a new initiative called Gaming Group of the Month. Each month we'll feature a group of guys and gals who play CAV together and help build the community in their neck of the woods. Our hope is that we'll not only strengthen the featured CAV group by showing them off to potential players in their geographical area, but also show people in other parts of the world know that they're not the only ones playing CAV.
How do you get entered? Simply click here to download an app. Fill it out and email it back to us with the required information. And send us photos. We love photos! Photos of your players' models, of your players playing CAV, and most importantly just one big group photo of your players themselves! Get your FLGS employee to snap the pic so that everyone can be in it!
So what do you get for your time and trouble? Besides the prestige of being our Gaming Group of the Month, we'll throw in some CAV products for you to give away at your next event. Free publicity and swag! How cool is that? We're also always looking for active and outgoing groups to playtest new rules and products for us and submitting an entry is a good way to get noticed.
We look forward to hearing from all of you in the coming months!
-Rob
