Steve Bennett: Notes From a Game Party

I mentioned in my introductory piece that I am trying to foster a game scene in my town of 9,000—Grinnell, Iowa. We hosted our fourth game party on an incredibly beautiful May Saturday. I’m learning as I go, and I’ve learned a thing or two that you might find useful.

Weather Matters
In February we had to cancel a game party when an ice storm knocked out our power for four days. Great weather, though, can inhibit attendance as much as bad weather.

Our recent game party was held on a cloudless day with the temperature in the upper 70s. In my mind it was a perfect day to sit inside playing games with friends and grazing the food table like a gourmand just out of prison. Apparently less committed gamers thought otherwise. Attendance was down. I don’t think we had more than six people at a time. We did manage to play games straight through from 12:30 to 9:30. All who came enjoyed themselves.

There were other local factors that tamped down the attendance, but weather was the chief culprit. We’re smart enough to recognize we can’t change the weather. And we’re aware enough to not be discouraged by the drop in attendance. We’ll soldier on and schedule the next party and hope for cool temps and light rain.

Condense the Schedule
Indulge me for a couple of paragraphs while I tell you a little story.

Years ago I worked at my family’s furniture store. Saturday was always our best day. Even though we were busy, we prided ourselves on getting to everyone, floating the floor, making sure everyone got their questions answered and their needs addressed. We were low-pressure salesmen who didn’t work on commission. We just wanted to make sure customers felt welcome and got what they wanted.

Occasionally, during a big sale, there would be so many customers in the store that some would leave without having been talked to or even acknowledged. Often those people came back and bought later. The message that the crowded, bustling store sent to them was, “This place must be good to be this busy!”

There’s a bandwagon effect. People want to buy at the furniture store that others have already vetted and found satisfactory. And if those same people walk into a game party where games are being played on several tables simultaneously, where there’s a general hubbub, they’ll be more inclined to view games and game parties in a favorable light. “What do those people know that I don’t? I better stick around and check out this gaming thing.”

What I’m saying is crowds are good.

What else I’m saying is don’t schedule nine hours of gaming in the spring and summer unless you have a sufficient group of dedicated game players. We started at noon and ran to 9:00. Attendance was WAY lighter in the afternoon than it was in the evening. Our next game party will go from 4:00 until 9:00 or 10:00. We can consolidate the attendees and create a more festive atmosphere, which will add to everyone’s enjoyment. Come October or November we can expand the hours again.

Food Matters, Too
When we go to play games in Iowa City, we don’t go because of the food; we go to play games. That said, the food is a real nice bonus which adds to our general contentment. Everyone brings something, and it’s all very good.

At our game parties, the food plays a more important role. We try to put out a good spread. You know the expression, “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” There’s a corollary to that adage that states, “You’ll get more uninitiated gamers to your party with good food than with no food.”

Our parties are potlucks. We put a soup or stew on a low flame on the stove and let it go all day. We usually bake some cookies. (Commercial note: My wife folded her search for the perfect cookie into her career as a quilt designer and wrote the book, Cookies ‘n’ Quilts. Absolutely the best cookie recipes in the world. Guaranteed to clog your arteries in three easy lessons.) We stock an ice chest with beer, pop, and water.

Our guests are encouraged to bring something of their own. We also make it clear it’s them we want. We don’t want anyone who is harried for time to not come because they didn’t have anything to bring. We get cookies, cakes, and creampuffs. We get fresh-baked bread and delicious spreads. We get fruit trays and vegetable trays. We get pizza and exotic hors d’oeuvres. We get chips and candies. We get beer and wine.

For some of our guests the food is more important than the games. That’s fine. They show up, and we get the pleasure of their company. Perhaps, just perhaps, down the road the games will be as much of a draw for them as the food. And if not, we still get the pleasure of their company. Win-win.

A side note: Don’t make a cheese fondue the cornerstone of your spread unless you have a good recipe, a fondue pot, and a working knowledge of what to do with both! You don’t want to even think about what prompted this note.

Goals and Expectations
It’s important that we keep everything in perspective. There’s little chance that any of my guests will take to games to the extent my wife and I have. It would be wonderful, but if that’s how I measure the success of these events, then I am almost guaranteeing failure. (I would prefer to measure success by some quantifiable Fun and Gluttony Quotient. Perhaps one of you statistically minded types can work out the base values for the FGQ.)

What is happening is that through their exposure to games at my house, some people are warming up to a world of games that exists beyond the simple roll-and-move affairs of childhood. I can occasionally call on these people to play with me.

Most of all, games are a wonderful excuse to get together once a month with old friends and new. What could be better than that?

You should think about giving it a try in your neighborhood.

© 2007 Steve Bennett

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Comments:

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You are right in not underestimating the bandwagon effect.  My wife and I like to do little experiments with our friends when window-shopping after hours:  We stop and look into one shop window and count the seconds until a crowd gathers around us, curious to see what we are looking at.  It never takes too much time! Likewise when we have a flea market table, if friends stand in front of it as if they were customers, we get a lot more business! Posted by Jeff Allers on Jun 12, 2007 at 05:45 AM | #

Interesting experiments, Jeff! The power of the herd. Some of it is curiosity. Some of it is energy. People will feed on an energy. If you can make either of those factors work in your favor, you’re in good shape, whether it’s retail or game parties. Posted by Steve Bennett on Jun 12, 2007 at 09:58 PM | #

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