They Just Don't Know
 

When i knew i was getting back into the hobby i called every toy store,even ask some friends about electric football. The majority said no one plays that anymore.
The hobby shops were worse because they had never heard of the game before.
Its a good thing i didn't listen to them.ltsplbll

glad you found us here. whats really weird is i know for a fact there are tons more of us that dont know how popular this hobby really is. in its heyday, there were lots of people who were in the hobby, and say, a kid who wasnt into it, well, bet your bottom dollar he knew someone in it. every street in my vast neihborhood had small leagues setup. i wish there was a way we could cheaply advertise it to those who are NOT online. in the past nearly everyone was in about a 18 year age range, when it was really popular, so we need to reach the people in the 38 to about 60 yrs old to get those back into it. plus we MUST get kids and teens into it also. one avenue i tried(only for a month, maybe i will do it again) is local online community forums and online local area websites that have stuff for sale and list clubs/hobbies/announcements etc etc. our local website gives one free ad per month, maybe when january comes i will post another ad, but they wont let you put websites on there unless you pay. how about some of us print CHEAP business cards showing some of these websites and put your phone number out, i mean, if you print up 500 or 1000 cards for say, 9.99 and give them all out, i bet we would at least get a few more back into it. give them out at hobbystores hobbyshops sports stores, sportsbars, you get the idea.... promote...sorry, two cups of coffee; lol.

Great idea!
 

Mark,

I think you're on to something. Initially, inexpensive marketing is the key. Perhaps sending fliers to hobby stores (I believe the MFCA had fliers at one time). Perhaps working something out in conjunction with a company like Miggle to contact toy stores. Perhaps the MFCA working in conjunction with various leagues to promote something with youth groups. I have not thought these things out and not sure if they would work but I'd like to see us attempt something.

It's like the Matrix movie
 

There are thousands that are not plugged in!!! Do you want the red or blue pill?!?! LOL

I was talking to a guy today at work. He was telling me about his fantasy football league. That his group have been playing for over 12yrs or so.
It was now around lunch, and we were walking to our cars, so I pulled out my latest Tweak issue to show him

He was blown away!!! drl$$ drl$$ drl$$ drl$$

He wanted to know how do we pass, where can you buy the board.

I told him that our league (NEFL) starts in Feb, he said he will be there to check it out, and he's bringing his sons!
A few issues ago, Wolf printed up those MFCA cards....some had that Barry Sanders fig on it. I told him to have his son go to the website, and check it. I gave him 2 cards, and he wanted my phone number.
He said he might even get into it.....as he said, he's a football junkie!!!

I also printed out the flyer that was the back cover of the Tweak. I hung those up in recreation centers in the area. I got a lot of emails. Another thing to try is to play in sports bars or pizza shops. We sometimes play in a bowling alley where we have people that can watch us.

That is true, we have to get the kids involved. Even tho we have 32 teams in the NEFL, we also have the Deuce, last season there were 12 younger coaches that played in their own season, and ended in a Super Bowl (won by Zack Greco) The kids had a blast, we will again be looking to add to that amount, and increase the fun meter. The best thing about the kids, you never hear an argument when they play!!!! thmbsp$ thmbsp$ thmbsp$

The Tweak is a great recruitment tool, the only thing I didn't have with me was my ipod or PSP which has the ESPN special on them, and the Nissan commercial done by the coaches of the LAEFL.

Nat'l

What is the ESPN special??

hey guys, here is one more way...

there are new people every Christmas that get onto the miggle forums, jump on there and answer some of their questions please.:D :chr: ltsplbll

espn special!? how do i see it????

I think the espn special was titled " The lord of the Rings" if I am not mistaken.

During the Miggle Convo in Jacksonville, Fl
 

The ESPN cameras were everywhere. They shot a lot of footage. They edited down to about a 20-25 minute special. It starts off with them interviewing real NFL coaches asking them about EF (holgrem, H. Edwards, Gruden & Norv Turner. Then it goes on with them talking to Wolf, Norbert, Big Keith & Ron Bell.

They even have that guy that does all the real football games...you know the guy with the voice!
It was on youtube, but it's gone now. I will check again.

Nat'l

You are correct, it was a show titled "The Lord of the Rings". I have it on my DVR in HD, in fact I watched it just the other morning before work.

Let's help them know!
 

Maybe this is a dream of mine, or maybe this could happen. Most hobby stores don’t know because the people working there could be our kids. You would have to be in your 30’s and up to remember the heydays of electric football.
Most people don’t know we are here because there is no advertisement. At its peak you would walk into Toy R us and see stacks of electric football games. You brought your game home and started playing.
Now we are so advanced, but we may need to get back to the basics to get this thing going. Don’t think we would need the nfl license to make this work. But we have to package a functional game. I remember buying football cards, there was never a logo on the helmets (no license) so we could do that.

We could call it anything…for starters let’s say MFCA presents the Miniature Football Game.
Wolf would do the graphics for the box. There would be mfca promo cards, maybe a special tweak issue & dvd on how to get advanced play and rule sets inside.
The board would be slightly larger than 620. Generic field
Figs could be painted in unis but no helmet decals. Names and number decal sheet included
Geno QB & Kickers
And the most important thing…bases that will run out of the box. Maybe have them pre-tweaked or just make a new base?

Where would the money come from?
We could offer stock shares to our members. Who would be willing to put their money where their mouth is?
Who figs would we use? Anyone who put up shares to get the ball rolling.

Buy some commercial time. Start up with Target, or Modells, or Toys-R-us, anybody that’s willing to stock the game on their shelves.

It sounds far fetched, but look at the lady who started ebay, or the dude who started facebook?
Maybe it is, but it’s what I keep wishing for. Going into the toy stores, and not seeing any EF/MF games on the shelves just has me thinking………..what if!?

Simply getting back to the basics just might jump start everything.

the F.O.T.H. is Nat'l

Wargamers !
 

I believe the best sources for new players are the wargamers.


I think about the best painters here : There is a website where you can show your work, it's called "coolminiornot"'.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/234030


I posted my first figure (49ers center) on it, to promote the hobby (not my skills, because I know I'm just a "tabletop level" painter).

I'm happy I didn't be "flamed" by the visitors, since the level is very high on this website. :rtfl:


I can't believe that most of wargamers just don't know this game ! In USA since electric football is a classic child toy for a lot of people between 30 and 60 years old, most of US wargamers should know at least the concept. Whit all the skilled painters and modellers in the wargame world (not speaking of casters and other minis companies), it could bring a great new blood to MF.

In france, I suscribed to the biggest wargame forum too. I made articles to show everyone this game. Actually, one person bought a game and figures, and I believe, suscribed here too. Not so bad for France where US football is almost unknown.


I also tried to promote on NFL or real football french dedicated forums, I just found a polite success for now. People interested in football here seems to not be interested in modelling. I don't know how it is in USA, but usually here in France modellers, wargamers and other hobby people are not the same than the people interested in real sports.

It's not that they don't know.....
 

...........it could be that they just don't care. :eek:

We, in this hobby are very unique. Most of us played this as kids, as it was our "madden" of the day. If you were a boy in the 60's, 70's or 80's, chances are you got this game for Christmas or birthday present. The sad truth is many more of us guys got this game back then, and for many reasons, played with it once or twice, and slide it under the bed forever. ( sad, I know, but true)

I have been involved in this hobby for over 10 years, I have been involved with many different ways of promoting the game too.

Raiderman and I have been on TV quite a few times. We have been set up in malls, and many other venues for demonstrations, .............I have been featured in newspaper articles all over the country. And so have others.

I don't know the exact common denominator that we have as a group, I do know the hobby has indeed been exposed to millions, .................yes, I said millions of people, and the disappointing realization is many folks have seen the game and CHOOSE to keep going on their merry way. :( So, .....................I guess you could say we as a group are "Special" ;)

Exactly what happened here
 

What you say is exactly what I saw showing the game and MF modelling here on french sports forums : everybody says "wow" and....nothing happens.

Same thing when I demo slot racing around me : people like it, then realize the involvement needed to play (time -lot of time- and money) and then...return to their tv and video games. The easy way is the way for a lot of people.


Because most of people prefers watching tv or play video games. Most of people prefers to see a game on tv than go outside and play for real.


It's why I believe more in creating interest in allready prepared communities : wargaming of course (because MF is a sort of wargame, in a way, and a lot of things are similar : figures scale, and even rulers/sticks for passing sim), but also in miniature painting world, railroad modelling (another "old" child game wich became a sort of Art), slot racers, etc, etc... People wich already spent their money and spare time on little things, combining creativity (miniature modelling, painting, etc...) and fellowship (slot racing and wargaming clubs and associations).


Showing MF on hobby forums (slot racing, wargaming, etc...) I found interested people and interesting chat, more technic, about rules, system, etc...and even found my first (not including my brother) french MF fellow (he's waiting for the delivery of his first game and figs). For me, it's the way we should follow.

See the message on cool mini or not : a guy saying he knows the game as a child. Now, this guy knows this game still exists as a complete hobby, and can perhaps switch to it since he's already interested in figures and miniatures (since he suscribed on cool mini or not website).

Of course I don't think we'll be millions of players one day. But see table soccer, table hockey, wargaming...big "little" communities. ;)

Best Idea Yet
 

Corey,

The best idea I have heard yet on keeping this hobby alive. Another reson there needs to be standrds set.

Rip is correct..........
 

It's the amount of time it takes to get started. :rnt; :dohdh: :fghttt:

If there were a set you could purchase and go, it would help. Whether we realize it or not, you may have to get in contact with over a dozen coaches to get started in this sport/hobby.

If you could go into the store, buy the set (Miniature Football game) with all the stuff in there, then you could play. But to sit there and have the bases just spin, or not run at all is frustrating. :rnt; :rnt; :rnt;

Put the game back in the stores as a set...a working set. All the extra info can be added in.

Rip you've been to the Perzel center, you see all the walk in traffic we get. Everyone is so jacked looking at the pieces, then we hit the switch and the guys start moving.....those kids go nuts :rllngs: drl$$ :rllngs: drl$$

Miggle really doesn't have a set, Excalibur is not interested, so maybe we can pick up the slack?????????????

Nat'l

"Wow, That's cool"............
 

CorEy, ...... It's that way all the time, at any league holding a demonstration. People say "Wow, That's cool", ............then walk away................we must face the fact that we are "special"!

really ?
 

A new friend of mine who has seen my figures and MF introduction articles on french forums actually started with a new Miggle Rose bowl game.

Even if I advised him to start with an used tudor 620 (since it 's the "standard") on eb*y, he choosed the miggle "middle range" entry game.

After all I was thinking the rose bowl wasn't a bad choice either : complete painted teams and bases, pretty field and decent gameboard (since it's used in Miggle tournaments), and not too expensive.

Could we consider that as a good starter choice ? I think so, but I'm a beginner too.

Everyone knows the key to this game's success is having bases that run like well tweaked gems right out of the pack.

The fact that this has never been able to be accomplished over the decades is what has turned most of the average consumers away, resulting in games being banished to the attic, garage, under the bed, back of the closet, etc.... It has always been this hobby's Achilles' heel. Look on Ebay, see all the vintage game sets, this is where they come from

There is no real cost effective way to mass produce this game with hand tweaked bases. Until this can be addressed it will always remain a niche hobby for those who have a love for the game like us.

I would love to see it in stores again like when I was a kid, only it would have well running bases, how do we get there?

I think a new base design needs to be looked at, an outside the box design, unlike what we currently have that can be mass manufactured and perform flawlessly right out of the factory. This base may end up not being the ultimate base for us at the professional level, but it would be a base to sell sets, allow great games and then hopefully turn the new consumer in our direction when they want to go to the next level.

That is a good start Dimitri
 

The Rose Bowl is about all we have.....

But we could do better.

Advertisement. You would be surprised what a commercial would do.

If our game was in the stores as a set ready to go, with the dvd & tweak all inside, I think it would do wonders....throw in a cool commercial, who knows.

If you're set up somewhere, and 15 guys come thru to look but only 1 joins your group, then it was a success.

Keep hope alive!!!!!!!!!

Nat'l

Very well said Shabby
 

I guess we were posting around the same time!!!!

Nat'l

Good start
 

Although this conversation has happened on several occasions since I re-entered this hobby about 2 years ago I'm always glad to see it restarted. That means that several of us hold out hope that a big resurgence in EF can happen.

I agree that "game ready" bases should be a part of someone's purchase but we are a ways away from that. How about a joint effort between the MFCA and a company like Miggle, especially since that relationship already exist. To piggy back on what CorEy said, how about an insert on how to tweak bases with each Miggle game board sold along with info on the MFCA's website and a copy of the Tweak.

How about working with Miggle in getting the entry level Rose Bowl game in hobby shops around the country. We may not expect them to be placed in the Hobby Lobby's of the world but a place like Riders Hobby Shop may be receptive. My guess is that initially would be MUCH easier than the Landsman's trying to get into most toy stores like Toys R Us.

How about leagues around the country working with local hobby stores in setting up EF displays (boards, teams, perhaps one of Reggie's stadiums) along with copies of the Tweak for sale (or free) and a stack of fliers with info on both that league and the MFCA.

These are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. I'm sure a serious discussion would help prompt more feasible ideas.

Your thoughts?

Thank you National, yes we must have both been replying at the same time.

I too want this back in Toys R Us, Target, Sears, etc..just like when I was growing up in the 1970's, heck even our local chain grocery store in the Detroit area had a small toy section when I was a kid and they always had a field or two on the top shelf.

We can only wish or get a think tank together to solve the base solution for mass retail, all the pieces are there for this, just need to solve for the base issue.

Very Good ideas
 

Like what I'm reading here. One of the other problems with the marketing of electric football games has been that you can only find one in stores before Christmas, never after. One store here in Nashville carries the Rose Bowl Game and they always sell out before Christmas. Then they don't get the games again until the next Christmas Season. One of the reasons that Toys R Us no longer sells the game is that Miggle decided not to sell to them anymore because of their return Policy. I know that the last Christmas that I worked at a Toys R Us, we sold out of the games (I believe about 48 sets for the season) but after Christmas several were returned with out anything at all wrong with them other than the people were disapointed with the performance of the game (players running around in circles).

I agree that a DVD and/or a manual packed with the games showing how to tweak bases would be a good start on at least cutting down the return of the games and showing the consumer that there has been a great improvement in the game and how it can perform.

The only stores in this area that I know of that even carries the game is Dick's Sporting Goods and don't really know their sales records of the games and theri returns of them afterwards. But I would imagine it is about the same as Toys R Us.

Anyway, we have a very good discussion going on here and some very good ideas to approach Miggle and retailers with.