What about giving Gen Con a try???

[RavennaAl]

We had talked about it before the first Canton convention, but whatever happened to the idea of going to Gen Con? For those that don't know what Gen Con is, it is an annual gathering of gaming enthusiasts. This is held in Indiannapolis the first weekend of August. They have several thousands ( appx. 28,000 this year) of people who exhibit and visit during the 4 days that it takes place. These people are very familiar with board games, and would be ideal to introduce them to miniature football.

We are always trying to promote MF, here is a perfect oppertunity to do just that. Thousands of gaming enthusiasts are just waiting for us. Perhaps we should consider the next convention in Indy at a hotel close by the Gen Con. A few of us could man the booth, exhibiting our football boards and teams, while others can play their games at the hotel. We could send any Gen Con visitors who are curious to the hotel to watch the games being played. I think we could get quite a few people interested in miniature football. which is one of the reasons why we started this whole thing in the first place.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...=2010100804016

[WEIRDWOLF]

We checked them out back then and the booth rates were more than we could afford. Checked again and they have a first time exhibitor rate for entrepreneurs of $1000 for a 10 x 10 booth. Along with the things we would need, such as banners, handouts etc, not to mention hotel rooms it would be a costly weekend. The MFCA could pull it off, but it would mean no convention or other events for at least a year. Unless someone hits the lottery....we are going to have to wait on this one.

What would help is if we had a product to sell that we could recoup some of the costs, because once you show them the game and they "get it" they are going to want to buy something to get started.

[roller]

I had actually talked about this with a few guys at Canton...

If we had a product to sell beyond just membership, we would probably more than make our money back. My wife is an artist who from time to time participates in large fine art festivals/events (events targeted specifically to art buyers) and she usually brings in several thousand dollars over a weekend at a decent show.

The trick would be to not exclude entry level gamers by focusing only on our custom products. What if we partnered up with Miggle to deal some of their items. This is after all where most people will start. No one needs a Ferrari if they don't know how to drive But, at the same time it would be great to feature some of our "show-off" items to help inspire the masses.

I believe that we would do far greater good in terms of exposure and recruitment with just one of these events than we would at 15 years worth of tournaments and Canton conventions.

Please, do not take this the wrong way. I love the Canton experience and I don't want that to change. This would be something that we should all consider as an added event. I just know first hand how great the exposure at these things can be... Where else can we reach 30k gamers in a weekend?

dr

[Megawattz]

This is a nice idea Al, for obvious reasons. Due to the financial costs all the way around, it might be something for a few to take upon themselves, outside of the MFCA as not to burden the association. taken as a bussiness venture would have to be the premise, as the up front costs with booth, travel, hotel & misc. merchandise would be thousands. keep me updarted Al.

[FrustratedFinFan]

Guys, Gencon is probably a poor choice for MFCA because it is a wargaming/gaming convention that uses a big Pay to Play model for its business. Everyone pays, even the guys running the games pay unless they get a very large turnout for their games....if they collect enough tickets from gamers, then they get reimbursed....eventually. The model failed out here in Los Angeles and GenCon LA folded very quickly. Origins is a similar convention every year in Columbus, OH. It costs less, so you might look at it...but it still is a Pay to Play event...with huge turnout.

Cheaper options are conventions put on by the Historical Miniature Gaming Society. They have very large conventions out east, the biggest is Historicon. Typically held in July...this year it moved to Valley Forge, PA. That should be much cheaper to get into and attendance is in the thousands. I think it would be a great place to recruit out east. Wargaming conventions in most of the country are not huge affairs....but still would be good and cheap alternatives to expand your base.

[eflfanatic]

If the MFCA ever does decide to do a booth, I can definetly help with technical design and other aspects of the design stage since that is the industry I work in. (Museum and trade show exhibit I & D.)

Wolf is right, we have to have a product to sell, so we need to seriously start looking at packaging a product to sell (Gameboard with accessories, figures and bases).