(Net) Running a League - Step Two: Finding Players

Welcome back to (Net)Running a League! Hopefully you've used the ideas from last time to at least *start* finding a location at which to host your League because this week, we're going to talk about how to find and keep players.

Step Two: Finding Players
I wasn't kidding last week when I said that finding a location will help you get players. See, if you start out by trying to gather local players and *then* try to find a place at which to play, chances are people will lose interest or forget and drift off to do other things. If you have a location (and time and day) set before you even start trying to get players, you'll have a much better chance of people making the time to participate.

Now, that isn't to say that you absolutely cannot find some players prior to having a location set. If you have friends that also play (or would, if you introduced them to the game, which you should do), get them in on the ground floor. Make them League Officials or Sysops or whatever clever title you can come up with. The old adage is true, two (or more) heads are better than one. However, if you put together a "council" to help run the League, make sure that one person is actually IN CHARGE. Groups are great for generating ideas but, as almost any government illustrates, they are rubbish at getting things done. Having one person with final say is always the best course in these things.

Let's talk about getting people other than your friends and/or family involved, though. There are several ways to find local players:

1) Your Friendly Local Game Store – Sound familiar? Just like when looking for a location, your FLGS can be a great resource for finding players, even if they aren't the location you are using. In fact, if you are lucky enough to have multiple FLGSs (like we do here in Chicago), make sure to use all of them as player-finding resources, even if you ARE using one of them as a location.

If you aren't using the game store as a location, you'll want to play it a little cagey when you feel them out. Always buy something, even something small, like a pack of sleeves, that has some connection to Android: Netrunner. Then, while you're checking out, ask the clerk about the game. If the store has regular events or open play game nights, ask if they ever have any people playing. If they have a bulletin board where players can post looking for groups, ask what the process is for putting something up on the board (don't just assume that you can walk up and tack up a notecard – ask first). If you do post something on their board, make sure it doesn't mention a different local game store on it because that's likely to get taken down after you leave. Make your posting clear but maybe a little vague on the details: Android: Netrunner player looking for other players for regular games, please contact..." and add whatever contact information you want people to use.

Some game shops will be happy to tell you how the game is selling, how many of their customers seem to be playing, and any information about where and when those games are taking place, if they know. Game stores clerks tend to be on fairly tight terms with their best customers as well as being hooked into the local gaming community. If you get a nice one, they might be able to put you in touch with other players directly.

2) Your Friendly Gaming-Related Websites: Post on the Android: Netrunner forums of every gaming site you know. Start, of course, here at CardGameDB.Com, the official forums at FantasyFlightGames.com, and, of course, the ubiquitous BoardGameGeek.com. Don't forget that, in addition to forums dedicated to the game, BGG also has general forums dedicated to different regions of the US and the world, so make sure to post there, as well.

Crafting your post is very important. You want the subject to first clearly present your location and then the fact that it's League play (i.e. Chicago, IL Android: Netrunner League forming!). You'll want to be able to provide a place and time for the first meet-up (which is why you need to find a location first, remember). And you'll want to mention any cool stuff you've cooked up with the venue (drink/food specials if you're playing at a pub, discounts or promos if you're playing at your FLGS, etc.). Also remember to give some sort of contact information (you may want to create a specific email address for the League so that your personal email isn't getting flooded with both legitimate responses and the spam that can come from posting an email address on the web...).

You also want to make sure that you are following forum etiquette as to WHERE you post your message. Most forums will have guidelines, either official or user-created, for the accepted way to post about events. For instance, on the BGG Android: Netrunner forums, some of the users have taken it upon themselves to create a stickied post at the top of the News section that contains instructions on how to post your event so as not to clutter up the subscription feeds of players NOT interested in finding local events. Make use of those tools, since someone has gone to all the trouble of creating them. (I learned this lesson the hard way when I created a new post in the News section about our Regional and *then* saw the stickied post – my post has gotten very little response, so I'll be posting in the "official" thread soon).

3) Social Media Tools – Websites like meetup.com allow you to start a group for your League and open it up to everyone else on Meetup. Here in Chicago, the boardgame group I mentioned last week uses Meetup and is now getting upwards of 25 players per event.

You'll also want to set up a Facebook page for your League. Even if you "hate Facebook." The fact is that most people use Facebook and it is a great way not only to reach new people BUT to communicate with League members once they've joined (but we'll get to that a bit later).

You can use any number of social media tools, especially ones that you have both a large following through and a good handle on using. The only danger (and trust me, this *can* happen even if you think there aren't enough local players) is that you get TOO MANY players for your venue. Spend some time prior to posting figuring out exactly how many players your venue can host at one time. This usually comes down to how many tables and chairs the location can provide, so it isn't really all that hard to determine. While having people waiting for a game can establish an air of legitimacy and excitement, it can also peeve people off.

DO NOT BE DEPRESSED if your first League Day is small. Stay as excited as possible. Play as many games as possible. If you want the people that are there to come back, you need to make the experience as fun as you can. If you can make the day a success even with 6 players, the chances that those 6 players will tell a couple friends each is much higher than if you mope around like a sad sack the whole time and end the day early because you've already played everyone. Stay positive – it took fifteen-ish years for Netrunner to finally become the hit it deserves to be, you can surely wait it out a couple of League meetings before the crowds gather...

Speaking of keeping them coming back (and hopefully bringing friends), the best thing you can do on that front is to create some sort of online community for your League. As I mentioned above, it is imperative that you create a Facebook page (unless literally every single one of your players doesn't use Facebook). You want to use the page for a few different things: posting reminders about upcoming League Game Days, posting Standings, distributing any changes to League policy, the general business of the League. But you'll also want to send out regular emails (but not TOO regular, once or twice a week maximum) with all that important stuff. The real use of the Facebook page is to start discussions and conversations about the game. On our League Facebook page, I'll post links to the Tech Talk articles I write, links to spoiler lists here or at BGG, or sometimes I'll just ask a dumb (or not so dumb) question about strategy/deckbuilding/whatever and get people talking. Keeping League members engaged even when they aren't playing is key to getting them to keep coming back.

Now if you are some sort of Internet Wizard™, you can go ahead and build an actual, dedicated website for your League. But don't feel like that is required – there are plenty of free tools out there that will let you keep your community in touch and engaged.

Okay, so you've got your location, so now go out and pound the pavement (both literally and digitally) to find yourself some players. Next week, we'll talk about the real fun stuff – the mechanics of running Game Days, Championships, and the League in general. See you then!