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CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

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Wed, 01/28/2004 - 12:39
Torrent
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Reading the Thread about Game Placement and it's sort of tangent about games and Starbucks got me thinking. Has anyone thought to do demo's in non-standard places. I guess by non-standard I think of 'anywhere but a game store'.

My ititial thought was to try to get coffee shops to carry games. It almost seems to fit, the idea of sitting around tables drinking coffee playing games. I wonder if it would work to try to get a coffee shop or something like that sponsor (as in not kick you out) an afternoon where you did a mini-Essen almost. Have a few tables set up with some games and a few volunteers and teach people how to play. Maybe one table with a few games to sell, or just cupouns to an online retailer of stuff, or better yet direction to local game store.

I guess I just wonder if somehow getting the games out of the gamestore and to the people would help the hobby at all, or even work. It's like the free giveaway booths at the grocery store. Or it has inklings of Sedjtroll's All-Day gaming thing he posted a while back about.

Has anyone tried this and if so, successfuly?

Andy

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Wed, 01/28/2004 - 13:26
#1
hpox
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CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/GamesInKorea.shtml

You'll be amazed.

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Wed, 01/28/2004 - 13:33
#2
Anonymous
CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

I've demoed my games all over the place.
I carry a few of my card games or even some smaller board games around with me pretty much ALL the time (two card games in particular reside within my jacket pockets) and I will encourage anybody, anywhere to play my games.

At restaraunts, malls, stores, coffe shops... any time I can get someone to try my games, I will.

It serves as public awareness as well as playtesting... works great.

Tyler

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Wed, 01/28/2004 - 16:11
#3
Torrent
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CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

Yeah cool article. For some reason, I remember reading GamesJournal and conciously not reading that article. Oh well, I'll know better next time.

And it certainly sounds like an interesting endeavour for the Koreans. However what I'm proposing is one day (a month/a year) taking a section of a normal coffee shop and demoing games.
I know that many people have game nights, and I know atleast at my local game store people are always playing games. What I'm sort of after is a 'bring the games to the people' thing. Sort of doing the social thing as in the article, but also trying to raise the awareness in the US of such games. Prove to people that (some) games can be played in 20-30 minutes instead of potentially days like MOnopoly and need some thought instead of roll-move.
Certainly I have in the back of my mind that some of these would be my own designs to playtest and sell, but it wouldn't have to be. If you were in an area of a group of designers each could do their own games, or demo published games.

I just bothers me that as fun as games really are there are not enough people playing them. Coffee shops just strike me as a place where people have already taken some time to come sit down, maybe they would like a game too. The bar in my dorm-complex here rents out games free for people to play in the bar. That is where I'd like to see it eventually.

Andy

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Wed, 01/28/2004 - 16:21
#4
FastLearner
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CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

I've played games in coffee shops with my daughter many times (Starbucks and a couple of local ones). We've played some of the Kosmos 2-player as well as a few others.

The one game that always gets questions, including "Where can I buy that?" is Carcassonne. It's just so attractive and simple looking, I think.

So... I've converted at least a few people to at least Carcassonne that way, probably.

It seems to work just fine.

-- Matthew

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Fri, 02/20/2004 - 01:35
#5
Nazhuret
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Joined: 12/31/1969
CoffeeCon or Non-Standard places for Demos

i've playtested a card game in a couple of bars before. people started to give me .... but still stuck around.. then eventually started asking questions.

i think that pretty much anywhere you want to start playing and have space is a good place. perhaps even those places where you would LEAST expect people to play games... like in a bar. it tends to attract peoples' attention more. i mean, you don't think twice about someone playing a game in a coffee shop but whip out settlers o'C on a bench table next to the pool tables and somone's going to be interested.

btw: the bar thing is only recommended earlier on busy nights or if you want to play later go earlier in the week. a whole lot of drunk people i n a crowded place tends to get things spilled....

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