I always have a ton of fun during conventions and various demo groups but what can really kill the mood is those social awkward, rude, smelly, and/or creepy individuals who lack a series level of social skills or commonsense and love to linger around your table.
They don't even play the game they just stand there picking things up, putting things in their pockets, messing with your displays, all while grunting and saying rude things about people around them and generally scaring off interested players.
I've worked in retail for many years and I've seen all sorts of people as I'm sure many of you have, and I'm pretty good at relaxing the atmosphere with a joke or polite gesture but sometimes it's just not enough.
A few months back I attended an event I had to pay $40 just to attend as an exhibitor (which was the same price as the guests! WTF?) and every person there was so awkward. No one made eye contact and few played together unless it was a game they brought from home and with a group that already knew each other. A lot of us exhibitors ended up leavings because it was so uncomfortable. By 3pm 6 of the 8 games showing off there had left and the event started at noon!
I actually heard the following lines from a few of the people who came to my table:
"Card games are dumb"
"Zodiak is a stupid word"
"This game isn't like Magic enough for me"
"This game looks like magic, just cuz"
"Card games are dumb, why are the cards rectangle if you want customers you should do a different shape or all different shapes"
"I don't want to use any girl cards"
"I want to play but not with you, just by myself"
I also had farters (gross let me laugh and wave it at a stranger farters), nose pickers, and even people who hid in the holes of their shirt like a turtle when we tried to take a picture!
When I left my girlfriend in charge of the table so I could meet the other exhibitors, everyone stayed clear of the table like she had a disease! They actually walked the long way to avoid the table all together!
I wish I was joking but I'm not =(
If this had been my first convention I might have just thrown in the towel on ever making my game because it was actually torture! I ended up skipped the next event because I didn’t want to meet those same people again, and in the early development of my game I don’t see how an atmosphere like that is healthy.
I know everyone is a diamond in the rough one way or another and we all deserve a chance to shine in our own way but I can’t help but feel as though people like that block the shine of my diamond and for no reason. I’m not all offended or bothered if you don’t like my game but I am upset when you’re just being rude and saying terrible things to people who want to try my game and making them leave.
I’ve used lines like these to try and get them to leave:
“Have you seen the other games?”
“Well thanks for stopping by”
“Here’s my card check us out another time”
“Well when you come back…”
Or even the awkward: Slowly stop making eye contact and turn away until they finally leave tactic.
Tell me some of your creeper stories and how you handled them. What are some of your tactics to avoid these Debby-Downers? How do you move them along when you’re displaying your game?
My thoughts exactly