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Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
That Guy
I've talked about knowing in advance who you think will buy a product before purchasing it, perhaps having entire groups in mind. Lately, there has been another idea that has floated around, it's "That guy." That guy is the final person to buy a game before you decide to drop it.
For board games and role-playing games, there may be only one purchase, even within the thresholds you would normally re-order. When "that guy" buys it, you have this intuitive understanding that it's time to let the product go. It might also be the last purchaser within the threshold as well. Perhaps you had them in mind when you initially purchase the product. Now that "that guy" has it, you've saturated your market.
"That guy" might be a particular fringe buyer. For example, all stores have customers who have great taste, but are bell weathers for failed games. I have a miniature game customer who I joke with about this. He'll walk in and I'll ask him what has been interesting him lately, joking that we'll have to discontinue that. It's all in good fun, but he acknowledges that every game he plays tends to fail. He's all about what's cool.
Board games have a very rough sales curve, with most games only good for, at best, a single purchase, while a hot game can easily become "evergreen," selling for years. Often it's trial and error to find those games, although doing a lot of research before you buy can eliminate the dross.
I should say that I'm probably "that guy" too, which is why I have to be especially careful when purchasing. I used to have a larger income, so cost-benefit took a back seat to "cool stuff I want." The Ziterdes German terrain we brought in is probably a good example. Super cool, too expensive. I want. Store owners like me can do really well if we can channel what we think is cool through the filter of "what my customers will buy." It's still more art than science.
For board games and role-playing games, there may be only one purchase, even within the thresholds you would normally re-order. When "that guy" buys it, you have this intuitive understanding that it's time to let the product go. It might also be the last purchaser within the threshold as well. Perhaps you had them in mind when you initially purchase the product. Now that "that guy" has it, you've saturated your market.
"That guy" might be a particular fringe buyer. For example, all stores have customers who have great taste, but are bell weathers for failed games. I have a miniature game customer who I joke with about this. He'll walk in and I'll ask him what has been interesting him lately, joking that we'll have to discontinue that. It's all in good fun, but he acknowledges that every game he plays tends to fail. He's all about what's cool.
Board games have a very rough sales curve, with most games only good for, at best, a single purchase, while a hot game can easily become "evergreen," selling for years. Often it's trial and error to find those games, although doing a lot of research before you buy can eliminate the dross.
I should say that I'm probably "that guy" too, which is why I have to be especially careful when purchasing. I used to have a larger income, so cost-benefit took a back seat to "cool stuff I want." The Ziterdes German terrain we brought in is probably a good example. Super cool, too expensive. I want. Store owners like me can do really well if we can channel what we think is cool through the filter of "what my customers will buy." It's still more art than science.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Top 5 New Games for 2009
These are games that have emerged over the last year to be top games in the store, measured by sales. They're not all new games, but they're new for us. If there's in-store play, I'll mention that too. Still, if you're looking for something new and different, consider some of these.
Dungeons & Dragons 4E. 4th Edition got off to a rocky start. This is the first D&D edition that has completely changed the rules while the new edition was still in print. Think about it: 2nd edition was an extension of 1st, and was still somewhat compatible. 3rd edition emerged after 2nd edition was out-of-print and TSR was bankrupt. Third edition is widely regarded to have saved D&D. 4th edition was released while 3rd was alive and well, a decision that required more customer buy-in than at any time before. It has had mixed results.
So how has it done after a year? It was released last June and since then I have to admit sales are down a bit, even compared to the twilight sales of 3E. There are reasons for this, and nobody should have expected record 3E release sales, but results have clearly been mixed. It has created a schism, no doubt, one further divided by the likes of Paizo's Pathfinder (released next week). It has likely crashed my own gaming group as enthusiasm has waned and players come and go. However, and this is a big however, there are those who LOVE this game.
Story gamers who scoffed at the complexity of 3E, love the simplicity of 4E. Who would have guessed the dirty hippies would ever play D&D again? Those who enjoy tournament play, or those who want a guaranteed weekly game (good luck with that 3E players), flock to our Thursday night RPGA event. Six tables are packed every Thursday with D&D 4 players. We have a wait list each week, the only guaranteed D&D game you'll get, if you plan ahead. People come from the South Bay to play. So if you like 4E, D&D has never been better for you. If you can't stand 4E, if you love crunch and power combos, you're standing out in the corn field, taping up your old books and talking about old times, yelling at those D&D 4 kids to get off your lawn. Unfortunately, I'm personally standing somewhere between those two camps. Where's my tape?
"She looks crazy like a moose head." --Rocco
War of the Ring. This Games Workshop game took the excellent models from their Lord of the Rings game as the basis for this large scale battle version. Sales have slowed now that the new releases have come out, but it remains our top new game of 2009. I've read the rule book (the models are the same) and find it to be an example of what GW would write if given the chance to start over. It's an intuitive, well designed merging of their various design doctrines. Alas, we don't have enough interest for in-store play, despite some successful launch events. However, it only takes two people committed to a time at the store to make that happen.
Dominion. Dominion has dominated our board game sales (tied with Settlers of Catan) and with various expansions on the way, and lots of play in the game center, this game deserves it's own listing. Dominion also won the Spiel des Jahres award, the German board game of the year, despite it really being a well made card game that could have gone the collectible route. Many game stores report that their Magic crowd plays this as their "break" game between rounds (our crowd looked at me as if I was offering them a nicotine patch instead of a box of smokes when I suggested it). If you want to play Dominion, stop by Tuesday nights for our board game group and you'll likely find someone with a copy who wants to play.
Infinity. This science fiction skirmish game isn't new, but it has grabbed hold of our Warmachine crowd who play it on Sundays. It started as a "break" game to play between Warmachine and Hordes games and has quickly usurped their roles as the groups main game. New releases continue to emerge from Spain, with beautiful sculpts and a recent release of the 2nd edition rules that solved a lot of earlier complaints. Stop by Sundays to play.
Uncharted Seas. This fantasy naval skirmish game by Spartan Games has intuitive, simple instructions, perfect for a pick up game. The models are very easy to paint and you don't need much more than a starter fleet to get going. We don't have any groups playing yet, but it has grabbed the imagination of many of our alpha miniature gamers, so don't be surprised if you see it on our schedule in the future.
Dungeons & Dragons 4E. 4th Edition got off to a rocky start. This is the first D&D edition that has completely changed the rules while the new edition was still in print. Think about it: 2nd edition was an extension of 1st, and was still somewhat compatible. 3rd edition emerged after 2nd edition was out-of-print and TSR was bankrupt. Third edition is widely regarded to have saved D&D. 4th edition was released while 3rd was alive and well, a decision that required more customer buy-in than at any time before. It has had mixed results.
So how has it done after a year? It was released last June and since then I have to admit sales are down a bit, even compared to the twilight sales of 3E. There are reasons for this, and nobody should have expected record 3E release sales, but results have clearly been mixed. It has created a schism, no doubt, one further divided by the likes of Paizo's Pathfinder (released next week). It has likely crashed my own gaming group as enthusiasm has waned and players come and go. However, and this is a big however, there are those who LOVE this game.
Story gamers who scoffed at the complexity of 3E, love the simplicity of 4E. Who would have guessed the dirty hippies would ever play D&D again? Those who enjoy tournament play, or those who want a guaranteed weekly game (good luck with that 3E players), flock to our Thursday night RPGA event. Six tables are packed every Thursday with D&D 4 players. We have a wait list each week, the only guaranteed D&D game you'll get, if you plan ahead. People come from the South Bay to play. So if you like 4E, D&D has never been better for you. If you can't stand 4E, if you love crunch and power combos, you're standing out in the corn field, taping up your old books and talking about old times, yelling at those D&D 4 kids to get off your lawn. Unfortunately, I'm personally standing somewhere between those two camps. Where's my tape?
"She looks crazy like a moose head." --RoccoWar of the Ring. This Games Workshop game took the excellent models from their Lord of the Rings game as the basis for this large scale battle version. Sales have slowed now that the new releases have come out, but it remains our top new game of 2009. I've read the rule book (the models are the same) and find it to be an example of what GW would write if given the chance to start over. It's an intuitive, well designed merging of their various design doctrines. Alas, we don't have enough interest for in-store play, despite some successful launch events. However, it only takes two people committed to a time at the store to make that happen.
Dominion. Dominion has dominated our board game sales (tied with Settlers of Catan) and with various expansions on the way, and lots of play in the game center, this game deserves it's own listing. Dominion also won the Spiel des Jahres award, the German board game of the year, despite it really being a well made card game that could have gone the collectible route. Many game stores report that their Magic crowd plays this as their "break" game between rounds (our crowd looked at me as if I was offering them a nicotine patch instead of a box of smokes when I suggested it). If you want to play Dominion, stop by Tuesday nights for our board game group and you'll likely find someone with a copy who wants to play.
Infinity. This science fiction skirmish game isn't new, but it has grabbed hold of our Warmachine crowd who play it on Sundays. It started as a "break" game to play between Warmachine and Hordes games and has quickly usurped their roles as the groups main game. New releases continue to emerge from Spain, with beautiful sculpts and a recent release of the 2nd edition rules that solved a lot of earlier complaints. Stop by Sundays to play.
Uncharted Seas. This fantasy naval skirmish game by Spartan Games has intuitive, simple instructions, perfect for a pick up game. The models are very easy to paint and you don't need much more than a starter fleet to get going. We don't have any groups playing yet, but it has grabbed the imagination of many of our alpha miniature gamers, so don't be surprised if you see it on our schedule in the future.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hellhound Kit
It's a few weeks late, but I finally got around to painting the "black box" Hellhound. I painted this one as a Bane Wolf, although the only differences between the three variants (Hellhound: fire, Devil Dog: melta, and Bane Wolf: chemical) are the replaceable nozzles at the end of the turret. They attach easily by pushing in the end via a square peg. Unlike the Demolisher kit, which has extra bits for variants, like the Executioners rear cooling vents, the Hellhound kit only differentiates the variants with the turret attachment.
Sadly, I lost my Devil Dog turret during painting. I had a spray gun melt down after getting hold of a bad pot of Mechrite Red. Advice to spray gun users: If you get a dried up pot of paint, just toss it and get a new one. That delayed me a couple days, while windy weather and a curious four year old means I won't be shooting plasma any time soon.
So what struck me about this kit? First, it was pretty easy to put together, even without instructions. Also, it was clear from the sprue layout that this will someday be the basis of other chimera chassis vehicles, such as the base chimera, Basilisk, and whatever else GW decides to put into production. The chassis itself is clean and highly detailed. One interesting discovery was that the exterior design of the two track sections are not symmetrical, a small hassle when dealing with decals. As others have pointed out, the new tracks no longer have internal wheels, with treads attaching into grooves, a foolproof and quick assembly method.
The most interesting part of this vehicle is the rear, which is essentially a flatbed where four barrels are attached. A nicely detailed lift gate allows you to imagine how these vehicles are re-supplied for combat (I imagine a sentinel with a power lifter). Add some brass rod and the lift gate could even be functional. Within the rear compartment are various pipes and "apparatus," a nice touch. This flatbed section just screams to be re-purposed.
What else? Eagles! There are five imperial eagles on this thing, all part of the base kit. What you see here is included, without parts from the accessory sprue, now sold separately. That's a pretty big deal, by the way, as the accessory sprue is a $15 add-on, making this vehicle essentially a $65 product if you want the same bits as the previous version (which was $50). Most of my customers don't seem to care so far and we haven't sold any of the sprues we brought in.
Overall this is a much better kit than the old metal-plastic hybrid. It's also far more attractive. Some might still prefer the Artemis pattern Forge World variant, but I suggest giving this one a shot (I happily have all three now!).
Sadly, I lost my Devil Dog turret during painting. I had a spray gun melt down after getting hold of a bad pot of Mechrite Red. Advice to spray gun users: If you get a dried up pot of paint, just toss it and get a new one. That delayed me a couple days, while windy weather and a curious four year old means I won't be shooting plasma any time soon.
So what struck me about this kit? First, it was pretty easy to put together, even without instructions. Also, it was clear from the sprue layout that this will someday be the basis of other chimera chassis vehicles, such as the base chimera, Basilisk, and whatever else GW decides to put into production. The chassis itself is clean and highly detailed. One interesting discovery was that the exterior design of the two track sections are not symmetrical, a small hassle when dealing with decals. As others have pointed out, the new tracks no longer have internal wheels, with treads attaching into grooves, a foolproof and quick assembly method.
The most interesting part of this vehicle is the rear, which is essentially a flatbed where four barrels are attached. A nicely detailed lift gate allows you to imagine how these vehicles are re-supplied for combat (I imagine a sentinel with a power lifter). Add some brass rod and the lift gate could even be functional. Within the rear compartment are various pipes and "apparatus," a nice touch. This flatbed section just screams to be re-purposed.
What else? Eagles! There are five imperial eagles on this thing, all part of the base kit. What you see here is included, without parts from the accessory sprue, now sold separately. That's a pretty big deal, by the way, as the accessory sprue is a $15 add-on, making this vehicle essentially a $65 product if you want the same bits as the previous version (which was $50). Most of my customers don't seem to care so far and we haven't sold any of the sprues we brought in.
Overall this is a much better kit than the old metal-plastic hybrid. It's also far more attractive. Some might still prefer the Artemis pattern Forge World variant, but I suggest giving this one a shot (I happily have all three now!).
Friday, August 7, 2009
Monocrop Envy
One of the hardest things about running a game store is supporting all of our diverse games. I envy the comic book stores, who can have Free Comic Book Day and find their customers lined up down the block. Every one of their customers loves comic books. Meanwhile, Free RPG Day brings in a decent crowd, but nothing spectacular. That's because RPGs are about 15% of our sales, so only 15% of our customers (at best) show up. Any sort of store promotion, email announcement or blog post is going to have that result, unless it's about things that apply to our entire store, like our anniversary party or store auctions (which surprisingly bring a small crowd). We need more of those! This is also why products like Mexican Coke are such stand out winners; everyone drinks them.
I also envy game stores that focus on only one product. The Games Workshop stores, especially, since they only have to support three games and can focus entirely on teaching the hobby craft to customers. When a kid walks up to me and asks me to show him how 40K works, in the middle of a Friday afternoon, I have to politely decline and recommend he come during our 40K night. I'll answer questions, but I don't have the staff to jump from behind the counter and push models. I wish I did!
Other game stores focus on one game because that's all they want to (or can) do, but some have such intense competition that they've learned to specialize and create an identity for themselves. Over the hills, Eudomonia in Berkeley is the regional expert in collectible cards, while Endgame is known for indie role-playing and miniature games. We sell collectible cards. We sell indie role-playing and miniatures. What we don't have is that intense, brutral and sometimes under-handed competition that drives us to specialize. I live closer to those stores than ours, so I could have added one more store to their local mix, but it seemed insane. One of the realities of being out here in the burbs, is there's really not enough business to support those kinds of store models. Diversification isn't a choice, it's a survival mechanism.
It's the emotional part of diversification that's hardest to handle. There's only so much time in the day to gain knowledge and expertise on what we sell. I could spend all day learning about Games Workshop products and be up to date, or read every D&D book, which would take up 100% of my reading time. I can't really afford to do that. I'm expected to know about everything, or at least what's new about the current crop of games, especially if it's the game you play.
I don't want to make excuses, because really, I try to gain as much product knowledge as time allows, but there's always going to be holes in that knowledge with such diverse offerings. My real job becomes turning novice gamers into veteran gamers so they can drive their own hobby experience, hopefully continuing that experience with us. Some store owners would suggest I carry less if I can't keep on top of them all, but that's not what our region or our business requires. Some customers will claim we don't love them because we can't focus on their game to their liking. However, store resources require that we share time and space. Thus there's an emotional toll on diversification, especially for a completist like me who would like nothing more than to delve into everything that interests me, if there was only time.
I also envy game stores that focus on only one product. The Games Workshop stores, especially, since they only have to support three games and can focus entirely on teaching the hobby craft to customers. When a kid walks up to me and asks me to show him how 40K works, in the middle of a Friday afternoon, I have to politely decline and recommend he come during our 40K night. I'll answer questions, but I don't have the staff to jump from behind the counter and push models. I wish I did!
Other game stores focus on one game because that's all they want to (or can) do, but some have such intense competition that they've learned to specialize and create an identity for themselves. Over the hills, Eudomonia in Berkeley is the regional expert in collectible cards, while Endgame is known for indie role-playing and miniature games. We sell collectible cards. We sell indie role-playing and miniatures. What we don't have is that intense, brutral and sometimes under-handed competition that drives us to specialize. I live closer to those stores than ours, so I could have added one more store to their local mix, but it seemed insane. One of the realities of being out here in the burbs, is there's really not enough business to support those kinds of store models. Diversification isn't a choice, it's a survival mechanism.
It's the emotional part of diversification that's hardest to handle. There's only so much time in the day to gain knowledge and expertise on what we sell. I could spend all day learning about Games Workshop products and be up to date, or read every D&D book, which would take up 100% of my reading time. I can't really afford to do that. I'm expected to know about everything, or at least what's new about the current crop of games, especially if it's the game you play.
I don't want to make excuses, because really, I try to gain as much product knowledge as time allows, but there's always going to be holes in that knowledge with such diverse offerings. My real job becomes turning novice gamers into veteran gamers so they can drive their own hobby experience, hopefully continuing that experience with us. Some store owners would suggest I carry less if I can't keep on top of them all, but that's not what our region or our business requires. Some customers will claim we don't love them because we can't focus on their game to their liking. However, store resources require that we share time and space. Thus there's an emotional toll on diversification, especially for a completist like me who would like nothing more than to delve into everything that interests me, if there was only time.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
New Stuff at the Store
Board Games
Miniatures
Collectible Card Games
- Magnifico! DaVinci's Art of War
Magnifico is a "risk like" game of conquest in Europe in the early 16th century. The players have military and financial means but also the extraordinary inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.
There are plastic figurines: infantry units, castles to which towers and war machines can be added. Leaving the fertile imagination of Leonardo, there is Aero, the ancestor of the aircraft and Carro prefiguring modern tanks. Other inventions are represented by cards and improve the various elements used in combat. Combat is resolved using special dice. Leonardo was also a famous artist and his works of art are related to the victory points.
- Age of Steam. A remake of the classic rail game. The most popular rail game of all time and number eleven on "the geek."
- Ra: The Dice Game. Knizia variant on Ra using dice.
- Apples to Apples 2 Go: Travel variant on this fun party game.
- Sleeves from Fantasy Flight: Mini American, Mini European, Standard American, Standard European, Cthulhu and Game of Thrones.
- MedWar Sicily: Bitter Victory (Richard Berg)
Miniatures
- Hordes: Skorne Bloodrunners, Bloodrunner Master Tormentor, Tyrant Command and Standard Bearer.
- Reaper Miniatures: Galladon Greycloak, Archmage; Halbarand, Cleric; Barrow Warden Mystic;Townsfolk: Jock, Chick, Nerd; Chainsaw Zombie; Laboratory Mutant; Dr. Unsinn, Evil Mastermind; Butch "Killer" Davis, Boxer.
- Hasslefree Miniatures: Tetsuhara, male sumo wrestler; Vissarisa, armoured elf with hammer and shield; Liralith, dark elf with pet spider; 'My hero' , weary barbarian seeks his reward; Civilians - Lab technician; Mike Thorp - Travelling court of the Brownie King.
- This Quar's War: A Primer.
Designed for casual play, This Quar’s War offers straightforward yet challenging rules for the veteran miniatures player. Utilizing an open orders system and double blind activation, the rules require both a strategic vision and the ability to improvise. Combat resolution takes the form of large dice pools, offering the chaos of war as well as a simple mechanic to seamlessly blend game play with the abstraction of combat.
- Future Zone Terrain - Bastion Stronghold
Collectible Card Games
- Naruto: Emerging Alliance Booster (Friday)
Note on Magic 2010: We still have boosters and intro packs (except white) in stock, but we'll likely run out by the weekend. However, we are reserving two boxes of boosters for Friday Night Magic, so never fear. We're expecting a restock on Wednesday from our East Coast source and I don't anticipate problems with 2010 stock after that.
Beating Back the Hounds
I'm happy to say we're still growing at a healthy pace in year five. As hard as it is for us, it's far easier than more mature stores that see a percent or two of growth each year, or even a loss. You have to figure that inflation is around 3-4% a year. So a store needs growth just to keep up. Also, since expenses are "net" expenses, and sales are "gross" sales, that needed number is actually much higher. So how do stores do this? The trite phrase that has been stuck in my mind since watching an episode of Warehouse 13: "A penny saved, is a penny earned."
As I've mentioned before, part of store ownership is constantly going over the books and trying to find a way to cut costs. The two biggest expenses are rent and wages. Rent is a hard one, since we're contractually obligated to pay it, even when rents over the lease period have dropped a bit and new tenants are getting insanely good incentive. As for wages, I can be more disciplined in how I handle employee hours and scheduling, but in a store our size, there's not much I can do. Stores in cheaper parts of the country can get away with extra employees, so they've got more wiggle room. Surprisingly, many store owners, including some of our competitors, don't even pay themselves (It's good to have a hobby). After these big fixed expenses, the biggest discretionary expense is advertising.
A recent customer who was getting her BMW fixed across the street turned out to own a marketing company. We talked for about an hour after she observed the business in operation, especially talking to the customers. Nobody had taken the time to do this before, as most "advertisers" walk in with assumptions about your business that need to be beaten out of them until they understand, or they'll completely waste your money. I put advertisers in quotes, because these folks are really about churning out commercials or printing ads; advertising is the tactics of marketing, while my job, and the job of this woman, is the strategy of marketing. What do we want to accomplish? Who is our audience?
The bottom line is my largish marketing budget will be cut even further. TV and Yellow Pages advertising will finally get the axe. They had already proven to be not as effective as I had hoped. These were things I knew in the back of my head, but it was nice to have someone else verify this. She gave me some other ideas to pursue. My marketing goals right now are to remind our existing customers of our presence, and focusing on the nearby community so they know of our existence. One goal mentioned by this marketing expert was that everyone in my zip code should know we're here. That's my next marketing project.
Let me know if you have any tactics for my strategy.
As I've mentioned before, part of store ownership is constantly going over the books and trying to find a way to cut costs. The two biggest expenses are rent and wages. Rent is a hard one, since we're contractually obligated to pay it, even when rents over the lease period have dropped a bit and new tenants are getting insanely good incentive. As for wages, I can be more disciplined in how I handle employee hours and scheduling, but in a store our size, there's not much I can do. Stores in cheaper parts of the country can get away with extra employees, so they've got more wiggle room. Surprisingly, many store owners, including some of our competitors, don't even pay themselves (It's good to have a hobby). After these big fixed expenses, the biggest discretionary expense is advertising.
A recent customer who was getting her BMW fixed across the street turned out to own a marketing company. We talked for about an hour after she observed the business in operation, especially talking to the customers. Nobody had taken the time to do this before, as most "advertisers" walk in with assumptions about your business that need to be beaten out of them until they understand, or they'll completely waste your money. I put advertisers in quotes, because these folks are really about churning out commercials or printing ads; advertising is the tactics of marketing, while my job, and the job of this woman, is the strategy of marketing. What do we want to accomplish? Who is our audience?
The bottom line is my largish marketing budget will be cut even further. TV and Yellow Pages advertising will finally get the axe. They had already proven to be not as effective as I had hoped. These were things I knew in the back of my head, but it was nice to have someone else verify this. She gave me some other ideas to pursue. My marketing goals right now are to remind our existing customers of our presence, and focusing on the nearby community so they know of our existence. One goal mentioned by this marketing expert was that everyone in my zip code should know we're here. That's my next marketing project.
Let me know if you have any tactics for my strategy.
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