Warhammer 40K Tournament help

[Skragger]

Some friends and myself are going to be trying to open a FLGS in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area (here in Ontario) in the summer of 2012 (still a ways off I know, but its never too early to start).

One of the things we want to do to cleanse the impurity of the competition is to hold a boat-load of events - tournaments, campaigns, special missions, that sort of stuff.

Does anyone have any advise on running or setting up tournies/campaigns? How to get players started? Ideas for prizes? Point sizes that work for a FLGS? Any tidbits you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

What do you wish your FLGS would do more often, or stock, or host?

Feel free to post, PM, or E-mail me at [email protected] with all your ideas and suggestions!

Thanks in advance! :D

Edit: If anyone can think of some good product (that would move!) that we should stock, please let me know. So far we've got:
Tabletop Games
Warhammer (and all iterations, including LotR, and if we can, specialist games)
Dungeons and Dragons minis
Warmachine/Horde
Fog of War

Card Games
Magic: the Gathering
More Child-aimed games (i.e Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh)
Munchkin

Role Playing Games:
Dungeons and Dragons
GURPS
White Wolf Games (makers of Hunter The Reckoning)
Warhammer RPGs

We're trying to avoid the boardgames/action figures/comic book side of the market, as there's a large store about 2 km from where we want to open that stocks all that jazz.

[SotonShades]

The best advice, as is often the case, is KISS (not like eldargirl and her friend...);

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Start off with a basic tournaments, low points, quick games, standard missions from the rulebook. Low points will often help reduce the effectiveness of powerful and expensive characters without having to ban them (although given you can fit 2 Dreadnights in a FOC legal GK army at 500 points this won't always work) and even those fairly new to the game will be able to take part, standard missions mean that if all else fails people can sign up on the day without losing out because they haven't had a month or two to play missions you've devised and quick games should help ensure people who have their rear-ends handed to them in one game can get on and get over it fairly soon in to the next game, not to mention the social network you will be generating between your new clientel by forcing them to meet as many other people as possible.

Apocolypse games can be good to get everyone around a single table having a laugh. They can be tricky to keep track of though, so make sure you have someone with a good bit of experience at the helm of each team as well as a Game Master to keep things going, stop people wandering off (we all know little kids get easilly distracted) and take over/roll for units if someone isn't paying attention. I'd also advise not using the stratagems or datasheets for the most part because using them all can be very confusing to a large group who aren't particularly close... maybe let each captain/general pick one or two that they can allow people to use, but avoid the ones like outflanking and careful planning, as these can make it quite unbalanced, and blur the battle lines a bit too quickly when each side is made up of bits of several different armies. Also have a plan for what to do with late comers; how and when you are going to bring them in from reserve, and how you are going to keep the sides balanced with them (maybe a strategem for the otherside such as an orbital bombardment?)

Campaigns are great, but save them for when you have a few regulars you can rely on to turn up and play, otherwise they quickly dissolve in to nothing. Allowing a certain amount of time for rivalries to build up can also create some interesting, if slightly irrational, campaign decisions that can really liven up events that can get bogged down. Try to get a load of people to turn up and play a whole campaign in a day or weekend (similar to most tournament set ups) to keep interest up and stop them dragging on and on.

Prize-wise... well that depends if you want to charge an entrance fee or not. Running an event can encourage people to buy more models for a tournament or campaign, so bare this in mind if you are running a store, with a portion of your profits possibly going toward prize support, rather than just entry money if you decide to charge at all. Fees can be off putting, especially for the younger contingent of hobbyists and while you are untested by your gaming group. Once you have a few events under your belt and people know that the event is going to be well run and fun, then maybe start with entry fees and better prize support, but until then, maybe a few dollars worth of vouchers for your store in increasing denominations for 3rd, 2nd and 1st place. Possible a battalion box set or something, maybe even a small trophy and.or certificate. Remember as well that on these days you are possibly going to need extra memebers of staff in, so don't forget to take in to account their wages, unless they are willing to run the event for free (maybe not the GM, but if you have a membeer of staff captaining each team and playing, they may not mind so much).

Special missions I'm afraid I draw a blank on. Within a campaign, absolutely. In a tournament, ok once you get yourselves well established as a tournament venue. Otherwise? Well maybe on release days or special events (and I mean like once or twice a year) because otherwise you could end up stopping your customers being able to play how they want to play to satisfy your own ego.

Points values should generally be kept small across the board. Limit people to (for example) 1000 points each when running an apocolpyse game, unless they have your permission to bring in an aircraft or some super heavies (will help you keep the sides approximately balanced hopefully). Generally keep games people are playing small. At the GW store I used to be a regular at, we were only allowed to play 1500points or less at Vet's nights, to ensure everyone gets a fair chance to play, where as my current store (which is smaller) allows people to play any size game, which can often lead to games taking all night, stopping others from being able to play.

Think that's all I've got for now. Sorry to eldargirl for that cheap shot at her expense at the start. Feel free to comment on my titan that looks like it needs the loo if you like, or anything else you can think of :)

[Skragger]

Thank you very much for the advise! I'm new to this idea of "owning a store" so I need all the help I can get!

I was thinking of opening with a bang, doing an event called "The month of war" - each weekend of the month we hold a tournament for 40K, WHFB, and Magic: The Gathering/LotR.

This works for 40K/WHFB:
>1000 points/player (750?)
>standard objective grab mission
>Main event would be held on the saturday, final battle/semi-finals (depending on number of players) on sunday
> no entry fee

Prizes:
>1st place: Gift Cert for the store, special char of your choice commissioned painted by our local commissar of the paint
>2nd place: gift cert for the store
> All attendees will get a dice cube on the house!

I figure: free swag + good gaming + chance to win more free swag will really draw in the gaming crowd. Here in the tri-cities there's only one store with a space for gaming, and it's only one table, so they don't hold events. There's another huge hobby store in the area that has GW product on the cheap, so we're hoping events will pull in enough crowd. After the month of war we'd start charging for events. I used to go to a different FLGS (now closed) for Friday Night Magic games, and he used to charge $10 for entry, or $15 if you wanted pizza (gave you a little redeemable food voucher).

Talking with the GW rep we've got (shes wonderful) she made a very good point saying the goal is to pull in new players. Veterans will walk in and say "I need.. this" and thats it. New players will walk in saying "I need this, this, this and this, and can you show me how to..." Allowing you to create a new bonding experience between the player and the store. To that end, we also were thinking of holding a bunch of free to attend workshops on how to play the games, advanced tactics, painting and terrain seminars, etc, etc.

When I mention special missions, the one that was wandering around in my head were things like holiday themed games (we just passed St Paddy's Day.. maybe have an objective grab where you need to get barrels of beer and take them back to your deployment zone).

As I mentioned in the other post.. it jus wouldn't be the same if me and my buddy tried the same tactic...

[Skragger]

Heh.. Titan Turds.. heh...

[SotonShades]

Month of War plan sounds cool, though not sure about the name myself. No idea what I'd use instead however. I wouldn't expect the turn out to be too big unless you advertised a fair bit. Prizes and free swag also sound good. I wouldn't go for a knock-out system as it can be disheartenning for those who only get a game or two. Then again they can't complain too much if they haven't paid and got a free dice cube out of it.

Tutorials and Workshops are also a great plan, especially for modelling/painting. Maybe you could follow them up the weekend after with a mini golden deamon-esque painting competition? Gives them something else to look forward to, something to use their new found skills on and (most importantly) another reason to come back in to the store. I'd suggest sticking to just vehicles/monsters/squads/characters/terrain/what-ever-the-subject-of-the-workshop-was, but have separate catagories for he youngbloods and vets (say 14 and under is youngbloods, same as GW). Community or judge voted works well either way.

and just to illustrate my final point in my previous post, SQUATTING TITAN!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/168192_677151129412_286105536_9273587_2795873_n.jp g
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/163975_677151224222_286105536_9273594_6509303_n.jp g

[Rapture]

Developing a community is key to keeping a store alive. If a player shows up and sits around for an hour waiting for an opponent that never shows they will eventually stop coming. If they feel like they can just drive up and get a game, they will come whenever they have time. My LGS is never proactive about keeping 40k players coming in.

The most important part of a tournament is always the player. If they don't show, it is a waste of time and resources. Having them sign up (and preferable pay) in advance is always a good idea. Also, once you open the store and meet your gamers you can find out what they like and tailor the events to meet their needs.

I have never run a store. This is only my advice based on the kind of store I would like to frequent.

Also, the more often I play and the more fun I have, the more likely I am to feel loyalty to the store and buy there even if ebay is cheaper.

Good luck.


Allowing you to create a new bonding experience between the player and the store.
My LGS has the Black Reach models on a 4x4 board on the main counter. The two owners let prospective players stomp them with the marines to get their foot in the door.

[Skragger]

Also, once you open the store and meet your gamers you can find out what they like and tailor the events to meet their needs.

I have never run a store. This is only my advice based on the kind of store I would like to frequent.

Also, the more often I play and the more fun I have, the more likely I am to feel loyalty to the store and buy there even if ebay is cheaper.

Good luck.


My LGS has the Black Reach models on a 4x4 board on the main counter. The two owners let prospective players stomp them with the marines to get their foot in the door.

Thats the game plan we're looking for. By Gamers For Gamers. We want to know what our players want more of, and give them that. I do like the idea of having the Blackreach set available for gamers to use. I was going to do one of them and keep it for new players to have a swing with their friends, or staff. Same with Isle of Blood for Fantasy.

[Skragger]

Month of War plan sounds cool, though not sure about the name myself. No idea what I'd use instead however. I wouldn't expect the turn out to be too big unless you advertised a fair bit. Prizes and free swag also sound good. I wouldn't go for a knock-out system as it can be disheartenning for those who only get a game or two. Then again they can't complain too much if they haven't paid and got a free dice cube out of it.

Tutorials and Workshops are also a great plan, especially for modelling/painting. Maybe you could follow them up the weekend after with a mini golden deamon-esque painting competition? Gives them something else to look forward to, something to use their new found skills on and (most importantly) another reason to come back in to the store. I'd suggest sticking to just vehicles/monsters/squads/characters/terrain/what-ever-the-subject-of-the-workshop-was, but have separate catagories for he youngbloods and vets (say 14 and under is youngbloods, same as GW). Community or judge voted works well either way.

and just to illustrate my final point in my previous post, SQUATTING TITAN!



Ooo I do like that idea for having the mini-golden daemon painting idea! One idea my friend who I'm opening with had was (and this works better with a lower turnout) - doing best 2 of 3 games instead of sudden death.

Whos Titan is that? is it yours? Why squatting? Besides it'd be easier to fit in the car? I'd love to take that thing onto a bus with me, and have it squat in the seat next to me.

[plasticaddict]

Stating off with a month long string of tournaments is a good idea, providing you can get the word out in advance, it would probably work best if you did a "soft opening" and got people coming into the store the do a "grand opening" kicking off with your month of war. It will help you build a little rapport with your customers and guage what events will get the best turn out. I would suggest keeping tournamnet events to a single day, it's easier to get people to commit a single day to gaming than an entire weekend. GW will provide your store with prize support for your tournaments be sure to use it. After you get established and have several events under your belt then start thinking about running a campaign (don't be shy about hitting your GW rep up for a little extra prize support here). I've found a small entry fee for events isn't a big turn off for most players as long as it comes back in prize support, $5 for a tournamnet and $10 for league seem to go over really well with most players, you give the entry fees back as gift certificates/cards for your store, the players get more prizes and you get more sales win=win.

Something else to consider, carry the core game systems your customers like (WFB, 40K, LoTR, Magic, WM/Hordes, etc.) but put a few simple games out there also and make sure your customers know what else is out there (Spartan Games, Wyrd minatures, Battletech). Let them know you'll get them anything they want to try and if they can get it to kick off you'll help support it by scheduling events and providing playing space.

My two cents.

[Skragger]

Stating off with a month long string of tournaments is a good idea, providing you can get the word out in advance, it would probably work best if you did a "soft opening" and got people coming into the store the do a "grand opening" kicking off with your month of war. It will help you build a little rapport with your customers and guage what events will get the best turn out. I would suggest keeping tournamnet events to a single day, it's easier to get people to commit a single day to gaming than an entire weekend. GW will provide your store with prize support for your tournaments be sure to use it. After you get established and have several events under your belt then start thinking about running a campaign (don't be shy about hitting your GW rep up for a little extra prize support here). I've found a small entry fee for events isn't a big turn off for most players as long as it comes back in prize support, $5 for a tournamnet and $10 for league seem to go over really well with most players, you give the entry fees back as gift certificates/cards for your store, the players get more prizes and you get more sales win=win.

Something else to consider, carry the core game systems your customers like (WFB, 40K, LoTR, Magic, WM/Hordes, etc.) but put a few simple games out there also and make sure your customers know what else is out there (Spartan Games, Wyrd minatures, Battletech). Let them know you'll get them anything they want to try and if they can get it to kick off you'll help support it by scheduling events and providing playing space.

My two cents.

Some more great ideas. So hold off on the big blast off until maybe a few weeks - a month after opening. We plan on doing as much advertising as we can - local papers, radio (if possible), waybills, web.. that sorta stuff.

For the second portion - get the customer to get their friends together with an idea, and then say "sure! we'll host your gaming sessions/tournaments"? I like that idea.

We will be having at least four tables, where people can come and play anytime they want. But also allowing tables to be reserved (for a fee) if people want to host their own private tournaments or whatnot.

[SotonShades]

Whos Titan is that? is it yours? Why squatting? Besides it'd be easier to fit in the car? I'd love to take that thing onto a bus with me, and have it squat in the seat next to me.

It is indeed my titan. I did originally model it leaning forward (aiming it's arm weapons at something about 72" away) but at the glue holding the legs and skeleton together dried, the spine pulled itself to almost vertical position :(

And yes, he has been on a bus. To make it easier to fit in a car, his torso actually slides off the spine. It also means he can rotate at the hips, which is fun :) The arms also come off, which is handy for aiming, transport and alternative weapons, for which I currently have two volcano cannons and a titan close combat weapon (the latter being nearly twice the length of a baneblade).

[Skragger]

It is indeed my titan. I did originally model it leaning forward (aiming it's arm weapons at something about 72" away) but at the glue holding the legs and skeleton together dried, the spine pulled itself to almost vertical position :(

And yes, he has been on a bus. To make it easier to fit in a car, his torso actually slides off the spine. It also means he can rotate at the hips, which is fun :) The arms also come off, which is handy for aiming, transport and alternative weapons, for which I currently have two volcano cannons and a titan close combat weapon (the latter being nearly twice the length of a baneblade).

Its brilliant! I need one of those for the store! Very well done sir! :D

[SotonShades]

Thank you very much. The odd unit like that in a store Apocolypse game can really make an event. And that cost me less than buying a Baneblade or Stompa from GW (although both have managed to kill it... as has a IG Preist with an Eviscerator!)

[Skragger]

Thank you very much. The odd unit like that in a store Apocolypse game can really make an event. And that cost me less than buying a Baneblade or Stompa from GW (although both have managed to kill it... as has a IG Preist with an Eviscerator!)


He threw the Eviscerator into the uncovered exhaust shaft right?

[sneaky pete]

If you would prefer to have the work done for you, minileagues already has a league established in southern Ontario up and running. I just joined in it's second season and it's going great right now and I'm having a blast. The store I'm gaming at I hadn't heard of before, but now it's where I'll do all of myfuture purchases. It's the tried and true method of keeping customers - give them a great first experience and they'll keep coming back. It's one of the main reasons I got into the hobby - I went to a GW store, played and intro game, didn't go back to the store for a couple months...but they remembered my name! That's the kind of customer servive you want to deliver!

If you want the link to minileagues -

http://minileagues.com/home.html

Good luck the store, and if I'm up that way, I'll drop in when you open up.

[Skragger]

If you would prefer to have the work done for you, minileagues already has a league established in southern Ontario up and running. I just joined in it's second season and it's going great right now and I'm having a blast. The store I'm gaming at I hadn't heard of before, but now it's where I'll do all of myfuture purchases. It's the tried and true method of keeping customers - give them a great first experience and they'll keep coming back. It's one of the main reasons I got into the hobby - I went to a GW store, played and intro game, didn't go back to the store for a couple months...but they remembered my name! That's the kind of customer servive you want to deliver!

If you want the link to minileagues -

http://minileagues.com/home.html

Good luck the store, and if I'm up that way, I'll drop in when you open up.

Thanks! I'm going to look into these guys! I really appreciate it!

[HsojVvad]

Hey someone close by to me. Well about 1/2 -3/4 hour away depending where you move to.

Not trying to be downer here, but I am in the Brant area. All 3 or 4 gaming stores that were here in Brant have closed down. I think there is 2 or 3 in the Cambridge or the area you are in so you are in for some tough competition. Be very carefull you are not stepping on anyones toes.

By that I don't mean they have rights, but you are going up agaisnt someone who is already established and has a customer base. Right now gaming stores are really tough. Do you have the money to rent or lease a building with the space for gaming? Alot of stores can't afford this, hell even GW can't afford gaming space for it's customers so be carefull.

I would be carefull in caring specialist games from GW since they will be sitting on your shelf for a very long time. If anyone wants it, order it in for them. I am making dinner so I will comment more on what you are planning.

Good luck, and give me a shout when you open up. Again all stores closed here so it's a tough buisness right now. Remember alot of people are getting cheaper on the internet and then be playing at your store for space. How will you handle this? Maybe ask around the other stores and see what they do.

Not sure if you know this, but in Hamilton, there is Black Knight Hobbies (I think thier name is) found thier advertisment on the BOLS here, and they have 2 or 3 tables. Speek to them if the will let you know how it is.

Again, I caution really do your homework here, with rent or lease costing you the most, then hydro and then stock, it will be very VERY expensive for you guys. Make sure you are doing this for a buisness and not a hobby, other wise it will fail sadly.

I wish you the best of luck.

[Skragger]

Hey someone close by to me. Well about 1/2 -3/4 hour away depending where you move to.

Not trying to be downer here, but I am in the Brant area. All 3 or 4 gaming stores that were here in Brant have closed down. I think there is 2 or 3 in the Cambridge or the area you are in so you are in for some tough competition. Be very carefull you are not stepping on anyones toes.

By that I don't mean they have rights, but you are going up agaisnt someone who is already established and has a customer base. Right now gaming stores are really tough. Do you have the money to rent or lease a building with the space for gaming? Alot of stores can't afford this, hell even GW can't afford gaming space for it's customers so be carefull.

I would be carefull in caring specialist games from GW since they will be sitting on your shelf for a very long time. If anyone wants it, order it in for them. I am making dinner so I will comment more on what you are planning.

Good luck, and give me a shout when you open up. Again all stores closed here so it's a tough buisness right now. Remember alot of people are getting cheaper on the internet and then be playing at your store for space. How will you handle this? Maybe ask around the other stores and see what they do.

Not sure if you know this, but in Hamilton, there is Black Knight Hobbies (I think thier name is) found thier advertisment on the BOLS here, and they have 2 or 3 tables. Speek to them if the will let you know how it is.

Again, I caution really do your homework here, with rent or lease costing you the most, then hydro and then stock, it will be very VERY expensive for you guys. Make sure you are doing this for a buisness and not a hobby, other wise it will fail sadly.

I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks for the warnings. What were gunning for is the idea of events. None of the stores in our area have tables for gaming on. So that will be our niche. Offering all the services a gaming store *should* offer but for some reason none of the ones in our area do. So our goal is to say "heres your product" and "heres your space to play it" - its more than that, but thats the nutshell!

[HsojVvad]

Thank you very much for the advise! I'm new to this idea of "owning a store" so I need all the help I can get!

Looks like you are doing your homework.


I was thinking of opening with a bang, doing an event called "The month of war" - each weekend of the month we hold a tournament for 40K, WHFB, and Magic: The Gathering/LotR.

I would open up but without the Bang!. Just in case people don't show up yet, the few who do, can see this as a fail and may not come back. Just open up regularly and have people play games. When I went into a brand new store in Toronto, it was empty, and I thought it was a failure. He is still going on, but since it is him alone, he is doing good. I think you said you and some friends? That would be more than 2? So how many will be "owning" this store? How will you split the profits? While a $1000 a month profit for a single person maybe be good, now you have 2, 3 or 4 owners or people with a stake in it, that $1000 is now $500 or $250 profit. Is it really worth it now? Something else to consider.


This works for 40K/WHFB:
>1000 points/player (750?)
>standard objective grab mission
>Main event would be held on the saturday, final battle/semi-finals (depending on number of players) on sunday
> no entry fee

Prizes:
>1st place: Gift Cert for the store, special char of your choice commissioned painted by our local commissar of the paint
>2nd place: gift cert for the store
> All attendees will get a dice cube on the house!

Sounds good start small as was suggested.


I figure: free swag + good gaming + chance to win more free swag will really draw in the gaming crowd. Here in the tri-cities there's only one store with a space for gaming, and it's only one table, so they don't hold events. There's another huge hobby store in the area that has GW product on the cheap, so we're hoping events will pull in enough crowd. After the month of war we'd start charging for events. I used to go to a different FLGS (now closed) for Friday Night Magic games, and he used to charge $10 for entry, or $15 if you wanted pizza (gave you a little redeemable food voucher).

Ah so you already have competion. So hopefully your play in the store will will get people to come to you. While you are selling minitures, also consider pop, water, chips, candy as refreshments you want to sell. I don't know if you need a food voucher for this. Consider selling pop for 50 cents and not a buck. The reason is, I would most likely bring in my own pop or water then, but for 50 cents, it would seem a hassel to carry. You want to bring customers in, so 50 cents should not kill you and make you look like you have awsome prices. I hate when a store tries to sell me pop for a buck, I don't bother in principle.

The prices for food is to keep people in the store, so they don't leave and come back, and cheap enough to pay for the food, but not make profit from it. That is what the store is for. Just like how Casinos give people free drinks to stay at the machines, have cheap chips and pop/water, for 50 cents so they will not leave either.
[/quote]
Talking with the GW rep we've got (shes wonderful) she made a very good point saying the goal is to pull in new players. Veterans will walk in and say "I need.. this" and thats it. New players will walk in saying "I need this, this, this and this, and can you show me how to..." Allowing you to create a new bonding experience between the player and the store. To that end, we also were thinking of holding a bunch of free to attend workshops on how to play the games, advanced tactics, painting and terrain seminars, etc, etc.
[/quote]
While this is good, you are not GW. If I am going to be treated by you like a GW store, I may as well go to GW. I HATE BEING TREATED LIKE I AM A BOTHER. Treat me like I matter, not I spend my $100 or $500 and you don't want to see me ever again. You should be treating the vetreans special so they will come back. I am not sure if this is true, but I thought while vetreans may have everything, and if they show up to your store to play, wouldn't they at least buy a paint, or a brush or something small, since you are offering the space for them to play. I can't believe all vetreans would not buy nothing from you.

Do not neglect the vetreans and do not neglect the new blood. While they may not buy anthing big anymore, everyone still needs glue, paint brushes, you want them coming back. How to do this, I am not so sure.



When I mention special missions, the one that was wandering around in my head were things like holiday themed games (we just passed St Paddy's Day.. maybe have an objective grab where you need to get barrels of beer and take them back to your deployment zone).

As I mentioned in the other post.. it jus wouldn't be the same if me and my buddy tried the same tactic...
That sounds good, but do it slowly again, get a "feel of the reigns" sort to speak.


Thats the game plan we're looking for. By Gamers For Gamers. We want to know what our players want more of, and give them that. I do like the idea of having the Blackreach set available for gamers to use. I was going to do one of them and keep it for new players to have a swing with their friends, or staff. Same with Isle of Blood for Fantasy.

Here you have to be carefull. This reminds me of computer games, games made from gamers. While the begining maybe good, the bottom line always kicks in, and then you have to do things to save money, or make more money. This can turn the people off and you will loose customers that you have gained thier trust.

So plan everything before you even open the store. For example don't think you can have people come in the store and play for free, and say you are loosing money so you charge a $2 fee or what ever 6 months down the road, people will get pissed and then not show up just on priciniple alone. If you are going to charge, then do it from the begining. If not, then it's free for all time.

How about free bottles of water for eveyrone who plays? Maybe charge $2, but everyone gets a free bottle of water or 2.

Also when you do tournies, I hate when painting is involed when it's just a game. If you are going to have scoring, don't deduct points because of paint or what not. That is sooooo stupid in my opnion. Or have seperate tournies, one that has to be all painted, and others that don't need painted.

Also from what I have read, GW is not nice to be dealing with. They have so many restricitions, they will TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN NOT DO, from what I read others have tried to do. They will tell you where you have to place them, and how much you have to order. So be very carefull of this.

Are you going to order discounts? I would have gone to Toronoto because at first it was 30% off but now it's 20% off. So you can see change doesn't sit well. Plus being an hour away, it's not worth it for me to go all the time. Plan ahead and stick with it, only change for what is cheaper for the customer.

There is a closer store, about 25 minutes away, Black Knight as I said before, but they don't really offer any discounts so it's not worth for me to go there for buisness.

I hope this helps a bit for ideas. Don't forget alot of people, like me have lost our jobs and can't find any work. It's really tough market now for being into the gaming/minture buisness right now. So good luck.

Also for some reason, lots of stores are closed Mondays and Tuesdasy because it costs more money to be open instead of closed. Keep that in mind as well.

[HsojVvad]

I also forgot, do your research in your area you plan on doing buisness with. Maybe go to other forums like DakkaDakka and Warseer and ask there if people are in the area where you plan on doing buisness what they want as well.

Just because someone from Texas, or UK think this is a great idea or want that, but do people in the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge area want this. How you do this, I have no idea but see if there is really a gaming enviroment where people want to go to a FLGS to play in the first place. While alot of gamers are in it for the short run, by going out and play, you are in it for the long run having a store and inventory.

So make sure you can actually do this and not just go bankrupt. I don't know how long a lease you have to sign so remember you have to keep paying over a $1000 or maybe even $1500-$2000 a month just for rent or lease not includeing hydro and water (for bathrooms).

Can you really be selling $3000 worth of inventory a month, if not more? Don't forget you also have all those taxes to pay as well. :P

[soupcat]

Out of curosity where is the store opening up? I normally place at a store in guelph, but a combination of going to school in kitchener / working in cambridge has me wanting to find something in or around that area.

[SotonShades]

He threw the Eviscerator into the uncovered exhaust shaft right?

Not quite. In quite a rather greek moment, he ran up and hit it in the heel to bring it down...