Hosting your own "mini-convention" is a great way to introduce your friends who are "non-garners" to the hobby. It also provides a showcase for your miniatures collection, or it can just be a fun time with friends who otherwise would not experience the joys of miniatures gaming. My own efforts have resulted in three mini-cons over the past couple of years, and each time I have had more fun hosting them and experience more positive feedback from my guests. In this article, I will present some ideas for hosting your own weekend of fun with your non-gamer friends.
When planning your own get-together, keep in mind that your non-gamer friends do not have the same background that you and your gaming friends may have. They may not have an appreciation for the historical significance of a battle, or a familiarity with a fantasy or sci-fi "universe," or even a basic understanding of rudimentary game mechanics that you and your gaming friends take for granted. So, be prepared to spend a little more time in preparation in order to set the stage for non-garners. Remember, your Number One objective is to have fun, but the quality of the overall experience and the impressions of the hobby that your guests leave with at the end of the day are important, too. Even if you don't "convert" anyone to the hobby, you'll have an excellent opportunity to further the image of us garners in the eyes of the public, or at least to impress your friends with your skills. So, on with the tips!
1. Set a firm date early. This may seem obvious, but until you decide precisely when to hold your mini-convention and commit to a date, you'll probably just keep putting it off and your friends will make other plans. Poll the people you intend to invite and try to pick a date that works best for you and them, then stick to it. Give your prospective guests a couple of week's notice if possible.
2. Consider running your games as a non-playing referee. This will dispel any notion that you are only inviting non-gamers that you plan to trounce handily and treat as cannon fodder to boost your own ego. I always plan to be the referee or gamemaster of the featured game because I enjoy doing that as much as I enjoy playing. Since I typically invite friends who are non-gamers the burden is on me to prepare for and run the game, but I have fun doing exactly that so that is not a problem with me. If at least two of your friends show up for the main event, your game can proceed as planned. If only one person shows, then you can move in and participate as a player. Worst case, no one shows and you watch a movie and eat the food yourself.
3. Invite more people than you think you would need to successfully run a game, since many of those you invite will be uninterested or unable to attend. So far my "hit rate" is about 20%, but of course your mileage will vary depending upon who you invite. Be sure to tell people that it is okay with you if they just drop in, watch or join in for a bit, and leave if they want. People that don't want to commit to an uncertain experience or who have limited time are more likely to make an attempt if they know that you won't expect them to spend an entire evening doing something that they might not find enjoyable.
4. Create a "flyer" to send as an invitation to your prospective guests. As a minimum, include dates and times and a map to your house if you are inviting people who don't know the way. You should let them know whether or not you intend to feed them (more on that later), whether or children and/or spouses are invited (ditto), and other bits of information that may help them decide whether to drop by or not. You might also want to include some historical background material if that is appropriate for your featured game, and perhaps a brief summary of the rules or key game concepts. However, make it clear that reading everything you sent them beforehand is NOT a prerequisite for being able to play! You don't want to scare people away with paperwork.
5. Select one game to feature for the weekend and focus on preparing for and running it well. For the second WWW, I tried to prepare three separate games using different miniatures and rules. I wanted to give people a choice, but I found it very difficult to keep three sets of rules fresh in my mind, and in the end we ended up playing only one of the three anyway. Pick one set of rules and one scenario, preferably from those that are playtested, tried and true and make that the main event.
6. Set a specific time for it to begin and end, 6PM to 1 l PM for example. This seems obvious, but if you aren't clear on that point in your invitation you may not have critical mass to run the featured game, or people may not have planned to stay for the duration and you'll lose people before the game is completed. I once ran my weekend convention as an "open house" and while I did get several people stopping by (a total of 6 for the weekend) only once were there enough people there at one time (3) to conduct a game. Therefore, make it clear on your flyer that the game starts at a particular time. That way you'll have enough people there then to start the game, and you can always work latecomers in later on if they show up.
7. Consider running your events over at least two consecutive nights. That will give your guests a choice and allow them to work better around conflicts. Besides, once you have gone through the work to prepare you might as well get the most enjoyment out of your efforts. This will also allow you to invite friends that you know from different associations (work, church, clubs, etc.) on different nights, and your friends will be with other friends that know each other as well.
8. Give your "basement convention" a name if that appeals to you. I started calling mine the "World War Weekend" (WWW) after the first time I held it, so the most recent event that I hosted (the third) was WWW2. I don't think many of the guests paid attention to the name (it was in the flyer!), but it was fun for me since I can pretend that I am a big shot in charge of a huge convention attended by people awestruck with my organizational abilities. 9. Create displays of your miniatures projects. I find this a lot or work but very satisfying. Set up temporary tables and set up some "mock" wargames or impromptu dioramas. Or, you can simply cover a few tables with green felt and line your minis up in parade formation. I include small placards identifying the scale, nationality, and period of each group (for example, "World War Two, American, 15mm") or the battle you are trying to represent ("Pickett's Charge, 1863"). You don't need to get elaborate - the idea is to get your miniatures collection out of those boxes and into daylight so that your friends can ooh and aah over them!
10. Feed your guests. On a busy weekend, if people know they will be fed, they might be more likely to drop by if it doesn't mean missing a meal. Keep it simple and quick so that you can react to people showing up at different times. Set out chips, donuts, cookies, nuts, soft drinks - whatever you think your guests would enjoy and pop a frozen pizza or two in the oven every once in a while if people seem really hungry. Use your judgment when it comes to serving alcohol.
11. Provide a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere for your guests. Your gaming area should allow plenty of elbow room to encourage interaction, and the figures should be within easy reach from as many places around the table as possible. Down-size your game table if you have to. Adjust the temperature to compensate for the humanity in the room, and bring in a few extra lights if needed to keep the area well-lit.
12. If you have time, be prepared to run (or even participate in) a quick pickup game in case someone can only drop by during a time other than when you'll be playing the featured game. This may sound like it is contradicting the "stick to one game" advice above, but you should be able to pull a couple of tanks or stands of infantry off to one corner just to demonstrate the game mechanics to that lone guest without distracting you from the main event later on.
13. When selecting a featured game, keep it relatively simple since you are inviting "non-garners." Don't pick a game and rules that will require two hours of basic training before your guests can begin playing. Instead, pick a game and rules that allow you to spend a few minutes explaining the basics, then start the game quickly and let them learn the rules as they go. Chances are that your friends are relatively bright (they are, after all, your friends) so they probably won't have any trouble grasping the basic game mechanics once play starts, but still be careful about adding too much complexity. I would avoid games that combine too many troops and weapons types (infantry, artillery, armor, air, engineers) all in one game since explaining all of the specific rules will really bog down the action.
14. Play some recorded music appropriate to the period of the game you will be playing. I put on the soundtrack to "Gods and Generals" for the last WWW which featured the First Battle of Bull Run. Use the "repeat" feature of your CD player to keep it going all evening.
15. Before the game starts, or during a break, play a video of your favorite war movie or one that coincides with the period of the game you are playing. For the first WWW, the featured event was D-Day in 15mm using the Flames of War rules, so my guests and I watched the first 15 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" before the game to get in the mood.
16. Decorate the game area with reproduction period flags, posters, camo netting, ponchos, uniforms, etc. appropriate to the period of the game. For my First Bull Run game, I hung a 34-star US flag, the first Confederate national flag, and a Federal regimental flag on the walls of the dining room where we played. I also leaned my reproduction musket against the wall and used a Mime bullet to mark Henry Hill since it was a key terrain feature that had to be held as a victory condition.
17. Let people know whether children and/or dates or spouses are invited. If dates and spouses are not going to play the game they will want to be entertained, so unless your spouse or date wants that job you had better discourage your guests from bringing their significant other. Likewise with small children - unless you plan to provide a babysitter you'd better let your guests know that junior needs to stay home (keep in mind that some miniatures contain lead so use care if you allow small children near your collection). Encourage your guests to bring older children who might be interested in playing, but make sure they understand what an appropriate age might be based on the nature, complexity, and length of the game you have planned.
18. When deciding on what game to host and whom to invite, give a moment's thought to the cultural considerations of your guests. I don't want to dwell on this point, but since the point is to have fun, you'll want to avoid asking people to act as commanders of nationalities or other backgrounds that might make them uncomfortable. You should state in your invitation what scenario you will be playing and make it clear to your guests what armies will be involved so that they can decide for themselves.
19. Chose a rules set that is challenging but not overly complex. A "beer and pretzels" game might be fun but may not represent the mainstream hobby you are trying to introduce to your friends. Likewise, too many pauses while you flip through a 200-page rulebook for some obscure rule for mine dogs or field kitchens will likely kill the fun completely. Use rules that you know work well, particularly if you have seen them used to good effect in convention games played by players of mixed skill and experience levels. Popular rules are often (not always) good rules to use for first-time garners. I would avoid play-testing your own experimental variable-time random-sequence double-blind reverse-osmosis rules on your non-gaming guests.
20. Keep the game moving! The biggest criticism that "non-garners" have against wargames is that they are "boring" and that is certainly valid for poorly written rules or badly run games. As gamemaster it is your job to keep up the pace. For example, if players start to dwell on precise measurements for movement or ranges tell them "Close enough!" and keep them moving. Don't be arbitrary, but don't let inexperienced players get too bogged down in the minutia of the game mechanics.
21. Use discretion when selecting a game subject. Warfare is, by nature, cruel, harsh and violent, but you might want to avoid games involving hostages, refugees, civilians, brutality, torture, terrorism, executions, etc. Remember that your guests are people that are unfamiliar with the hobby and they are likely to be equally impressed by a "fair fight" between evenly matched professional armies than by a scenario set in the Warsaw Ghetto, World Trade Center, or the Washita River. Likewise, even if they are well painted and historically correct, you might want to leave the decapitated casualty or ravaged nun figures and the flaming orphanage scenic for your usual gaming crowd. Consider trying to portray the mainstream of the hobby, not the extremes.
22. To keep things fun, consider providing your guests with something that will help them identify with the game. Period headgear, insignia, or even a name tag identifying them as "Rommel" or "Grant" will help them get into the historical mood. Again, keep it tasteful. At the end of the game you can pass out "certificates of achievement" or "discharge papers" that they can keep as a memento.
23. Take photos of your guests and the game as it progresses, and then distribute copies to your guests after the convention. Digital cameras make this easy and cheap. You can even post them on a website if your guests approve, along with a period-style "after action report" describing the progress of the battle.
That's about it. If you host your own gaming mini-convention for your non-gaming friends and follow at least some of the advice I've offered above, your friends will come away with a better appreciation of the hobby and you'll all have a fun and rewarding time. Give it a try!
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