Pre-Register!
Scenario games are often a complex event to pull off for producers. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes and the simple act of pre-registering early can make all the difference in your experience
The scenario game you're interested in playing is still several months away. It is hard to know for sure if you will definitely be able to attend, but you know you want to go. Time goes by and you simply forget about the game until you are a week away, and so you finally register for the game. The last week of pre-registration is the most active, its where the biggest jump in numbers occur, and when game producers are finally able to start painting an accurate picture of how many players they can expect.
Producing a game goes beyond simply writing a storyline and mission cards. What goes into these games behind the scenes covers things like: making props, altering the field for game flow, lining up generals, promoting the event, and certain logistics.
The logistics are the main focus in regards to your pre-registering. This entails ordering a sufficient amount of paint, ensuring there are enough portable toilets or adequate restroom facilities, purchasing prize packs, making ID cards, printing game maps, getting all the materials for player packs, etc.
Pre-registration perks like reduced prices and pre-registrant only prize raffles are incentives designed to increase the number of people who sign up ahead of time so that we have a clearer picture of what to expect player-wise. How much paint should we order? If the bulk of players intend to wait until the last week of low-priced pre-registration to sign up, we don't know until that last week closes.
Perhaps the answer, from a producer's stand point, is to close pre-registration earlier, but this would turn away more people rather than enticing them to sign up earlier. We know it's difficult to know for sure what you will be doing in 5 months time, however pre-registering that early will honestly enhance your experience at the game. We have plenty of paint, more than adequate facilities, and plenty of prizes to give away at the end.
If you still aren't comfortable paying to pre-register months in advance of a game then you should call the field the game is being held at. Ask them if they have a refund policy for those not able to attend the game. If they do not, then perhaps it is a game that runs with consistent numbers on a yearly basis. If not, then they only have themselves to blame for you waiting until the last week to pre-register.
So keep those producers in mind when you are browsing the upcoming events deciding which one to play. It makes our jobs easier if you sign up early, and that means we can produce a higher quality game for you to enjoy!
Mike "Voodoo" Shumate
Originally posted on 'Voodoo Spells It Out'