Magic Online has been a godsend for tournament players. With an ever-ready group of opponents of all skill levels always available to test your Constructed decks or to draft with, the ability of players in isolated places to become dramatically better at Magic has increased. Even the casual player has benefited from MTGO with Casual Rooms, Tribal themes, Two-Headed Giant, and multiplayer games.
But there is a weakness to Magic Online that leaves many casual players staying with cardboard: the lack of camaraderie. When I started playing Magic, it was with a group of friends, and it was always multiplayer. Magic was our poker night — our chance to meet up at a friend’s place and just have a great time! Online Magic just does not offer the interaction that you can get from a face-to-face game.
The difficulty with group games is getting that group together in the first place. I’m sure many of you have been in a group that died a premature death. Me? I had a regular group of almost ten players, and I became separated from them for a very mundane reason: after several years, I went to law school in a different province. Since that time, I have moved several times, and tried to form several new groups — with varying levels of success. And as it turns out, many of the players in my new groups have been refugees from now-defunct groups. I am going to offer my trial-tested tips for finding players and forming new groups.
1. Determine What Kind Of Person You Are Looking For.
Are you looking for a group to playtest with? Are you looking for new players who are just getting started? You will be horribly unhappy with a group of playtest partners if you were looking for a group to drink beers and play a couple of relaxed games.
You really want to think about this. Gender was not a criteria that I initially considered — but after my wife’s response when I told her that a woman had shown interest in the multiplayer group, I decided that a “no women” policy was the way to go.*
In spite of the dangers, I recommend you begin your search by being as welcoming as possible to as many people as possible. My first regular Magic group was in Prince George, a city of 80,000 with no outlying area, in Northern British Columbia. We had almost ten people in the group. When I moved to Winnipeg (population: 600,000), I didn’t expect to have any trouble getting a group of players together. Oops! Part of the reason it proved so difficult to get a group together in Winnipeg was because I started my search expecting to have many people to choose from, so I quickly limited my search to those of similar age and play ability. There aren’t many aging multiplayer Magic fanatics in Manitoba! Don’t limit your search because you think you have so many players to choose from: you will be unpleasantly surprised.
Knowing the kind of person you are looking for will also influence how you find that group…. But there’s more on that below.
2. Create A Group Or Attach Yourself To An Existing Group.
Creating your own group is a more difficult path: you have to recruit everyone involved (at least four regulars) and set up frequency and location of your group’s get-togethers. Getting even four Magic players to agree to meet anywhere at a specific time is a Herculean task! Casual players tend to be lazy and opinionated, so don’t expect to get any gratitude from the other players involved.**
Attaching yourself to a current group is far easier, but it demands an easygoing attitude on your part. It is unlikely that they will be a perfect fit for you; perhaps they only play Chaos and you prefer Emperor. Their location isn’t always the best place for you to reach. They insist on cross-dressing when they play. There are pluses and minuses to both situations.
I recommend being open to both possibilities.*** You want to play with as many people as possible, since it is unlikely that everyone will be available every time you play. If you get to the point where you have the luxury to pick and choose players, you can try to get the best of both worlds — but until then, get into the games. Many of my favorite players are people I’ve met through others. I still get in the odd game with my friend’s friend’s brother’s cousin.
3. Advertising.
If you never tell anyone you want to play Magic, you aren’t likely to get into many games. This is where the kind of player you are looking for is important. Targeting high-school students will get you high-school students. Targeting college-age players will get you college-age players. Targeting hot college women will get you scorn and mockery.
Remember your target group!
Now, I know that I just said to keep an open mind and accept as many different types of people as possible… But if you won’t have any fun playing Magic with hot college women, then you shouldn’t be targeting them with your advertising.
So, what can you do to get the word out? Word of mouth is the best way, of course… But if you’re new to the neighborhood, here are some alternatives.
Message boards are one method. I have met some players by posting on a local message board. Obviously, success will depend on the traffic on the message board.
Articles are a less obvious method, but they work quite well. Spend the time to write a well thought-out article and get it posted here on StarCityGames, along with a comment at the end that you are looking for players in your area. People get the opportunity to know you a little from your writing. You will demonstrate your experience level and let them know that playing with you is something they would probably enjoy. You may be invited into a group — or at least have someone contact you. Remember that you want to play multiplayer Magic, so writing about your recommended draft picks or latest Constructed deck may not be the best option. (I’ll stand by this one — The Ferrett, who notes that it’s worked for him)
Posters are very low-tech, but so are many casual players. Remember, you aren’t looking for a game online, and many casual Magic players aren’t online. Posters work better than anything else. Only two people out of eight in my last group regularly checked StarCityGames, but all of them went to the local card shop at least once a month. Your local card shop likely has a spot for posters (or would be thrilled to put up your poster). Perhaps the casual crowd you are looking for can be found with a sign at a prerelease.
I’ll leave it to the advertising experts to tell you what the most effective poster should look like, but I used a Magic card back image to draw people to the poster. Be sure to include what you are looking for, as well as contact information. Be aware that your poster will draw all sorts of people, so take care with what information you share. Giving your address may be something that will come back to haunt you later.
School yards are a great place to meet players… if you are the right age. If you are in your twenties or older, it is probably best to stay away. The police didn’t seem to like the idea that I was pushing cardboard crack on ten-year-olds.
This is a good time to mention young players. By Magic standards, I’m ancient — a creaking thirty-four years old. Julien Nuijten is young enough to be my lovechild (although he did not get his Magic-playing abilities from me — lucky for him!). My Magic evening is partly an escape from my parental responsibilities, so I’m not interested in playing Magic with twelve-year-olds. If you are turning away young players, remember your manners; they help keep Magic going for everyone. As far as young’uns reading this, if you have thirty-four year-olds responding to your poster, tell them how old you are.
4. Follow Up.
So you have someone responding to your efforts? Congratulations! Now you need to do the setup work. No matter the size of the group, I recommend a neutral location first. There are several reasons for a neutral location:
- This will allow you to drop players that you know will not work out for your group. Some people are just jerks who you never want to meet again.
- It is usually easier to find a neutral location. In my case, my house is much more difficult to find than Your Move Games.
- A neutral location makes you visible. I used to play at a coffee shop and had at least two people consider joining up.
- The location will likely better accommodate your group than your place. Until a year ago I lived in a bachelor suite. There was no room for even four people to play Magic.
And while it doesn’t affect your group directly, support your location! We meet at Your Move Games, so we will buy at least some of our product there. If you meet at a restaurant or coffee shop, buy something! You are taking up space that a paying customer would use, so don’t make yourself a profitless burden to the owner or your space may soon be gone.
The timing of the meeting can be tricky — and this is where things have fallen apart for me before. Someone works late on Tuesday nights, someone else has a late class on Wednesdays, someone else’s child has ball practice on Thursday nights. Organizing this can be a nightmare, but it must be done. Don’t try to set up a regular night right off the bat; just try to find a night when everyone can be there. Once that is done, then you can start trying to find a similar opening in everyone’s schedule. This is the difficulty my current group is having, but I think we’ll work through it.
Once you have a meeting set up, be there early! Be sure that there will be space for everyone to play. I’ve heard of some coffee shops that love Magic players, and some that have kicked players out. I committed the cardinal sin and was late for the first meeting with a group of players. That night ended in disaster, with only one player showing up and waiting for over an hour. Thankfully, we managed to organize for the next week and all went well, but that was a terrible first impression that I gave. (Luke, if you’re reading, my apologies again for that!)
After that first meeting, you have your group! Just remember that it is still fragile and you need to nurse it along. You must be the organizer and cheerleader. If the group is a good bunch of guys, try having it at your home. Snacks and beverages are requirements and so much easier when you are at home. If someone in your group offers their place up, make it easier on them: bring food or beverages, and spare land if you are playing a variant that needs it. Offer rides if you can. If they have a spouse, be good to the spouse or that home may become off-limits for further games.
For a variety of reasons, getting multiplayer Magic games is more and more difficult. I hope this was helpful to everyone looking to start their own group or get involved in one. Remember, you get out what you put in — so make a real effort if you hope for results. Best of luck!
P.S. My current group is still in its infancy, and a few extra players would be welcome. If you live in or around Boston and are interested, email me at bnrichardAThotmail.com.
* – In fairness, the woman was the first person to respond. My wife would have no problem if a woman was one of the five members of my current group.
** – This excludes the group that I’m currently playing with, of course; they’re a uniformly great bunch of guys. I’m still invited to next week’s game, right? Right!?
*** – Cross-dressing makes Ladies’ Knight a playable card in the right deck.