If you’ve ever played a game, and I’m sure you have, you know it’s more fun with other people. That’s why hobby stores are so great. They bring people together who love games and connect them so they can play! That’s what Organized Play is all about. It would seem that for the last year IELLO has had a ton of requests to offer Organized Play for one of their most popular games, Heroes of Normandie. And guess what? Now its happened!
I have to applaud a manufacturer that listens to their retailers and consumers and work to offer fun experiences in the Hobby Store channel. Something that helps Hobby Stores fight-the-fight against the mass market of Walmart and Target. I can see programs like this happening in Hobby Stores around the country but never in isle 13 of Walmart and helps mark IELLO as a very supportive partner for distribution and the Hobby Channel.
What’s the Organized Play program going to be?
The design studio for Heroes of Normandie, Devil Pig Games, has created a massive amount of great content that players can use to keep the game fresh and challenging every time they play. IELLO has been working with them closely to develop a program that stores can use for larger groups. This will help connect players every week within host stores.
Whether those players just want to learn how to play or they’ve already constructed a 500 point army tuned for tournaments, this Organized Play program will help bring fans together and make sure your store can offer a game/tournament every week.
How do I sign up my store?
Inform IELLO you want to host events by filling in their online registration. They will then send you the kit and once you receive it you’re set to run your event.
A few tips to ensure you have a great event!
This is the actual poster for the first kit
Here’s a short checklist of things to do to ensure your event is well attended and you maximize the fun for attendees.
Register with IELLO that you’d like to take part.
Request to be added to IELLO’s store locator for stores running their Organized Play program(s).
Advertise on your website and Social Media, the event(s) date(s), start time(s), entry cost(s) and prizes.
Advertise in-store on your message board and put up any poster you get with your kit.
Make fliers for your event in your store and include that in each bag/purchase for each customer. Or make a flier for all your events for the week and ensure customers get that instead.
Familiarize yourself with the kit and any/all rules governing the event and any restrictions. Report any missing/damaged contents immediately. Do this as soon as you get the kit to allow the maximum amount of time to correct issues.
Host the event. With Heroes of Normandie, encourage folks to come dressed in costume to make it a really fun event! Maybe offer a prize for the best costume.
Ensure you have copious drinks and snacks available. For this event maybe coffee, water and chocolate, which the troops had access to.
At the event close, ensure to hand out all prizes and make a big thing of this. Recognize your Heroes and make them feel special.
Take pictures of the prize giving and event. Post these to your Social Media site advertising the event and your next events. Always do everything you can to show how much fun your store events are.
Fill out the After Action Report Form
Start planning your next event!
What’s in the Heroes Of Normandie Organized Play kit?
Here’s what you should have in your Heroes Of Normandie Organized Play kit:
10 Siegfried and Bill Promo Punch Boards
10 Hero Buttons
1 Event Poster
1 Pack of assorted promo cards for other popular IELLO games.
Demo Games
I always tell folks that I’ve never, ever bought a game without some form of demo. Be that from a friend, convention demo or store demo. IELLO makes Demo copies of their games available directly from PHD. Alternatively use IELLO’s Print and Play version to start demoing Heroes of Normandie in your store and driving sales/Organized Play.
Run a League
Leagues are a great way for players to meet and enjoy spending a few hours each week on their favorite game. Check with your community to find a time and day of the week that works for the majority of your potential players. Have at least one product champion (someone we call an “Alpha Gamer”) or employee ready to play at that time, each week or become the organizer for events.
Here’s a recommendation from IELLO for that first crucial month of play:
Week 1: Learn to play—Godsend scenario
Participation prize for every player. Everyone plays the first scenario and learns how the game works. Buttons are a great prize for this.
Goal: Recruit new Heroes!
Week 2: Scenarios—Saving Private Rex , Plain Carnage, Slaughterhouse (5)
Players who show up each get a Siegfried and Bill promo punchboard.
3 rounds max (one scenario per round). If two or more undefeated players remain at the end of 3 rounds, play a single elimination playoff using Plain Carnage.
Victory: 3 points. TIE: 1 point. Defeat: 0 points.
Winner: You might offer your winner a bit of store credit or a discount on an expansion pack. (This is up to the discretion of the store).
Goal: Ease new players into the game. Low barrier to entry. Introduce tournament structures.
Week 3: Scenario—Pick a random scenario from the book by rolling dice.
Play the chosen Scenario as described in the book. When players are finished, encourage them to try building an army for next week’s event.
Goal: Help players gain confidence with the system and expose them to army building.
Week 4: Tournament!
Use the player-generated scenarios on page 14 of the Scenario Book to create a custom battle for your players. Use the tournament information above to host your first tournament.
Goal: Teach players about building their own armies and expose them to tournament play.
Run a Tournament
Players love a good tournament but they can be daunting to new(ish) players. Once your community has become comfortable with the game and advanced some, then this becomes something of a “must do” initiative each week. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Create your own scenarios using the Player Generated Clashes info on pages 14 and 15 of the Scenario Book. Engage your Alpha Gamer for Heroes of Normandie to assist with creation or engage other players. Maybe even reward the tournament scenario writer of the month by getting players to vote on which one they thought was their favorite.
Goal: Engages the immersed players to help drive the stores fun, while taking the burden of writing off the store owner and staff. Offers something unique. You might want to also share these scenarios via your Social Network as a way to showcase your players and make them feel special.
Check out www.devil-pig-games.com/en for new scenarios in their Downloads section. The most recent Gazette is a good place to start.
Use the Multiplayer Rules (found on the Devil Pig website in the downloads section) to get more players into the action. This is great for small conventions, team events, or groups with 4 or fewer players.
A sample tournament setup for your first event:
200 army points per army (If players are paired against the same faction, the pairing is legal, but each player must have tokens to recognize their units)
Follow the rules for 150-250 point armies on page 14.
Run three rounds of Swiss.
There are four modifiers you can choose on page 15. Randomly choose one per round.
No exclusive punchboards are legal (FFI, Steiner, Miller’s rangers, etc.). It’s important to not frighten new players off with units that they don’t have access to.
Victory: 3 points. TIE: 1 point. Defeat: 0 points.
Winner: We recommend charging a small entry fee for the event and giving the collected fees to the top finishers as store credit. (This is up to the discretion of the store.)
Feel free to be creative! Make sure that you keep all events fun and positive!
Checkout this cool review video:
*This program is currently only available in North America.