Hey there,

A friend of mine: and I are going to be organizing a game night for our company. The company has plenty of room and tables. We will print and post fliers in and around buildings promoting it as well as sending out e-mail to the employees. Between the two of us we have a pretty big selection of games and are prepared to bring in plenty of gateway games, eye catching products and the like with the hopes of "hooking" a few new board gaming junkies! (Cause ya know board gaming is like any other addiction you feel better about yourself when people are suffering along with you right?)

So what this post is asking for is verbiage and suggestions for images. We want to know what "lines" and spiffy pics do you think will catch the non-gamers eye convincing them they need to attend our little board game night?

I'm willing to give up to 10GG (as per my discretion and duration of my virtual funds) to all posts that we use in our promoting of this event. (Additional GG may be awarded to those who make me laugh whether used or not.)

Thanks people.

Banner lines:

Don't just roll the dice, ... THINK.

Just like solving puzzles in the newspaper, but you do it INTERACTIVELY.

    Going through a similar thing with a church group right now, and we put a couple of key phrases on our fliers.

"This ain't no video game" appears to set expectations appropriately when people come in the door.

"Coaching available for every game" appears to help get people over the entry barrier posed by a new ruleset.

Brain Age is a very big concept right now and can be incorporated. We have "challenge your mind" on the sheet which helps people self-select your target audience.

Workplace is more difficult due to the hierarchical, competitive structure in place. I'm not sure how I'd address that.

             Sag.

There are the board games "you" know (image of a monopoly or clue board), and then there are REAL board games. (image of a game you intend to play)

Come and find out what you've been missing all these years.






And if all else fails, Tell them there'll be punch and pie. More people will come if they think there'll be punch and pie.

    I'll second the pie idea. Who doesn't like pie?

             Sag.

"Monopoly is from 1935, come and try the new stuff!"

"There are over 35'000 known games and expansions and another 1'500 are coming out every year. How many have you played?"

Have some headings of fliers along these themes:

Do you own games but hate how Monopoly takes too long?
Is chess too hard but chekers too childish?
Like a good couples game but don't want to stand up and draw or tell everyone about your personal life or feel dumb?

Come try some games you never heard of by designers Milton Bradley wishes they employed which take care of all those questions with fun, simple to learn and quick to play games that will make you see board games in an entirely different way.

I'll guarantee you'll never go back to monopoly again.

Tell 'em that for each person who comes you'll come to work for one day just wearing a tie and socks.

    I'd take care to make sure the flyers keep a clean, simple, positive message. Focus on gaming, not any particular game. Don't down-talk anything or anybody. If someone reading that flyer sniffs a whiff of attitude or a difference of opinion, they're gone forever. That flyer has to stand on its own -- no one there to correct a misconception or answer a question.

    We threw up a quick and dirty web page that allowed us to present some images and a brief talk-up of some of the featured games. Once we got rolling we put some session snapshots on it including door prize winners.

    Our coaches all wear Hawaiian shirts to the events, so that we are easy to pick out of the crowd, and so that a festive atmosphere is presented to the guests.

    People WILL come looking for Monopoly and Chess. Treated gently, these folks may try other games. We have a Dad that shows up with his boy that refuses to learn new games because he "already knows enough good ones" but he is heads-down over whatever game his son is playing every month, thinking deeply. Won't play! Just watches. My recommendation is to let these people work out their own path instead of trying to shoe-horn them into something new. We have players that showed up, learned Carc, and have no intention of trying anything else.

    Food is served.

    Coaches don't play games. Sitting in for a turn is often useful to show game flow, but for the most part we are on our feet all night, and tired at the end of it.

    Coaches generally run two tables, maybe three. Plan on two for your first session or two as it's likely no one else will be aware of game rules.

    Our Fearless Leader gives away door prizes (Games & Stuff in Glen Burnie provides some games and coupons as a promotional tool) and we landed six copies of Pecking Order at our local Tuesday Morning for $3 each).

    Game winners are awarded a Tootsie Pop. The pop appears to be an effective choice since it is super-cheap, shows recognition for the victory, and serves as a brag-tag for the winner since it takes a while to consume and is obvious to all. It's also easy on the game components.

             Sag.

Tried the same thing myself but it fell flat, I will try again though.


"Do you find Monopoly monotonous , does Scrabble screw with your mind or not have a clue at Cludo?
This may be for you!
Are you fed up of the endless bleep of games consoles and the slack-jaw hypnotism that they seem to induce (I’m guilty too). Do you want to encourage the family to actually sit at a table together and talk (maybe not). There is a whole world of games out there which you will never see in Woolies ,Tesco etc so give it a go – you will not be sorry.
I’ll have a selection of games available to suit most tastes which will vary from 20 minutes of simple fun to quite an in depth experience with multiple choices and ways to win but what I want to emphasize is the experience and difference to what you may traditionally think of as board games..
If this has sparked an interest then please let me know as I would like to have an idea of how many to expect and possibly arrange a buffet."

You need to point out the gaming is fun and a way to socialize.

I would make a poster with photos of people playing different games, especially ones in which the players are laughing and enjoying themselves.

The caption could be something along the lines of "Tired of Monopoly? Bored with Sudoku? Come check out great new games that are fun, fast, and furious."

If possible also mention food and drinks will be served.

Excellent idea, hope it goes well, how about

"Come and explore some fun and exciting games, all states of mind catered for"

I do agree with Sag on the notion that a lot of people will show expecting to play the tried and true and to "insult" monopoly may not work. At the same time we need to offer hope to the tired monopoly player as well...as for chess I should state that in fact the President of the company is a HUGE chess fan and a majorly good player in fact our "Board Game Night" is going to be in conjunction with a "Chess Night" that he and another co-worker has been wanting to get off the ground. We figure we can turn out a lot of people all at once and expose them all to everything.


Though that was a good one!

Luke, as for wearing only a tie and socks...not sure that'd draw many people as opposed to deter them!

neil

I always think that the more ambiguous yet enticing you make it sound, the more they will show up for the curiosity factor. Oh, and of course, food tends to bring people in droves.


You are invited!!

Come join us for a fun-filled night of gaming. Gaming, you ask? Yes, gaming. Challenge yourself, your friends, your co-workers, meet new people, and have loads of fun!! Tired of Reality TV? Bored with DVD's? Not in the mood to work out? We have the answer!!

Come to our gaming night...male, female, experienced or newbie, we will have something for everyone!!

See you there!! Refreshments will be served (yum yum!).

Please reply to this email for more information.




Perhaps a photo of a good-looking group of people having fun playing a game would sweeten the proposal.

'Bored of Monopoly at Christmas every year?
Come check out the 'next generation' of board games!'

Entrepreneurs, Railroad Barons, Politicians, Soldiers, Vampires and Zombies Welcome.

I would do a flier with pictures of some games in play that would interest different types of players. Such as a game of:
Arkham Horror
Fury of Dracula
Doom

Pick some of the more colorful, strange ones and explain that there will be people there explaining how to play and how easy it is to get into the games.

But I would definitely stress that it will be a light evening to introduce them to gaming, not a gaming night where some might feel it's too clique-ish and feel intimidated. I think that would be why I would stay away.

For some picture suggestions

These are the type of images I am suggesting:

courtesy of tommynomad

courtesy of Captian Yid

courtesy of Rueco

I also like some of the "creative" images here on BGG, like this one for Ticket to Ride:
courtesy of Brian Schubert


Good luck on your gaming night, my fellow Floridians!!!

"Come out and party like a Croatian."

Some ideas, in no particualar order.

1. Get back in touch with your inner kid!

2. Come enjoy some REAL quality time!

3. Has reality TV become your life? Take it back!

4. Ever wanted to be a Tycoon? Come try your hand at building a Railroad Empire!

5. Exercise you brain, come play a game!

In your advert, I would stress that people can bring their favorites, and that new games will also be taught. Mention that new titles like Settlers of Cataan, Railroad Tycoon and the other gateway games you bring will be available for play.

Some people honestly like to play Go. There is no problem with that, because eventually, they may want to play some of the other games, once they figure out there is strategy in other games as well.

Here's a quick flier I just made that you can email out to people at work...


http://home.mchsi.com/~otl/GameNight.jpg

Jon Powers (EYE of NiGHT) promotes a group Beyond Monopoly in England. He has a flyer that he has offered to share before.

Celebrity endorsements and competitions.

In this case, the celebrities would be some suitably notorious persons from your company, such as the CEO, who absolutely commit to show up. "Beat the boss at monopoly" could be your best draw.

Likewise, setting up a challenge from a well-defined subgroup is a good draw. "Beat finance at Monopoly".

Just one quick comment. Many of the posts have suggested that the fliers should focus on people who are bored with traditional games. While I certainly think those people exist in large numbers and some may come to the game night, I don't necessarily think that is your target audience. The people who are more likely to come will be those who actually enjoy playing games of some sort, not people who dislike games. I know as a kid, I had a blast playing Connect 4 and Life with my family.

So basically, I'd say emphasize in a positive way that the games you will have for this event are going to be more enjoyable than what people have traditionally played. Let them know that, if they enjoy games, they will enjoy this night - all the fun of the games they know and like will be present, including the gaming atmosphere and social aspects, but the games themselves will be better, more enjoyable.

The problem is I'm not sure of the best way to do this. Good luck with the event. Hope lots of people come and have a great time.

The point Sagrilarus made is a good one: don't disparage anyone's favorite game. Instead, emphasize the fun aspect, and the variety of games that will be available.

While interviewing for a job a while ago, I noticed a "company game night" flier. I thought it was quite effective. It featured a photo of people having fun playing a game (as Larry Welborn and EgorjLileli suggested). If the photo shows a group of men and women, then you don't need to say that men and women are welcome because you've shown them that men and women are welcome. If the people in the photo are having fun, same thing.

The border around the flier was made up of game logos. Lots and lots of game logos. Monopoly, Scrabble, and Pit were in there, which is important because they will be familiar to a lot of people. But there was also a large assortment of other games. A good variety means that more people will spot a familiar game logo and will associate the event with the fun they've had playing that game.

Other than that, KISS. You need a few important details in large fonts: the date, the time, the location, and contact info in case they have questions. You might encourage them to bring a favorite game if they want, or to bring finger-food to share. (The phrase "a favorite game" also implies that they shouldn't bring every game in their closet.)

If you want a paragraph explaining anything else, then leave it in a smaller font below the main info. Also, have a non-gaming coworker proofread it for you to make sure that it makes sense to them, and that it makes the event sound more interesting to them. For example, if the flier mentions that someone will be there to teach the rules, then that could make it sound like the games will be complicated games with pages and pages of rules, which doesn't sound fun to a lot of people.