[Deptheads] Miniature Bootcamp

[Robyn Nixon]

So I was not able to attend the department head¹s meeting but I wanted to
submit my observations and reports regarding our newest addition to
miniatures:

The miniature Bootcamp.

First off, I wish to thank John and the special project crew to assisting in
the organization and setup of the bootcamp this past convention.  Visually
it was a great success and made great use of the lobby area of the 2nd floor
to demonstrate the visual candy aspects of the miniature hobby.  We were
able to capture a large number of people who wanted to try out many old
standards, as well as new games in the miniature field.

We had the following games represented in the boot camp at this time:
Warhammer 40k
Warhammer Fantasy
Uncharted Seas
Warmachine and Hordes from Privateer Press
Bloodbowl
AE WWII

I believe that Tim had some of the HGMS group also doing some demos.

Good things that occurred:
Accounting of people who played in demos:  all the GMs that we had utilized
sign-in sheets to accurately account for participants in the demos
Active engagement of participants:  Demos were short, typically from 15 to
30 minutes in length, these could be shorter, but given people traffic flow,
there was not a requirement to shorten the demos down to 5 to 10 minutes
that are typical of large convention demos (Gencon/Comiccon).

Questionable things that occurred:
Paying of dealer dollars to event participants:  This was not done for all
demos, creating an inequity situation.  This also was recognized by
participants as well as GMs who did not get the dealer dollars to distribute
to their demoees.  I have since received several inquiries of whether their
demos will also receive this support.  My question to department heads is
whether the distribution of dealer dollars to demo participants is the
correct action for our convention, and if it is, what is the appropriate
amount that we should be distributing to people who participate in demos,
and whether we should be doing this for all demos, or only ones demonstrates
as our favorites (favoritism?).

I also do not see Miniature bootcamp as something that should ever be a
separate department within the Strategicon organization, just as I don¹t see
boardgame bootcamp being separate from the Boardgame department, nor the
Paint and take being separate from the Miniature Department.  Any movement
toward this direction either means that the Miniature department isn¹t doing
its job and its department heads need replaced, or this is another
artificial division of territories that is tearing the management of
Strategicon gaming conventions apart, and I have to admit this isn¹t
something that I thought we were here to do:  ³feed our egos².  Our job as
department heads to to pull together as a team and produce a great event.  I
am questioning myself about this vision as I participate in our board
discussions and as I work to schedule events and GMs to build a better
convention.

I like that Tim has stepped up as Event Coordinator, and is working on Job
descriptions for all of us.  This will be an interesting read :).

Well that my report and my request for information from the rest of the
Department Heads.

Robyn Nixon
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