[Deptheads] As we grow...
Victor B
fhoenix88 at yahoo.com
Mon Jun 13 13:43:36 PDT 2011
Good idea.
Hammering it out will take time to do right.
There are different groups of "kids". Small children that are daycare/pre-school
age. Grade school kids. Tweens. Teenagers.
Gaming will be different for the different age groups.
Gaming for kids will also have to be coordinated across all teams so saturday
noon does not have 6 events everywhere then 3 pm has none or simon sez at same
time as kids rpg and kids miniature game.
Daycare will still need to be addressed during our break as there are several
parents that wish to drop off their kids for a bit and take a break from them
while they game, shop, etc. in peace.
And there are spouses and kids that are along for the ride and do not wish to be
future or current gamers. Alternate programming tracks that are for each of
them. Gamer spouse programming is popular.
Liability also...since by having specific kid's games where we tell parents they
can drop off their child we accept liability (which is why the pokemon workshops
and other kid's events I do not list as
"kid's only"). Also know that not just anyone can GM a game, and this means not
just anyone can gm a game with kids. Some of them will run around during the
game, talk over you, not understand, be disruptive,
argue at every turn or whine...and that is the adults. The kids are sometimes
the same but you have to handle them differently than an unruly adult. Our past
kid's programming staff and volunteers included 3 school teachers who were used
to dealing with children and they burned out so it is not easy teaching
gaming/supervising other people's children at a convention. I do it each
strategicon and at several other cons for the past bazillion years and it adds
to my grey hair.
Because I also do it I was able to get 2 other volunteers to help with the kid's
gaming I have each day at strategicon.. Both work with kids in their
professions. I didn't ask people to do it-- I asked people to help me continue
doing it.
Same with video game room. They have volunteers to help them with the kids as a
team.
And the idea of "exposure to a wide range of games" does not need to stop with
kids.
We can use the same point system for adults or do cards.
Several cons successfully use cards that encourage gaming in all areas. At
rincon you can take out your badge and it opens up like a greeting card that
lists different departments and specific events within each you can play and
have checked off. There were 6 areas/departments and 2-4 events for each. Have 1
square or more checked off in each area/dept. and you get a special ribbon (the
kind that sticks under your badge). Fill up your entire book and you get a
prize. We can design a card/flyer that has several squares for each area and
checking off 3 or more in each would complete that area. Complete all areas and
get a prize. Complete entire card and get a con t-shirt. GMing an event counts.
Something challenging and fun to do but neither easy nor impossible. I have
several video game and game related t-shirts to donate as well as us giving away
a few con t-shirts (for kids club as well as adult cards).
-Example: Wear a costume, participate in rock band or a motion game, sit thru
awefully bad movie night. Participate in paint-n-take, take a tour, enter a
miniature in paint contest, attend a seminar.
Complete any 3 of those for that Area to be completed. Sally does paint-n-take,
takes the convention tour, and attends the improv showcase seminar by Bill
chott. She completed that Area.
-Example: Participate in a euro boardgame, participate in a wargames bootcamp
event, participate in a card game, participate in a party game, participate in a
rail game, check out and play a game from the library,
win a tourney in boardgames area, participate in a playtest session, participate
in a game with a guest, participate in a steve jackson game.
Complete any 5 of these for this Area to be completed.
-Example: Participate in an rpg event, participate in a pathfinder event,
participate in a larp, participate in an rpga event, participate in "are you a
werewolf".
Complete any 2 of these for this area to be complete.
Same for other areas. Plenty of variety in each so you have several choices. And
doing something in all areas has gamers seeing the entire convention and for
many seeing and trying new things they didn't know we offered.
Good ideas have been coming in from several people that need to ironed-out,
coordinated, and implemented for our 2012 season.
V
________________________________
From: Ryan McMullan <rmcmullan at gmail.com>
To: deptheads at strategicon.net
Sent: Mon, June 13, 2011 8:24:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Deptheads] As we grow...
If we want to grow gamers, but not tempt day care, we could build on Roberts
idea by creating a punch card where they would get a stamp/sticker/etc. for each
event they participate in, with points for collecting one of each kind (CCG,
RPG, boardgame, etc.). That would give them exposure to a wide range of games
and recognition for their efforts. It could even become a mini-game (each event
is 5 points, do 3 events in the same department is +15 points, do 1 event in
each department is +30 points, do event with your parent or sibling +5 points,
etc.). Create cool names for different thresholds (50 point = dedicated gamer,
75 points = hardcore gamer, etc.) and you have recognition and achievement,
prizes would be a bonus. This way, there's not one room that tempts day care
(and scares volunteers), but each department needs to try to provide events,
then we create the punch card each con based on what each department was
actually able to come up with.
Grist for the mill,
Ryan
On Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 9:42 AM, Robert LaMarre <r.m.lamarre at gmail.com> wrote:
Why don't we treat it more as a "Kid's Club"? There should be scheduled events
throughout the day for kids (board games, video games, children's games like
Simon Sez) and kid/parent team events (co-op games, maybe even an RPG for
younger participants). The main thing is to distinguish the difference between
a club and a day-care and to encourage kids to do more than just sit in front of
a video game all day and try new things. We're growing future gamers here.
>
>Maybe there could be special awards given to club members for participating in
>different events? At the paint and takes, they have something to take home with
>them that they are proud of. I can't tell you how many kids I've seen showing
>off their work. If we could capture that kind of feeling in other areas, I
>think that could go a long way. Or we could give each kids club member
>something that shows they are part of the club, similar to VIPs getting special
>gear.
>
>
>Just pitching in my two cents...
>
>
>
>
>On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 8:34 PM, <fad23 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>One of my new volunteers approached me last weekend and had one item of
>conversation which she felt we (the convention) must consider as we grow: how we
>deal with our child guests.
>>
>>At the moment we have a "family Sunday" which seems like an attraction. At other
>>times it appears that children are left by their parents in the video game room,
>>or roam with no real direction. This is just an observation, but I imagine that
>>means that we could implement some idea that could give these visitors some real
>>content.
>>
>>For the last convention, I brought in Bill Chott to do Simon Sez. I'm sure he'd
>>come back to do it again, but I think we could do a lot more!
>>
>>I'm not suggesting a specific plan at the moment. I'm not a parent, so I can
>>only guess the concerns of the gamer parents I know who attend. The aim of this
>>message is to spark a discussion that might lead to ideas that eventually become
>>a plan.
>>
>>Obviously there are many issues that would be of concern: content, staffing,
>>scheduling, and other practical matters. I suppose I'd like to read your
>>thoughts on this notion, and consider them as much as I am able.
>>
>>Then there's the idea of a short term plan and a long term plan - things I can
>>add to the schedule for Gateway and what we imagine as the shape of the
>>convention in the years to come. Just in the typing of this message I'm getting
>>inspired. Any light bulbs popping over your heads?
>>
>>I expect I'll be opening this discussion up to my friends in private. In the
>>mean time, if you have opinions or ideas, I'd be interested in reading them.
>>
>>Thanks for your time. I look forward to reading your responses.
>>
>>twenty-three-skidoo,
>>
>>Neil Figuracion
>>Fad23
>>
>>Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: "Eric M. Aldrich" <ealdrich at mac.com>
>>Sender: deptheads-bounces at strategicon.net
>>Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:10:01
>>To: <Deptheads at strategicon.net>
>>Reply-To: deptheads at strategicon.net
>>Subject: [Deptheads] A few new additions to the list
>>
>>I've added three new people to the list -- one way overdue :-(
>>
>>The overdue one is Fred Upton -- he's the second on the RPGA side. He's been
>>actively helping us for years, and Mickey and Mike have frequently asked me to
>>add him and I've flaked, so he's finally here.
>>
>>The next person is Taralyn Frasqueri-Molina, or "TL" as she goes by. She's the
>>person behind lining up the artwork and is working with marketing. Thanks to her
>>we had the wonderful conbook cover art and TShirts this last show.
>>
>>Finally, we have someone who is genuinely new, Frank Vassallo, who is taking
>>over for Harmon Ward running the historical end of the miniatures team for at
>>least this show. Harmon is still on the list as well. Things are a little
>>complicated right now, but more on that later.
>>
>>Glad to have the three of you here!
>>
>>I still need to add some of Neil's board game assistants.
>>
>>Hopefully we'll have final numbers from Gamex soon. They're looking pretty
>good.
>>
>>Eric
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>>
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>
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