(The main article with pictures is in Critical Hit Issue 8)

CREATING A CLIX COMMUNITY

The venue that I have Judged at for several years is located just a mile and a half away from the University of Notre Dame. Every year it seems that we pick up a few new players in the fall, just to see them go in the spring. Often times they leave commenting that Clix at home just isn’t as god as it is on campus.

To help alleviate that burden of the happy player returning home to barren Clix landscape I offer these few helpful steps at getting a Clix Community established.

Step 1: Getting players together
It does unfortunately go that not every city has an active gaming or comic culture. The bigger the city the easier one finds these, but in some cases you either have to drive quite a while or depend on mail-order for you comic and Clix needs. When this is the case the very first thing you need to do is find more players. Friends are a good place to start. Friends usually share at least one common interest, so maybe they can enjoy HeroClix as much as you do.

Beyond your own friends, you can post notes at your local library, or independent bookseller if they have a “community board.” It also pays to turn to the internet. Social networking sites like face book and MySpace, discussion sites like HCRealms, or personals and meeting notices such as found on Craigslist and Yahoo groups are good places to find people that may not know of each other, even in a smaller town.

Step 2: finding a place to play
Once you have some players to attend regular games, you need a place to play. If the group is close-knit group of friends, this is pretty easy. Playing at a different friend’s house each game night gets you one place for a game, and not too much wear and tear on the nerves of everyone else that lives there. But what about the next step up, when you’ve found 6-10 players that may or may not know each other.

A neutral place like space at a union or VFW hall, or an apartment complex community room may work. Meeting rooms at hotels can work out as well, and may be pretty affordable when split between 10 or so people. Plus, you can get the benefits of having them set up tables, chairs, and finagle coffee and some snacks out of them.

Another option may be to strike up a deal with a retailer that may or may not be able to get Clix. Independent Booksellers, music stores, video and video game resale shops; all have the potential to host a small group once ever week or so. And that could lead directly to…

Step 3: Starting up Organized Play
If you can find a retailer who would be interested in selling Clix as well as hosting local game play, and they can obtain a Diamond or Alliance account they can register as a Wizkids Venue. Registration could be done with help of the regional Envoys that service your area. A list of these can be found at the Wizkids Message Board.

Being a Venue carries more of an obligation than just hosting games. The Venue must comply with all of the terms of operating, they have to hold the events in the prescribed manner and they are responsible for receiving and securing Prize Support for monthly tournaments.

But those obligations come with many benefits. Prize support for games, to further entice players to attend and have fun are the immediately thought of benefit. However, a huge benefit to becoming a registered Venue is that events will be listed on Wizkids Events page. This can lead to even more fans of the game finding each other.

The other half of Organized Play will be an Envoy. For HeroClix these are Judges. The Level 1 and 2 Envoy is the backbone of Wizkids’ Organized Play Program. If one of the players in the group volunteers to be the Judge, he or she must realize that they will no longer be playing the game as often. They will have to be versed in the rules, able to pass periodic tests on their knowledge and willing to keep up with updates. There are rewards to be sure, but they only come with competent and faithful compliance to Wizkids Organized Play rules.

These steps, while simply put and not addressing the various complexities involved with finding places to play outside of a private residence, can be useful for individuals who are trying to grow a Clix playing community from the ground up.




Jon Loftus
Jon is the Level 3 Envoy for Northern Indiana

If anyone would like further information on this topic feel free to contact me!