Building Community At Your Local Game Shop

Locals were a hit or miss

Early on in Disney Lorcana, locals were hoppin'. The First Chapter released and we had full shops of people playing. Everyone wanted to pull an enchanted, whether Elsa - Spirit of Winter or Maui - Hero to All. The feeling was electric, we couldn't get enough. Time passed, sets released, winter came and roads got bad. Attendance began to slip. Some people went from attending locals at three shops a week down to one, or in some cases zero. That is okay, everyone's interest in the game waxes and wanes over the course of sets and years. As Ravensburger arguably weakened their organized play kit contents, some people decided they had even less incentive to make weekly play at a Local Game Shop (LGS). Some shops stopped firing weekly play at all, only seeing regular attendance for Set Champs, when more folks were incentivized to come out and try for their chance at an enchanted-quality prize card or a unique Champion playmat.

My love for the game continued, my internal guilt grew

Anyone in this community who knows me, knows that I partake in and consume a lot of Lorcana content. In fact, I built LoreBot Lore Tracker after getting tired of seeing phone score-trackers on tournament tables, either illegible to the camera, or slightly off screen. The community was energized to create content, but didn't have the tools to do so.

I'll be blunt and say that I have had a borderline unhealthy relationship with the game at times. Sometimes spending a little more than I should on packs, making last minute travel plans to go to an event, prioritizing a game or tournament over "adult responsibilities". There have been many periods of introspection over these facts. As someone with ADHD and a family history of addiction, I sometimes have to catch myself and make course corrections. The last few months for me have been one in many of those steering moments.

"Hey, I'm starting to organize at this newer shop, he knows nothing, will you come?"

A good local friend of mine, Jenny, came to me a bit before Attack of the Vine! and told me that there was a local shop that was primarily a Pokemon shop, but the owner was a nice guy. He would toss her some Lorcana promos when she went in for product since he didn't know much about the game, got it from his distributors, and while it sold well enough, there was no community there to actually hand it out to.

Over the years that Lorcana has been out, my family has watched my interest, asked questions, played a couple games, but overall it was still my hobby. My kids have aged, learned to read, and started asking more questions about the game. It was hard to prioritize time for kitchen table play, there was always something else to do. When Jenny asked me to come out to this shop, she mentioned she would be bringing her nieces and nephews and as volunteer organizer, she was going to prioritize a kid friendly environment.

Twelve dollars, two packs, pop & pizza

That was the pitch. For twelve dollars (a steal all things considered), each player got two packs of the latest set, a can of pop, and some pizza. Dinner & Lorcana? We're in! We have a core group of people that come weekly, most bringing a kid or few. Some too young to play just yet. Most of them a little bit louder at times than most folks want to deal with during their Lorcana play. It can be distracting, it makes games take a little longer sometimes. Every guardian has had their share of frustration with their kids. But we work through it. Everyone has a shared understanding. They are kids, we're asking an immense amount of concentration from them even after a full school day. We make the best of the time and the friends that we've made there. The shop owner still doesn't understand Lorcana all that well, but he's enthusiastic. He's given more prizing and freebies to the kids than surely entry covers, and celebrates our pulls along with us. The cost has gone up a little to $14 a person, but not a single person complained. We find that value in our weekly night out.

A shift of perception

Personally I have been heavily competitive-focused since the game came out. I was on the grind. Why play a game if your goal isn't to constantly improve? That's changed a bit now. I still find the drive for competitive Lorcana alive inside of me. I'll be attending whatever CCQs and DLCs I reasonably can this upcoming season - a goal as a family is to make one of them a family DLC. But I better understand the casual crowd now. I initially scoffed at the idea of Coconut format, "why are Ravensburger focusing on this of all things?" But I get it a bit better now. I had forgotten the fun of just playing for the sake of play, winning and losing just an artifact of the game and not the goal.

Make space for each other, find your community's need, and fill it. Stop and consider a point of view you may not have before. I think the community will follow.

- BobbyMcWho