Ambassador Report - February 2003
Region: Ronara - West Texas
Ambassador: Matt Clouser

1.  THE STATE OFGAMING IN MY AREA:

Retailer Scene: Same story, different month.  There is still no change to report here in West Texas.  There are NO stores in my area that support STCCG products and activities.  As I reported in January, Hastings is no longer reserving space for me for my monthly demos - mainly because I haven't had any attendees at a public demo since October.  They still allow me to show up and do small demos, but on a space available basis.    

CCG Scene:  CCG activity remains low in the area - Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic are played in small pickup games - primarily at Specialties, our local toy store.   I've noticed Magic players are starting to do some open play at Hastings and rumor has it they may try to re-open tournaments here in town.

I read with interest Morgan Tysor's report from Charlotte, NC, and several points bear repeating:

>> 2E is still struggling in my area.  I have a theory as to why:
>>
>> -The Big Picture:  I think people are starting to "wake up"
>> to what’s going on in the world.  When CCGs were on the rise,
>> so was the economy.  The economy was rising on a huge bubble '
>> of dot-coms, etc. and people had lots of money to spend ...
>> <snip> ...   
>>
>> SW:CCG/1E Fallout:  I think a lot of people were very
>> disillusioned by the death of these two prominent games.  You
>> can go onto any internet site and find cards from these games
>> dirt cheap compared to when they were in action.  The death of
>> those two games proved that CCG cards value only goes down from
>> the time of release on.  Also, the death of SWCCG showed how
>> quickly and easily the rug can be pulled out from underneath
>> "loyal customers."  .... <snip snip> ....
>>
>> Overwhelmed market:  I think that there are so many CCGs out
>> there, that people are sick of them.  They have the ones they
>> like and are not willing to get heavily involved in a new one
>> (for the reasons listed above).  I have to give credit to
>> Decipher for one thing though.  Race to Mount Doom has been
>> pretty successful in my area.  So much so that I have had
>> difficulty getting them to try out ST because they spent so
>> much time playing LotR.

While Morgan states more of these reasons in his report, I've heard these three reasons alot while trying to drum up players.

Another factor that I've encountered locally is that Trek simply has no impact on many younger players.  Voyager was a real turn-off for most "genre" types around here, and Enterprise - even though it is better IMHO - is simply ignored.


2. WHAT I'VE DONE "FOR LOVE OF THE GAME"; ....

Again, another disappointing month for STCCG.  I made an announcement (through my email list) for a demo on March 22nd, but no one showed - again.

Tournaments: None - No tournaments held this month - no venue currently available.

Tournament Directors: Three sanctioned TD's - Jerry Jackson, Grant Woodring and myself.

Demos: None (see comments above)


3. PROMOTIONAL PLANS FOR NEXT MONTH.

I'm in a recursive loop here in West Texas - my 1E players have showed little interest in 2E, and I have not been able to attract new blood to the game.  A dedicated venue or retailer is what's needed and I do not have one.  Right now, I am holding on to the possibility that a new game store may open locally.  However, I was supposed to have heard from one of the gamers behind this effort a couple of weeks ago.  His email address is no longer functioning, and he hasn't returned my calls.  So I wait ....

4.  UPCOMING ACTIVITIES: Demos (If Hastings continues to allow it ...)


5. LOCAL RETAILERS/VENUES:

None ...


Until next month....

Matt Clouser
STCCG Ambassador, Ronara Region
SanAngelo, Texas USA