{"id":38,"date":"2015-09-18T18:04:18","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T18:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/?p=38"},"modified":"2016-09-27T12:47:23","modified_gmt":"2016-09-27T12:47:23","slug":"prerelease-tips-and-gathering-feedback-battle-for-zendikar-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/2015\/09\/18\/prerelease-tips-and-gathering-feedback-battle-for-zendikar-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Prerelease Tips and Gathering Feedback, Battle for Zendikar Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"BFZ-Prerelease-Guide-Logo-bigger-trimmed\"Your store runs a great prerelease. It\u2019s fun, players show up and are happy cracking packs from a new set, and have a blast jamming Magic with their buddies with cards they\u2019ve never seen before. Awesome.<\/span><\/p>\n

You know what, though? \u00a0The store up the highway <\/span>also <\/span><\/i>runs a great prerelease. And they do it differently. That\u2019s cool. \u00a0What can you learn from them, and them from you?<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of this article is to talk about some of the common things we are doing at prereleases, things you may not do at your prereleases that could improve them, and some Battle for Zendikar specific things that will make your event exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>Survey Background<\/b><\/h3>\n

This summer at the Magic Origins prereleases, we ran a survey across a number of stores, talking to players for feedback on how their prerelease experiences went. \u00a0Some of this article will talk about the survey information we gathered, and how you can gather similar data at your store so you can find out what players like and don\u2019t like about your prereleases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Communication<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>The majority of comments and criticism came from a fundamental issue of communication between the judge and the players. \u00a0This is one of the most important things that can help both your effectiveness as a judge and the amount of enjoyment players get out of your events.<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective communication first begins with making sure that you\u2019re establishing the proper expectations for how the event is going to be run. \u00a0Will there be side events, special deals in the store for prerelease participants, or other events you want the players to be made aware of? Will start times be adjusted in case of late comers to the store and the TO wanting to make sure they can get everyone involved that they can? <\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure that you have all the information you need before you can effectively communicate it to your players, and make sure to get that out to everyone during your announcements so you can focus on the event as it\u2019s happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Announcements<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>The most important thing about prerelease announcements is clarity. \u00a0Make sure to have very clear instructions at the beginning, especially when it comes to logistics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where players should be sitting to receive their card pool, what they will be getting, when you will begin deckbuilding, where the land is, where pairings will be posted, and how to report match results so you can enter them quickly. This is a lot of official things we talk about every event which will bore some store regulars, and that\u2019s OK. \u00a0You\u2019re making sure everyone is on the same page with your announcements and that everything is 100% clear to everyone involved.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Information Aids<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Announcement Helper<\/strong>
\nWe have put together a one-page announcement aid for your prerelease. \u00a0It covers all the things you want to know and talk about at the start of the event.
\n\"Announcement<\/a>
\nLeaflet
\n<\/strong>We also have a more in-depth info leaflet. \u00a0The first two pages are general event info – feel free to print and share this if you would like. \u00a0The third and final\u00a0page is a few things for you to remember as you run your events.
\n\"Leaflet<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

What Should Your Announcements Cover?<\/strong><\/p>\n