The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has been getting a solid amount of exposure lately—there are new promos coming out, plenty of high-profile Organized Play events, and of course, a very popular TV show. All of these things spread interest in the game and attract new players. While a lot of new fans spend their time collecting cards and trading or playing on their own, most of them are going to eventually want to meet more players and try out a league or tournament. Areas with a large player base or rapid turnover are used to seeing new people, but sometimes it’s hard for a new player to find a niche in an established environment.
Guess what? You’re a judge, so you get to bear some responsibility for helping new players fit in, especially in more closely knit groups such as Hobby Leagues and locals. It can be a challenge—gamers are a territorial lot sometimes, and have a tendency to treat newcomers with disdain or outright hostility. If you have a dominant team or clique that frequents your tournaments, they can contribute to a very off-putting, intimidating atmosphere for the new player, especially young or relatively inexperienced beginners.
The most effort you’ll put in will likely be in local or League settings, where you’re dealing with the same set of people every week. You’re also likely to see new people here, as players will often begin with events close to home. It’s a lot easier to recognize new people, and generally speaking, you should have more time and energy to devote to them in these smaller settings. However, you may also see new faces at Regionals, and you’ll definitely find them at Sneak Previews and well-advertised Shonen Jump Championship events! (Did you know that over a hundred attendees of Shonen Jump Hamilton did not have a UDE tournament number? That’s a lot of new players.) They’re harder to pick out of a crowd of hundreds, and with all the other responsibilities you have at a large event, there’s not as much you can do for them.
Anyway, let’s take a look at what you can do to help the new players fit in and have an enjoyable experience so they’ll come back.
First, when new people enter your League or locals events, learn their names and a little bit about them. It takes a lot of nerve to walk into a shop and join an established group where everyone already knows each other, and it’s even worse if you’re treated as an intruder. Judges should be inclusive and set an example for the players to follow. Cliquishly-inclined players should remember that the store is going to be much more willing to run more events if new players are coming in. League is designed to provide a casual play environment for all interested parties—not a social club for a privileged few.
Help parents feel positive about bringing their children to the events. Acknowledge the parents when they arrive, and encourage them to stick around if possible to see what the Leagues or tournaments are like. Different store owners and TOs have different policies on unattended children. If drop-offs aren’t allowed, it will probably fall on you as the judge to inform the parents. You can also provide a resource for parents who don’t know much about the game—lots of parents have no idea where to get information, so you can help out by pointing them towards the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG site, where they can get information on the game, an online demo so they can learn to play, product release info, and more. The better informed they are, the more likely they are to support the game.
Monitor the rip-off artists. If a parent drops off a child and comes back to find his or her little angel has traded off the $200 worth of cards just purchased on eBay for a shoebox full of commons, there’s going to be trouble. Newer or younger players can be easily intimidated by high-pressure traders, and there are players who have no moral qualms about ripping off beginners or children, believing they don’t “deserve” to have good or playable cards. These jerks flock to players they perceive as “new” or “stupid,” and realizing you’ve been had by a con artist is a great way to kill your interest in the game.*
Control aggressive or self-aggrandizing players. Most Leagues are burdened with one or two: those guys who consider themselves the top of the heap and need to let everyone else know about it. These kinds of players are bad for the bottom line—if each obnoxious player drives away a handful of new players, the League isn’t going to grow very quickly, and if attendance doesn’t pick up, it gets harder to run larger events. The “big fish” like to keep the pond as small as possible, but that’s definitely not an environment that benefits anyone else.
Provide help with deckbuilding, external resources, and cards. This is easier in League or locals, of course, when you have time to sit down with people, look at their decks, and make suggestions that could help. Some players are less willing to seek or accept advice, but if someone really would like some help, offer it. If you know of a good player resource—be it online or other knowledgeable players or judges—offer that information. Help new players build up their card pool by explaining which Structure Decks will help out their collection, or donate extra copies of cards you don’t really need. Younger players are often very happy to take your spare cards, regardless of playability, and parents are usually appreciative of the gesture. So if you’re like me and don’t have the room or inclination to keep every single card you ever get, give away the common stuff.
If you have a number of new players to work with, tailor some events with them in mind. Sealed booster is a great format that can level the playing field somewhat. It’s fun, and you can usually convince your store owner that it’s a good use for packs that might not be moving in sales. You can also run a smaller, separate “beginner’s tournament” if there are enough players there. Just watch out for the veterans trying to sneak in!
Involve the players that you already have. Perhaps you could offer incentives for players who bring friends to the events. When players are used to seeing new faces, they’ll be less likely to close ranks against independent newcomers. Your existing player base needs to recognize that when more people come to League and tournaments, the store owners and TOs are more likely to run additional events and offer better prize support. Increased activity on a local level makes your area more attractive to the premiere TOs who run Regionals and host Shonen Jump events—tournament organizers need to know there’ll be a return on the investment these kinds of tournaments require. Increasing play at the local level is one of the best things you can do if you’re trying to attract higher-level events to your area.
There’s certainly more you can do, but this is a good way to start. When you’re working Regionals or a Shonen Jump, you usually have your hands full and you can’t be as thorough as you would be on a local level, but you can still do your part to help. Keep your eyes open for people looking lost and confused, and initiate contact with them. Answer their questions, explain to them what’s going on, and point them in the direction they need to go, or hand them off to a judge who isn’t that busy—they’ll appreciate the time you took to help them out.
When a game stops attracting new players, it falls on the existing players to carry it along. If those players lose interest and stop playing, the programs begin to die off. New players shouldn’t be treated like a nuisance or an inconvenience—not by other players and certainly not by judges. The more people are playing, then the more resources are allotted, the more existing programs will expand, and the more new ideas can circulate. New players ultimately benefit everyone, so do what you can to encourage them.
*The rip-off guys aren’t always good at picking their targets. I went to the Enemy of Justice preview and I didn’t get much in my packs other than an ultimate rare Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude. It was an in-demand card, and I watched in amusement as the two players seated next to me—assuming I wasn’t very knowledgeable about the game—tried to wheedle me into accepting two packs’ worth of commons in exchange for it. “I’ll give you all of these, for that one card!” Finally I said, “I just wrote a 2,000 word article on why Diamond Dude is a good card; you’re going to have to do a lot better than that,” which made a few players a bit farther down who did know who I was laugh pretty hard.