The next Sneak Preview weekend is almost upon us—TheLost Millennium will burst on the scene on May 28 and 29. Anyone who judged at any of the Flaming Eternity events knows to expect huge crowds (some venues reported an excess of 700 participants), plenty of absolute beginners, and some unique issues that don’t come up at league events or Regional tournaments. I’m going to address some of the problems that might arise at a Sneak Preview event and offer some suggestions that will help your event run as smoothly as possible.
 
Knowing the differences between the average Constructed event and a Sneak Preview will help you plan out your strategies. In a Constructed event, all of the participants will (hopefully) arrive before registration ends. Once registration ends, you’ll know from the start what you’re dealing with in terms of numbers, and you can accurately predict the length of the event based on the total number of players that registered. Most of the players have been to at least one tournament, and the number of novices is usually manageable. The event generally marches along in 40-minute rounds until you hit the Top 8. After you’ve run the Top 8 matches, you’re done. All of these factors make the event relatively easy to plan and coordinate.
 
Sneak Previews work differently. There’s usually a huge rush as an event begins. These are the people who understand the concept of “while supplies last” and are eager to get their hands on their fair share of the supplies. Among these people is also a small contingent of parents with young children who are eager to get to the event. Some participants are so anxious to make sure they’ll get registered that they show up several hours early, so you can expect tired crankiness once the endorphin rush from the opening of the venue doors wears off. Depending on whether the TO has decided to run Open Play only or Open Play along with sanctioned events, getting the players set up and going can be very complicated. Tournament players tend to wander off and not show up when their flights are called, and since the event is by nature more flexible (with flights constantly being added), it’s hard to convince players to keep themselves in order. Since the event doesn’t have a required start time, people will continue to arrive throughout the day, and the participants who are there will usually keep going until you run out of product. The rush might be over earlier than a Regional would end, but new players will trickle in, and the players who are already there tend to linger, so it’s hard to predict how late you’ll be working.
 
You’re also going to see a lot more beginners at a Sneak Preview event. Ads will usually run on TV during the after-school block of cartoons, so plenty of younger, inexperienced players will turn up. They won’t know what a UDE Tournament ID is or what a sealed deck means, but they will understand things like, “Get the new cards before any of your friends!” and “Here’s an exclusive, free promo card!” They’ll be excited to be there, but will need a bit more management than the average event participant—especially since there will be so many activities happening at once.
 
If you’re part of the judging staff for the upcoming Sneak Preview weekend, be prepared for a long and unpredictable day. Expect more people to show up than you originally estimated, and be aware that sealed product and promos might run out.
 
Before the event, all judges should be at the venue, and the product should be bundled and safely stored away from public areas so overeager participants can’t help themselves. All staff members should be able to answer basic questions about the event. They should be able to explain Open Play, tournaments, sealed deck construction, the prize structure, and so on. They should also know where to find the nearest ATM, food, and bathrooms. It might seem trivial, but when a participant or parent asks a question and gets an immediate, knowledgeable answer, that person will have a positive impression of the event as a whole. If the event is overcrowded and product runs short, minor frustrations can escalate quickly, so all judges should do what they can to keep things running smoothly. Before the doors open, each judge should get a quick bite to eat, a drink, and a bathroom break, because breaks aren’t going to happen for quite some time once the mob moves in. Once the doors open, judges should break into task forces to distribute registration forms and UDE Tournament ID numbers. They should also perform any other jobs that the TO needs done in order to deal with the crowd.
 
Once the doors have opened, judges need to concentrate on making order out of chaos. Get the crowd out of mob formation and into an organized line so registration can move as quickly as possible. Judges should walk down the line carrying copies of all the paperwork and plenty of pens. They need to make eye contact with people, announce that they have paperwork, and ask if anyone has any questions. Judges will hear the same questions over and over again, so they need to stay alert and courteous—the fiftieth person to ask, “What’s a UDE number?” doesn’t know that the judge has already explained it 49 times. Any questions that can be answered or paperwork that can be filled out while people are waiting in line will save a lot of time and trouble later on, so doing this is vital.
 
Once the line is organized and a good-sized portion of the participants is registered, the head judge should dispatch a few judges to begin running Open Play. Managing Open Play looks easier than it actually is. You just give the registered participants their booster packs and promo cards, and then you tell them to sort themselves out and play five opponents each to collect their prizes. And in theory, it is easy, but not when you have a hundred players who want to get their packs and promo cards first. Judges need to work as a team and remain firm but pleasant. Get the players in line, hand out the packs, and make sure that each player is getting only one promo card. The TO should have some kind of marking system fordistributing the promo cards fairly. If there’s a large turnout, it will be difficult to distribute packs, hand out promos, and answer questions while making sure that each player plays five different people. Remember, the main point of Open Play is to encourage interest in the new set and keep players excited about the game. A judge should be focused on getting the players set up with their boosters, answering questions, and making sure that participants enjoy the experience. After all that, the priority should be regulating play.
 
If the TO is running sanctioned events in Sealed or Draft format, judges should expect to do more explaining than what’s usual for Constructed events. Total beginners will usually be directed to Open Play, but they may turn up at the sanctioned events. The “events begin when full” idea is unfamiliar to a lot of players, so they won’t make it easy for the judges by staying close to the registration area. Judges should announce the start of each flight and anticipate that a quarter of the players will have wandered off, signed up for Open Play, or registered for a different event. If you are judging the sanctioned events, be ready to deal with this. Sanctioned judges should also be able to run simultaneous flights. Answering gameplay questions won’t be difficult, but managing the paperwork and start and end times for multiple flights will take some finesse. Judges need to stay focused though, because sanctioned events need to be consistent.
 
Head judges should place the floor judges strategically. Less experienced judges will probably do better in Open Play, since that has more to do with moving lots of participants through the event and making sure that players have a good time while learning basic gameplay. Make sure to send at least one experienced judge to Open Play to maintain order and provide guidance. More experienced judges should run the sanctioned events. It doesn’t hurt to switch judges from area to area if possible, because that will cut down on boredom and give a wider range of experience to all the judges. Make sure that all the judges get food and rest breaks and that harder-working judges aren’t picking up the slack for lazier ones.
 
Floor judges should all be prepared for a long, long day. The upcoming Sneak Preview events should have larger product allotments, but there still might be disappointed players and angry parents who don’t get product or promos. These people are going to complain, and since you are handy, you’re going to have to listen. If participants want to complain, let them do so up to a point, but you can always assure them that they can contact Upper Deck customer service about shortages. You need to be sympathetic, but you don’t have to take outright abuse. Keep in mind that you have other responsibilities besides listening to people complain. Work as a team with the other judge staff and resist the urge to slack off as the event goes on. Everyone is going to be tired, so you should do your fair share.
 
Sneak Previews are a great part of the Organized Play program. They generate a lot of interest in the new cards and make great introductory events for new players. Because a Sneak Preview is often a new player’s (and his or her parents’) first Yu-Gi-Oh! event, it’s important that the judge staff works hard to make it an experience that people will want to repeat. If you know what to expect, are prepared for it, and adapt to the unique circumstances of these kinds of events, both the judge staff and the participants will enjoy the experience much more.