Management team - election of the chairman of the PC

[chompers]

We need to formally start forming the PC, so I propose the following:

The proposed PC needs volunteers. The roles can be divided into several different teams. I have summarised what I foresee may be some of the roles undertaken by each team. This model may or may not be final – please let me know of issues or changes you would like to see.

Team leaders and assistants would be required for the following seven teams:

a)   Management/legal/finance team – This team will be responsible for the overall operations of the PC. The management team is responsible for communication with all other teams, ensuring that each team is functioning as it should and ensuring that deadlines are being met. The chairman of the PC will lead the management team. When it comes time to pitch the PC to Decipher I suspect they may want it to happen in person, so we need a representative capable of doing so in America. If the PC can generate an income through donation, then the management team will need to look after finances in a transparent way that shows all donations are directed straight back to support the PC. The management team will be responsible to ensure that the PC operates in a way that will not lead to any legal disputes. Communication with other parties such as GCCG and Zorbec's to establish whether v-cards can be supported by these programs.

b)   Web team – The web team will be responsible for maintaining and updating the PC website. This may or may not be TLHH, if it is not TLHH we will continue to support the use of their forums. The PC website will need to provide free downloadable material (such as current ruling, tournament support, v-cards). Someone with web design experience is required. 

c)   Tournament team – The tournament team will be responsible for ensuring materials for running tournaments are up-to-date and available for download, tournament rule and guidelines, running tournaments, establishing championship and other enticing events, tournament rankings, etc.

d)   Marketing team – The marketing team is responsible for getting the word out there that LOTR is back and supported by a PC. The marketing team will need to form strategies to expand the player base.

e)   Rules team – The rules team will be responsible for issuing current rulings, ensuring rule-books are up-to-date and support all playing formats, changes to restricted and banned lists (if ever required) will fall to the rules team (?).

f)   Design team – Production of v-cards which may include cards with errata, promo cards with alternate images and completely new cards.

g)   Play-testing teams – Experienced playing groups will need to play-test v-cards before they are released. Play-testing will need to be in all relevant formats.

The first step is the establishment of the management team and the election of the chairman of the PC. Once established the management team can oversee the formation of the other six teams.

So – who is interested in being part of the management team? Who is interested in taking on the role of chairman? How should we elect the chairman of the PC?

Without management, there is no PC.

[HawkeyeSPF]

Without management, there is no PC.

Maybe so, but without players, there's no need for a PC - so why don't we just put a lot of these grand plans everyone seems to have on hold for a while and put all of our efforts towards building the player base - both online and in real life.

I know everybody's excited about getting the PC together and all, especially after the note from Warren, but if you don't take things one step at a time, things are going to fall apart - ok? This isn't a case of "if you build it, they will come."

I suggest that for the time being, there be only one "team", and that anyone and everyone can join or leave at their leisure - this team is responsible for marketing the game (not the PC, the GAME) anywhere and in any way they can.

Here's what I'm even willing to do - hold an in real life tournament (at least 4 players), take pictures, send me results and such, and I'll send you a box of boosters to give out as prize support at your next tournament. I really don't expect to be taken advantage of for a box of EoF or MoM, so be sure that your tournament submission includes some tangible proof that the event took place. If you have continued success with your events, and you are able to grow your player base, your prizes will get better.


In the end, what I'm saying is that the only part of your plan that is needed right now is the marketing. Seriously. There's only so many of us players even aware of the continued support for the game. In fact, I'd venture to say that if you went ahead and filled in all your teams there, you'd have a PC that is for, of, and by the only 30-50 active players in the world. That PC would exist for no purpose. There would be no one else to serve but itself.

Spread the Game.

[ket_the_jet]

Wow. This is the first thing you've posted, Hawk, that I 100% agree with.

I hope to host my second tournament in January. If the second has the same (or better) turnout than the first (five people), I would love that box of Mines or Ents as prize support...currently, prizes are coming out of my collection.
-wtk

[Jerba]

While I agree with Hawk and think his support is very generous, I think we do need some organization and promotional items that point people this way. If the PC can furnish us with some little posters to announce tournaments, the promo slips, etc. I think that would go a long way in helping promote the game. In the end we have to have players, but until we achieve that mystical (and probably arbitrary) magical number we can blend our central committee with the plan to grow the game. That should indeed be there primary goal at the moment, but rules and legal concerns need not go undiscussed either imo. Just not at the expense of growing the game.

We need boots on the ground to grow the game. But we need to provide an online support for them. We need a place they can easily access the rules to different formats and see where tournaments are being held. Currently, the format rules are difficult to find and tournaments have no place to announce themselves.

[HawkeyeSPF]

Tournament Flyer

Large FIERCE Logo

Small FIERCE Logo

Large LotR TCG Logo

Small LotR TCG Logo

Go at it!

[Kenddrick]

How about we get together a marketing commitee first? It will seem more organised and efficient that way.

[Gil-Estel]

I agree with Hawk too. If we want things to be done, everyone should do so in their own environment. For me, I try to get older players back in the game. In the Netherlands, there were quite a few very good players, and and a few cities had large player groups with like 30-50 players. In January I will be hosting a tournament with a gameshop owner where also a former D-agent and judge will come. I have close contact with another gameshop owner too, which is the largest in the Netherlands, and one of the biggest in Europe so it seems, and he is enthousiastic as well.

What I could do, allthough it would take a some effort, but I will try to next week, among all the other tasks I have to do, is to contact all the gameshops in the Netherlands I can find, to try to find out how many players they have known and whether they could somehow get back in though with them. I could make some flyers for stores as well....

Well I will see what I can do.

[Cw0rk]

Maybe so, but without players, there's no need for a PC - so why don't we just put a lot of these grand plans everyone seems to have on hold for a while and put all of our efforts towards building the player base - both online and in real life.

I 100% agree with that.

[HawkeyeSPF]

Send me pictures from your events and I'll post them on my site!

[Jerba]

Send me pictures from your events and I'll post them on my site!

What site is that? I'm not familiar with it for some reason...

PS. Thanks for posting the images and tournament items!

[Gil-Estel]

Hawk, what is your site?

[HawkeyeSPF]

http://www.premiereplayer.com

[Gil-Estel]

Btw, just send an email to cardexchange.com, maybe they know a lot of (former) players. We could do the same to the powersellers of lotr on Ebay. Wild Thing Games, wholesalegaming etc. We could ask them that if someone purchases lotr products, they are willing to refer to this site, in the sense: there are more people like you.

[Gil-Estel]

Double Post, but we had a lotr Google map, didn't we? So you could locate other players as well?

[chompers]

Hawkeye - I agree with what you have to say as the proposed PC has only been marketing the game for a short time - and with success. But there are two ways of looking at it.

On one side - we lack the support to formalise the entire PC - and marketing the game is working well with an expanding player base. The league is generating interest and it even seems some players are getting tournaments happening.

On the other side - formalising some apsects of the PC gives structure that can be built on. New strategies for marketing the game, establishing tournaments with support (not v-cards, but supporting material to promote and scorecards etc) and so on ....

Will the PC pitch the idea to Decipher on Warren's terms or ours? I suspect it will be Deciphers, and if that is the case the PC really should have something to present to him when the time comes (we have 3-4 months assuming the second quarter next year equals April, perhaps a little longer). Whether it be formally electing a chairman or not, or forming teams to tackle some of the challenges ahead of us, the PC will have to act (beyond marketing) at some point.

I was active in a minor capacity on these boards when the PC was discussed in the past and was disappointed to see it go away for awhile. I would be disappointed to see it go away again with the progress that has been made.

Thanks for the links by the way. Is there a way of making these more accessible on this site for prospective tournament directors to use. I have nothing to run a tournament. If they are already available on this site I am yet to find them.

This is not a criticism of TLHH but a suggestion for improvement (if it can happen). It took me a long time before i found half of the stuff available for download on this site (GCCG, Zorbec's etc). Perhaps the links to resources could be made more obvious rather than within a forum that new players may or may not check.

Oh - one last thing - Star Trek CC is the best run PC in my opinion. They have just under 1000 members (active or not), TLHH is approaching 500 (active or not). IMO, the PC will only ever support a small group of fans.