Free RPG day, and how serious FLGS are about RPGs

[Sword of Spirit]

So I go to the website for Free RPG Day and start looking up things near me. I am not impressed. It seems like even the places with the "better" (which isn't great) RPG selections/stock aren't participating. The ones that are seem haphazardly pulled out of a hat, and aren't necessarily ones with good selections or knowledgeable staff--one of them advertised that one of the three RPGs that would be played was "D&D Next".

At least a couple seemed to be listed on the Free RPG Day website, but I could find little or nothing about it on their own websites (provided they even had dedicated websites rather than just a user-unfriendly Facebook page--but that's a separate pet peeve).

I'm not expecting every place to have the level of event you can see here (click Free RPG Day at 10am June 17), but I'd expect at least 1/4 of that much stuff going on.

If they don't even participate in basically the annual RPG event, it makes me not even want to go to their stores.

/rant

 

[pogre]

RPGs don't pay the bills for stores around here. It seems like MTG is the life blood of all brick and mortar. If MTG hit a lull at least three of the four stores within 25 miles of me would go belly up.

 

[GMMichael]

. . . It seems like even the places with the "better" (which isn't great) RPG selections/stock aren't participating. The ones that are seem haphazardly pulled out of a hat, and aren't necessarily ones with good selections or knowledgeable staff--one of them advertised that one of the three RPGs that would be played was "D&D Next". . .
I'm not expecting every place to have the level of event you can see here (click Free RPG Day at 10am June 17), but I'd expect at least 1/4 of that much stuff going on.

Sounds like they needed you to show up and GM a game or two!

I'm with you on the Facebook thing, by the way.

It could be E3's fault for distracting everyone with video games...

 

[ccs]

If they don't even participate in basically the annual RPG event, it makes me not even want to go to their stores.

Have you considered that this "free" event might not be in the shops budget?
Free RPG day isn't free to the retailers. They have to pay for those kits of stuff. So if it's not in the budget? Or the shop doesn't think that'll be a cost effective way to draw people? Then they don't participate.
And some might not know about it.

But hey, feel free to boycott your local shops because you couldn't get free stuff & complain about it....

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Have you considered that this "free" event might not be in the shops budget?
Free RPG day isn't free to the retailers. They have to pay for those kits of stuff. So if it's not in the budget? Or the shop doesn't think that'll be a cost effective way to draw people? Then they don't participate.
And some might not know about it.

But hey, feel free to boycott your local shops because you couldn't get free stuff & complain about it....

It's actually as much about the chance to play new games as it is about the freebies--since those probably aren't all that great anyway.

 

[darjr]

I ran DCC and Torg today. Also play tested in a friends future to be published adventure. Lots of friends that I see often and some only rarely. Met a ton of new folks and It looks like our local community had events and six of our local game stores. Very fun. I'm grateful to the companies who participated and the stores that looked upon the event in the right light. I'm also grateful for the several GM's that came out to our local stores to run games throughout the day. Very cool.

 

[darjr]

Another reason I love FreeRPG day!

The other free stuff. Trinity is Free for a VERY SHORT TIME!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3407/Trinity-Rulebook?affiliate_id=182934

 

[LordEntrails]

If they don't even participate in basically the annual RPG event, it makes me not even want to go to their stores.

The annual event?

I don't think so. Maybe for you, but I've always seen FreeRPG Day as a small thing. Any of the major cons overshadow this event by orders of magnitude.

Hey, it's a nice thought, and for the organizer(s) it probably is their big effort/event of the year. But not for the community.

 

[MichaelSomething]

The organization behind Free RPG day ships the books. They don't help set up in store events. And not every FLGS has the time or resources to set up their own events.

Sent from my VS990 using EN World mobile app

 

[Dire Bare]

Have you considered that this "free" event might not be in the shops budget?
Free RPG day isn't free to the retailers. They have to pay for those kits of stuff. So if it's not in the budget? Or the shop doesn't think that'll be a cost effective way to draw people? Then they don't participate.
And some might not know about it.

But hey, feel free to boycott your local shops because you couldn't get free stuff & complain about it....

Snark much?

Local hobby stores compete with online sales of games at discounted rates, and to survive, they have to provide value. Not participating in a major marketing event like Free RPG Day or Tabletop Day is not necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but it is a sign that the store doesn't have their act together. I'm totally with Sword on this one, and if you'll reread the OP, he's (she's) also complaining about poor internet visibility, another sign of a lackluster FLGS.

In my town, Boise, we have several stores, most of them are on the mediocre side of value. Many are staffed by supernerds who would rather play games and talk to their friends than help customers. They have crappy selections in certain areas, often RPGs. They have small, cramped, dirty, smelly play areas filled with rude, cursing gamers. They don't participate in Free RPG Day or other similar events, or if they do (or used to), they don't leverage them well. Their websites are confusing messes. They only survive (IMO) because we are in an age of tabletop resurgence. However, I won't step foot in those places, except every once in a while to see if things have improved . . . .

The best store in the valley is ABU Games, their entire business is built around selling Magic: The Gathering singles, but they have a beautiful store with a healthy board game, miniature game, and role playing game sections. They have a large, clean play, well ventilated play area and run organized play events for all sorts of games, including D&D. The store is staffed by nerds, but their focus is on the customer, and they are helpful in finding what YOU want rather than trying to convince you of the merits of Pathfinder over D&D. They participate in almost every marketing event like Free RPG Day. They aren't perfect, if you aren't purchasing Magic singles, their website is a bit of a mess. They discount most products (smart!) but have a nasty habit of overcharging for limited release items and limited stock of hot, brand-new items. But they've got my business, and they seem to be doing very well. I was there on Saturday for the new Warhammer 40K release, but foolishly forgot to ask if they were participating in Free RPG Day, my guess is that they were.

Stores that participate in Free RPG Day, but just put out the piles of free stuff generally stop participating after a while due to the cost and the lack of return. But they aren't being smart businesses and leveraging the marketing opportunity. Stores that make it an EVENT and advertise, maybe get a sale going, run some RPG in-store events . . . they often reap the rewards, and those well-run stores are the ones I like to shop at!