Spartan event at NOVA Open 2016

[MadDrB]

I'm planning to run a Spartan Games competitive event at NOVA Open 2016, but I need help deciding which game to commit to running. I'm trying to gauge what might draw the most players from the NoVA area as well as possibly farther away, and new players which don't otherwise attend NOVA Open for 40K, Warmachine, or other events.

NOVA Open is a tabletop gaming convention every Labor Day weekend in Arlington, VA. We had over 1,000 attendees this year. And games included 40K, WarmaHordes, Infinity, Malifaux, X-Wing, Hobbit, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, along with demo games which included some Spartan Games this year.

I have a sponsor for a Spartan Games event next year, and after being involved with this year's con I have a good idea what to plan for next year. The NOVA Open staff are great and run a fantastic grass roots sort of gaming event.

I just need to figure out what game to commit to running next year!

[Ruckdog]

My vote goes for DW! Of all the Spartan games, I think it has the most "wow" factor on the table, what with all the over-the-top robots, airships, etc. It is a little far out for me to commit 100%, but I'd love to help you with this.

[ALice-13]

I agree with Ruckdog about DW's wow factor but, you should look at what you can get on the table.  Of all your fleets (or if you have other players able to supply fleets) which of the games is going to give you the greatest coverage of factions/model types.  If your goal is to draw new players. Speaking for myself, I would like to see the largest cross section of what's available.  For all it's wow factor if you can only field two or three factions of DW but, you can get almost all of the FA factions maybe go with that.  And if that's not enough to consider also keep in mind which rule set your most comfortable with.  Maybe keeping a quick reference guide handy to talk through the rules or a reference sheet that dedicates about a paragraph of fluff about the different factions.  DW was one of the first games i got into based on the lore rather than the models or rules.

I guess I rambled a bit but I hope it gives you a few things to consider.

PS also see if you can get a map.  One of the first things I look for in any rule book is a map.  It just makes things more real.

[MadDrB]

I'm aiming to organize a more competitive tournament event. A group of guys ran demo games at NOVA this year, but I was hoping to set up a more conventional minis event next year in line with what they do with 40K, WarmaHordes, X-Wing, etc.

So, really, I'm trying to figure out which will draw the largest group of players interested in spending 2-3 days playing their favorite Spartan Game in a competitive event.

[Ruckdog]

I think my vote stands...in terms of market penetration, I think DW has reached the largest audience of any of Spartan's games (though Halo may change that).

Runner-up would definitely be Firestorm Armada, I think. Even though it might not be as widespread as DW, the game itself is somewhat less complicated, which may lend itself to an easier time running a tournament for it!

[Andrewchristlieb]

From speaking with some of the people at Spartan it seems that Firestorm is now their best selling game, although the numbers are not really in on Halo yet. The real quandary would be what system would garner the most attention. I'd be tempted to say Halo if you were doing demos and pushing the product since it has instant name recognition for a lot (if not all) gamers. As a tournament though it's more a question of what would bring in the most people. From my experience I've only seen competitive events attempted for Firestorm and they seem to be doing well. Do you have any numbers from the demo events that were run this past year? Seeing which games drew the most interest would be the best place to start.

DW is certainly more complex and would probably require a bit more time invested, not just in the rules consideration but also table setup and terrain. There has also been some concern over Halo's viability in a competitive setting, but having never played it I can't say either way.

In a pinch I'd go with Firestorm as first choice, then DW, then Halo.

[Ruckdog]

Interesting news about FSA outselling DW...had no idea! I think it is definitely a toss-up between those two. I do think that DW has the edge in visual appeal, though, for the reasons I mentioned above.

[CDR-G]

I am, of course, all in on DW. FA is OK, but seems to compete with X-Wing for players. DW is just a way more interesting game. For a serious tournament you have to decide what will get you the critical mass. Right now it would be FA. Though I would not compete, I don't have the models and would not want to spend that much time on a "DW light" game.
By then it may well be HALO. Again not for me, a inherent board gamer of complex war simulations that got dragged into DW BECAUSE of its great models and complex rules/tactics. If you do a DW tourney, I will help and all my models would be available.

[Ryjak]

Bill (a Spartan Vanguard) and I submitted a proposal to run a Firestorm Armada Event Series at NOVA 2016.  They seemed very interested in the proposal, and we're hopefully ending the final part of the discussion soon... The have already opened up registration, so I'm a little worried.

[Ryjak]

Thought you would appreciate an update; NOVA has basically given us the green light to run Firestorm Armada events on 8-12 tables for the entire NOVA Open.  Hopefully they'll be updating their calendar and registration on April 15th to reflect this, which is when I'd say it's "official".

[CDR-G]

So is there an updated status on this? Gotta make plans.

[Ruckdog]

The last word I had from Ryjak is that its Full Speed Ahead on the FSA events for NOVA! The packet is up on Ryjak's blog for review:

http://ops-center.weebly.com/nova-2016.html

Note, if you are going to play in the tournament, your lists are due to Ryjak by Monday!

[CDR-G]

So What are you signing up for. Having played only twice I was considering the Beginner's tourney. I can throw to gather a fleet by tomorrow but I don't want to take a spot. I haven't figured it out yet. There is a fair number of files on the blog but no real overview of the tournament structure and the different tournaments that I found.

[Ruckdog]

So What are you signing up for. Having played only twice I was considering the Beginner's tourney. I can throw to gather a fleet by tomorrow but I don't want to take a spot. I haven't figured it out yet. There is a fair number of files on the blog but no real overview of the tournament structure and the different tournaments that I found.

The NOVA Open site has the overview you are looking for, I think:

http://www.novaopen.com/firestorm-armada/

I'm jumping in on the 800 pt tourney on Saturday. Partly because that is the most interesting to me, but also because that is the event that falls on the day I can actually make it to the event  .

[CDR-G]

I'm taking Thursday off and entering the Beginner's Tournament. I thought of entering the doubles but I guess you need a team for that.