We caught up with TC Digital Organized Play Manager Brian Fahmie at the GAMA Trade Show in
ICv2:
Tell us about your plans for organized play in retail stores.
Fahmie:
We’re going to be launching OP in retail stores in the next two to three weeks. Organizers or store owners will be able to sign up with us and they’ll fill out an organizer agreement. Once we approve those and they send in their photos and sign up, we can send them free organized play kits. The kits will come with a poster, a window cling, and 24 organized play three-card prize packs. These prize packs come from (an) exclusive card set of 20 cards that we designed specifically for OP, packed out in three-card packs. They’re highly collectible, all-new cards. Organizers will be able to get one new kit a month free.
ICv2:
Are those (three-packs) for prizes or for participation?
Fahmie:
Both. Organizers can choose to run demos or casual gaming in their stores.
ICv2:
Are the kits to support Demo Days (see “Passport to Perim Demo Days”)?
Fahmie:
They are to support Demo Days; however, you can run tournaments as well. If you want to run tournaments and award players through a tiered prize structure, we’re going to have rules on the OP website, which should be live in the next week or two. They’ll find information on there to run a demo, casual open play, or a tournament. Either way they can give out prize packs.
ICv2:
What tournament format?
Fahmie:
Swiss. You can also do single or double elimination, but Swiss is the standard tournament format. Our online game will also have online tournaments and leagues. It’ll be rolled out and announced in a couple of months.
ICv2:
Will you be providing online support for in-store tournament play?
Fahmie:
Yes we will. It’s called the TC Digital Event Management software. It’ll be rolled out later this year. It’s in development currently.
ICv2:
Can you pin down when that will be, even by season?
Fahmie:
I cannot give a date at this time.
ICv2:
Is TC Digital planning any tiered national tournament progam?
Fahmie:
We are. Our national tournament play program kicked off at New York Comic Con just this past weekend. We’re calling them the Chaotic Battledrum events. Players who play in constructed and sealed eight-man tournaments that happen every half-hour to an hour or so get prize support accordingly. Our full national OP program, which will include city, national, and world championships, will be announced and rolled out toward the end of the year, probably around the time of Gen Con Indy.
ICv2:
The tiered program, will that start in stores and work up to cities/regionals?
Fahmie:
Yes, we’re going to try to keep most of our national program store-based at the lower levels and keep as much OP as we can at the store level; and then, as we see fit, grow it organically so it can reach critical mass and hit the whole, regional and state market and the national and international markets as well.
ICv2:
How will you be handling release or pre-release events?
Fahmie:
One of the cool things we’re going to do is allow store owners to hold pre-release events in their stores, instead of the contrary model which is usually to go to Premier Tournament Organizers and have them at regional levels. We’re really going to have every store owner participate as much as possible on every piece of the OP program. We think pre-release events are going to a big hit with store owners so they can drive that traffic from those high profile events directly into their store.
ICv2:
When you going to start those?
Fahmie:
The next set that comes out will be Silent Sands, which will be hit in June. We’re not sure if we’re going to have them for that one, or for our next set that will come out towards the end of summer. We’re still deciding when we’re going to hit those. As soon as possible! We would like to get those Advance Scout Tournaments in stores.
