John Coviello of Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas, Nevada has been following the recent Talk Back discussions regarding WotC's recent crackdown on Premier Stores (see "WotC Sues Tournament Organizers") and Organized Play experiences and had this to say:

Maybe it's just me, but the WPN has been nothing but good for our store....

We've been in business for 15 years and organized play was part of the plan since day one: it's what sets us apart from a garage-run, internet-only operation. It's what allows us to sell an experience, not just a product. It's why people keep shopping in our store rather than just clicking and ordering for less than retail online.

Sure, it's it own set of headaches, but that's what makes a game store a game store: we do more than sell an item, we promote a hobby, we support a community and we connect players.  The trick is to figure out what it takes to make organized play an asset in your store rather than a liability.

Super competitive player driving your paying customers away?  Run events that don't cater to them and watch them take up shop with your competitors.  Tournaments = security risk?  Beef up your countermeasures, staff heavier during busy nights, check your video logs, identify the culprits and prosecute with due diligence.  Customers can't figure out why they should buy at retail from you?  Educate them about what they would lose if your store disappeared from their neighborhood.

No system is perfect and all systems need constant tweaking--perfection is unobtainable, but we should strive for it regardless.  Our organization analyzes each and every event we run to figure out how we can do better the next time.  Try and try again until you find a system that works for your establishment and your publics.

Ultimately, manufacturers are trying to do the same thing: they try to make things better (or so I'd like to think).  Sure, there will be some mistakes along the way, but there is much to be learned from them.  Wizards suing dishonest TO's is a step in the right direction just as Mayfair enforcing their maximum discount policy is another.

Are we really faulting these companies for trying to build mutually beneficial relationships between themselves, their retail partners and their consumers?  Or are we just complaining that running events is hard work and we would prefer to have all the benefits without investing any of the effort?

Your mileage may vary, but we've found ways to make organized play work for us:  I hope that you can too.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.