Dumb Luck Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 My local gaming store is having an open day of sorts at the end of the month and I've been asked to run a Malifaux demo table. Aside from printing from the FAQs, what else would you guys recommend? Any tips or advice would be so helpful! The crews I have on hand are Somer, Ophiela, McMourning, Sonnia and Marcus. Which two would be best for demos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamwyrd Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Out of what you got, I would go with sonnia and Ophelia because they are pretty straight forward crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karn987 Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Well some basic things would be to make sure you have your Rule Books out on the table for people to look at and flip through. I would also make sure the store has some of them in stock and hopefully some crew box sets in-case people want to get into the game. If you still have the boxes that you got your box sets in, I would bring them as well and set them up on the edge of the table along with any other painted crews you have. This way it shows off more of the mini line and can grab more eyes. Read the rule book and all the errata and faq the night before or the same day as the demo. Just to refresh your mind and make yourself ready to quickly answer any questions. It also can help to have some sort of prepared speach/pitch for Malifaux incase people ask you about it. Something to answer the question "So what is this game like/about?". One of my favorite answers is in someone's sig "Malifaux? It's baconpunk" ;D A good thing to do if you think your going to get some new players looking to get into the game is to brush up on all the masters Meta. Even make little notes if you need, but just something so that you can wrattle off their basic play style if asked. The more you know/seem to know, the more likely you are to grow peoples interests. Otherwise mostly common sense stuff. Make sure your pleasant, approachable, hygenic etc. No one really wants to approach the unshowered guy at the table with breath that smells like last nights dinner ><. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raintar Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Rasputina is a great starter as well. She has alot of cool spells and some really useful triggers that make learning the game easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotemyname Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 One of the guys on this site runs his own website with a lot of Malifaux downloadable stuff on it. Consider printing out the quick reference sheets and handing them out so spectators can better follow along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumb Luck Posted October 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Goodness! OF course! I never thought of printing off several sheets to give out! Genius! Infact, I think the store might have Rasputina lying around somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotemyname Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Demo went pretty well this past weekend. We only got through about 1.5 rounds as there were more beginners there than I expected. Still, I think our area might see some new players now. I'm happy about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RisingPhoenix Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Good demo masters: Any Guild Lilith Viktoria Seamus Marcus (if you remind people about 0 actions) Bad: Nicodem (revolves around blocking and plays underpowered until you're good with him) Leveticus (Breaks half the rules) Collette (breaks the other half) Pandora (obv) Jones Ramos (mostly because he'll randomly explode if you don't play keep away) Also, I assume Hamlin would be a nightmare to demo, seeing as how he breaks more rules than Leveticus and Collette combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semanticdm Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Zoraida is a lot of fun, but I would recommend against her for starter box games. She can be a little annoying to play against - "What do you mean my monster turns around and slaps my master upside the head?" In addition, to really be viable, she _really_ needs to Voodoo Doll totem. Most the other crews I've played with like totems, but they are by no means necessary. Zoraida, on the other hand, can't really do much without hers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmp_mydog Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Be sure to have: Extra decks (to do simple mechanic demos as people walk up) Extra Dry-erase markersCard Sleeves Tokens (soulstones, counters etc) Some printed take-aways (store coupons, league/malifaux night dates and times, general game info (summary page or quick reference) Terrain (especially some of the special event stuff, people love that terrain plays a big part of the game) Display (show off painted crews, have a stack out of product that people can buy etc) Sonnia vs McMorning will show off the difference between range and melee focused masters, they also both show off the summoning mechanic well. Edited October 11, 2010 by jmp_mydog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilus Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Good demo masters: Any Guild Lilith Viktoria Seamus Marcus (if you remind people about 0 actions) I'd personally move Marcus to the bad list. He is pretty underpowered until you understand his tricks. The rest I agree with though. Although of the Guild I tend not to like to use Sonnia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmp_mydog Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I'd personally move Marcus to the bad list. He is pretty underpowered until you understand his tricks. The rest I agree with though. Although of the Guild I tend not to like to use Sonnia. Marcus is a good master for the "demo-er" to use that way it relatively easy for the "demo-ee" to get over-excited winning their first game and then buying lots of stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumb Luck Posted October 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Now that you mention it, out of all the small demos I've run I can never remember Marcus winning ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RisingPhoenix Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Two points. One general, one about Marcus. First, general point - include index-card tactica. I'm not talking advanced stuff. Items like "Lilith can use her illusionary forest to block line of sight for shooting units" and "Companion the Viktorias to quickly kill an enemy model!" As a corollary, I really recommend that you actually don't necessarily demo with boxes. First, it sends the wrong message (you need to stick 'on army theme', which is wrong). Second, the box power levels are way, way off. Perdita Ortega stomps face, out of the box. McMorning and Sebastian don't even get canine remains when they can both summon them. Viktoria doesn't even get Ronin. Yeah, the boxes can't be used for demos. I'll happily defend my choice of Marcus because he's a fun master to run. A tossed together build is fun and silly. Jackalope Shikome Moleman Night Terror Razorspine Rattler Rest Cache (for 25 ss) Miranda is a douchy model to dump on new players (hello, having to know all beast options in both rulebooks in order to run properly). Anyway, basic point: Demos are fun, you don't have to stress balance, don't run the boxes for demos, and make sure the games are fun over competitive (competitive will come when they learn the system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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