DEMOn (official and otherwise) reports

[Street]

I am not an offical Demon as of yet,
But I converted one warhammer player just by playing solo games at my FLGS.Now he is on my wed group.The biggest attraction that I point out is the fact that I can carry 4 armies in a lunch bag instead of in the trunk of my car.Also how I can buy an army box and start playing in 10 min rather than 7 days because of painting and drying.The next group in my eye are the magic guys since there are the biggest there.THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE TOUGH NUT TO CRACK  ;Dsince the new expansion is on the horizon.

Street

[Street]

Well I am officially a DEMon and ran my second demo yesterday. I ran BGFW and Hill 218 with him.He ended up liking hill 218 ALOT more than BGFW which is awesome because I Like hill 218 also.So thats one more battlebuddy I have to pound on 


When you guys run demos, do you all start off with a quicker game like Hill 218 or ask the person what they like and gauge it from there?

[NegativeZer0]

I did my first Demo last Sat even though I still haven't heard back on my Demon app yet.
[pokes chad with a large sharp stick]

We both come from a miniatures background so I let him pick out his army after only a brief explanation of the stats and he developed an interesting undead force.

for a full recap see my post here: [warning it's long as I recap each turn]
http://yourmovegames.com/forum/index.php/topic,690.0.html

We also played a few games of Hill 218.  He liked the quickness of hill 218 but didn't seem to overly impressed.

With battleground we had a few hiccups along the way with some of the more advanced rules but all in all we both enjoyed the game and he said he would def give it another shot now that he knows the rules as I had opted to take the approach of explaining the basics before we started then explain the details as they came up.  Although this does put your opponent at a disadvantage it does help to reduce the rules overload for someone learning this game for the first time.

[martin_cy]

will probably be running a Demo game at some point soon at work (after hours) as I'm current recruiting for our kingdoms campaign and we are all geeks at work...

was thinking to give a fast overview then start two games and then be a rule helper on both games at the same time just to give more people a feel for it.. as people might drift away if not getting hands on.. and limit it to like 4 units or e.g. 500-600 point game.. with pre-made even lists..

I need to keep the game around 30 minutes max but still give a good idea what the game is about and how it works, any idea what would be the best way of doing this?

cheers

[NegativeZer0]

I would use the 1500 point premade army lists. 

500 points is WAY to low for a demo as it dose not give the same feel of the game.  If you don't have time for 1500 I would at least do 1000 points.  500 is just to low and the game was not designed around 500 point builds.  It can be done but its a whole different feel to the game.

[Chad_YMG]

When I want to do a quick demo I don't have people play a game.  Instead, I take them through the mechanics.  I start with a description of army building (point-based) and how players take turns deploying their armies and giving standing orders.  I explain how standing orders, with command actions, are the command and control system of the game and how this will give you a sense of being a general in charge of an army rather than a hive mind in charge of all of your troops.  Then I show how movement works by having a couple of units advance towards each other until they are within final rush range, at which point I show final rushing and go into combat.  I'll usually add in a command card to combat but have the players roll their dice and mark off damage.  From there I show how the hits get marked off and how color determines fighting strength and morale.  Then I do a quick overview of pinching, flanking, etc., so that they see that this is a game of maneuver and strategy, not just dice-rolling.

That can be done in 10-15 minutes, and usually some of the folks will want to dig in for a full game, in which case I'd give them quickstart armies and let them go.

[martin_cy]

alright guys

will try to do it this way, using the pre-made lists..

now I just need to find a good time to do it

[jhenke]

Chad,

Have ya thought of a youtube flash vid of this and a Demon script to spread amongst the prophets this forum sends forth?

I'm thinking of the "how to demo" bit in the end of the "Duel of Ages" Master Rulebook...but I'd like to see ya in action myself again.

Maybe in Dallas Nov.?

Have a great weekend!
Jason Henke

[gull2112]

There will be a BG:FW and/or PW demo at the source in Falcon Heights MN. That's the Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights, which is really St. Paul, this friday night from 6:00 to close. Jason, I hope you can at least stop by. James, I'm hoping that works for you. Let me know if it doesn't, as I will have to make alternate arrangements.

[lazyj]

Hoping to make it on Friday Mike!

Work has been kicking my butt recently so I'd like to take it out on you!