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Subject: 
Re: Pirate Game at Dragon*Con
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.gaming
Date: 
Wed, 5 Jul 2000 04:41:07 GMT
Viewed: 
1782 times
  
In lugnet.fun.gaming, Steve Jackson writes:
Franklin Cain and I ran two 4-hour, 24-player scenarios at Dragon*Con in • Atlanta
this past Saturday. Lessons learned:

(1) Two experienced referees are BARELY enough for this many players.

(2) 4 hours, when at least one will be consumed in setup and the first
(teaching) moves, is not enough time for people to work up from cutters to
serious ships. Need more time or a different scenario.

(5) Those players who were eliminated in the first few turns were re-started • at
Port Royale but required to join different fleets (most of them just united • into
their own new fleet). That kept people from feeling rooked when they had bad
luck early on.

I'm curious as to what the scenario set up here is. You mention people
starting with cutters, and 4 hours not being enough time to upgrade (from my
experience, 5 or 6 hours may not be enough either), but have the players
divided into fleets. Is the purpose of the fleets to reduce the mess of a
total free for all?

I'm definitely interested in ideas on how to resolve the issues around younger
players. You did mention they were helpful during setup. I suspect in general,
one is just going to have to set an age limit and then be prepared to deal
with the occaisional immature player (and there is nothing saying that player
won't be 20 - I've had some immature players in college). You may still be
able to let them help set up, but it may be best not to get their hopes up.

In a smaller game, the solution may be to set the younger players of in an
insulated corner, bordered by understanding players. Make sure there are some
interesting islands for the younger players to explore, and just hope they
don't cause too much disruption (the younger player in the Brickfest game
caused no disruption because she was exploring an island no one else was near).

Of course some young folk may not even become an issue. While we were setting
up the Brickfest game, there was one youngster who wanted to play. He just
commandeered one of the ships and sailed it around the play area. By the time
we actually started, his parents had taken him and left (they were just
dropping in). He was causing no disruption or damage, and seemed to be
enjoying himself, so I just let him be. I'm not sure what I would have done
had he wanted to play (one thing I probably would have done would have been to
talk to the parents and point out that we planned to play for quite some time,
and that while the game is open to some coming and going, it could present a
problem, and also explain that the game is certainly an adult type of game. I
would hope such discussion would get the parents figuring out how to lure
their child away from the game).

Frank



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Pirate Game at Dragon*Con
 
(...) That, and to give some social structure to the game. Most people want to team up anyway . . . this just formalizes it a little bit and invites more roleplaying. Sometimes groups of friends form fleets. Sometimes I can use experienced players (...) (24 years ago, 6-Jul-00, to lugnet.gaming)

Message is in Reply To:
  Pirate Game at Dragon*Con
 
Franklin Cain and I ran two 4-hour, 24-player scenarios at Dragon*Con in Atlanta this past Saturday. Lessons learned: (1) Two experienced referees are BARELY enough for this many players. (2) 4 hours, when at least one will be consumed in setup and (...) (24 years ago, 4-Jul-00, to lugnet.gaming)

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