So a few days ago my local game store had an "open house" designed specifically for those who wanted to learn how to play MTG. When I walked into the store there was no one else there (besides the two employees behind the counter). I asked one of the employees if they were still doing the event and to my surprise the employee knew nothing about it, stating that "they never tell us whats going on". He then told me that the way it works is that seasoned players can come in and teach newbies how to play magic, but he didn't know if anyone was going to show up. I decided I would wait, so I sat down and started looking threw the pre-built deck that I bought so I could try and understand how the cards worked together. I tried to get a jump on things by asking the employees some questions about magic in general, how some of the cards in my deck worked, and questions about upcoming events they were hosting. All of my questions were basically answered with "ask some of the players when they show up".
Some people did finally show up (an hour later) but they were also somewhat new to the game, and we found ourselves learning on the fly and getting few game related questions answered by the staff that were there. Despite this, we did have a good time (I even won a few games).
I went there that day excited to learn, and wanted to use it as a primer to get my courage up so I could go to my first FNM. I didn't feel comfortable walking into a FNM without knowing more about the game and looking forward to FNM (even though I knew I would get stomped). But at this point I am less confident about walking into that store on Friday night because, based on what I've seen, I will get no help from the staff and I have no idea how I could approach someone for advice/help.
My only other choice is driving 40 minutes to the next game store and trying again.
So I guess the questions I have about this experience are:
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
It is definitely not normal, I know most store employees as helpful and wanting to help people to learn.
My advice is to not let this back you down, just go to the FNM, I am pretty sure you will find most players very helpful, friendly and helping you with the rules. But indeed prepare to lose as most people will al have a working deck in which they put some money.
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Perhaps. The guy who ran the comic book store where I used to work knew jack ***** about Magic (and actually very little about comics). His specialty was sports cards and watching sportsball all day, and placing the orders/making sure the place was stocked...overstocked...way too much stuff. WE DON'T NEED 50 COPIES OF ANY GIVEN ISSUE OF SPAWN LIKE TWO PEOPLE BUY IT AAAAUUUGGGGHHHH.
The guy who owns the comic shop I go to now also can't really answer a ton about Magic, but his store is also mostly tabletop gaming and comics. At least he's friendly with customers though, and can answer some Magic questions, although he's a casual player.
The guys genuinely might not have had the answers to your questions. The owner of a game store where I used to go couldn't tell you squat about Magic, but he could talk your ear off about Warhammer. If there was a lack of communication about the event, the right employees might not have been there that night. At my job, I'm the only one who knows ***** about *****, so if I'm not there and a customer has a question, tough luck.
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
Absolutely not.
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
Life, man. Some people are going to be nice, some people are going to be ********s.
In my own personal experience, I find that people who frequent LGS's for anything (spots, games, whatever) represent a pretty good slice of the population with a leaning towards personalities similar to Sheldon from Big Bang Theory or Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. They'll know everything but end up being socially inept. There's a guy that works at my local LGS that looks and behaves almost exactly like Sheldon and a board game player that looks an awful lot like CBG so....
You will encounter bad apples. This is a given. But you'll come across some pretty nice guys (or gals, whatever). Some LGS's will have a great nurturing environment, others are just flat out toxic and still others just won't care one way or the other. This is true everywhere you go, even work.
Another thing to keep in mind is that gamers will pop up just about anywhere. My local library has a er... conference room I guess and tried to have a "game day" last month for Yu-Gi-Oh, MtG, board games or whatever. I totally missed out on it (I got into a fight with a tree) so I have no idea how good it was. I've played at Pizza places, Starbucks and for a short time, I even played with a group at my work.
Also, not to sound weird, did you try to get the guys/girls phone numbers? I used to live in the mountains and spent many snow days holed up with a friend playing Magic while the storm blew over. Once the power is out, not like you can whip out the game console and play a few rounds of Street Fighter. So if we knew a snow storm was going to hit, we would pack up our bags and hole up in one or the others house. Usually mine since I lived right on the edge of three ski resorts and within skiing distance of two more. Those days were great.... missing school, skiing all day, playing Magic at night.
But I digress, Firevine put it best...
Life, man. Some people are going to be nice, some people are going to be ********s.
Also, not to sound weird, did you try to get the guys/girls phone numbers?
I thought about it, but didn't want to sound wierd :)... That is the goal though, to meet like minded people that I can play more with. I was injured in the military a little while ago and besides being a stay at home dad I have nothing else to do (IM BORED!). I love the game and just want to play (not online).
Based on the responses to your questions ("they never tell us what's going on", "ask some of the players when they show up"), I get a strong impression that the people running the shop don't really know what they're doing. My advice to you is to look around at the other LGS options in your area and see if you can find one where the managers and employees actually know what the hell. In my personal experience, when there's multiple shops in an area it's not uncommon for just one of them to be truly good/competent and the rest to just be squeaking by on luck.
A little outside Grand Rapids MI. The LGS I went to was The Gaming Warehouse in Grandville MI.
Try reaching out to White Cap Comics on Twitter (@WhiteCapComics). They are just up the road from you and appear to at least be responsive on social media. They might at least be able to tell you what to expect from the playing scene. I have a really good friend in Grand Rapids, but not anyone that plays mtg.
Good luck! I never liked the vibe at my LGS (where I live now) either and only went there back when I was in college and had a friend on campus that also played. We would just go there and hang out with each other and maybe every once in a while get some other guys into games with us. But overall, the scene was not something I was very enthusiastic about.
Some stores are really "warm" with new players, as the owners of those stores realize that "new" players equals "more money." However, it's tough to get someone from being totally "raw" and inexperienced to being "FNM regular." The chasm/divide between "new player" to "FNM regular" can be pretty wide, and sometimes, players have been playing for 20 years, or 10, but at least 3 years most times... When that player plays the "new player," inevitably new player gets CRUSHED, and may lose the resolve to get better, buy more cards, and develop further ideas... So, that's a tough balance to tread there...
Other stores aren't very welcoming at all; usually those stores are populated by "regulars," who don't necessarily care about the "growth of the game," or the "growth of the store," more than the growth of their own "trade binder." Playing in these scenarios are often intimidating for the new player as well.
When investigating a new store, I have found Facebook "reviews" to be helpful. You can learn a lot by reading those, sometimes, and you can often get a general "feel" for the store before even going there... Disregard the most favorable, and the least favorable reviews, and read the others. You will often pick up on the general "mood" of the store that way... Hopefully, you find a good store with good people, and maybe that will improve your next gaming experience. Best of luck!!
I'm going to be brutally honest with you. First, you are expecting too much of people. Second, you are being too sensitive. And finally, I think this is a self-esteem issue (which IS normal for Magic players from my experience).
Rather than turn tail and run off to a different store, keep going to this one and make friends. Don't expect people to be immediately inviting and give you a warm reception. Don't forget that people are complex animals and expecting them to behave one way or the other is setting yourself up for disappointment. Maybe the workers don't know much about Magic? Maybe they had a bad day? Maybe they had a lot of work to do? Whatever the case, don't you think that if they knew you, they would have been more welcoming? It isn't about being a "newbie" to Magic so much as being a stranger.
No one store is going to be less inviting than another because people are the same everywhere. I will put my entire Magic collection on the line and bet you that if you stick it out and keep coming back to this same "unwelcoming" store and you get to know the people that work and play there, you'll dispel all of these silly ideas of it being the LGS or player base's fault.
To be less advicey and just answer your questions:
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Not unless you're being obnoxious about it or not listening. Most people are understanding, but can be aloof if they don't consider you a threat in the game. That's normal.
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
No. Again, unless you were being obnoxious or asking at inopportune times (e.g. when they have a customer)
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
People to act like people. And not just that, but people with cruddy social skills. It IS a bunch of Magic players after all--some of them are simply basement-dwellers with no people skills. It happens.
Whatever you do, don't let things affect you so much. You have to learn to relax and focus on things besides yourself or you're doomed to needlessly worry and be self-conscious. Just laugh everything off. A friend once told me this anecdote/hypothetical in response to a social gaffe I made and advised me how to react:
You're at a bar and you bump into a guy, spilling his beer and he looks pissed. You have two options: 1) awkwardly apologize to him and hope he doesn't kick your ass or call you out or 2) laugh it off, tell the guy "hey sorry buddy, let me buy you a beer".
Guess which one of those is the correct option? If you take it everything so seriously, you're going to be worse off than if you just say **** it and laugh it off like it doesn't affect you (even if it does). So next time you go to this store and people are ignoring you? **** em. You had fun with the people around you last time, so just ignore the people you think are being rude or cold to you and find someone to have fun with.
My only other choice is driving 40 minutes to the next game store and trying again.
I take a 50min subway trip to my favorite LGS.
There is a LGS 20 mins from my house and a bunch more on the way to where I play, but where I play is where I want to be, feel comfortable and have fun.
Don't let distance detract from finding the LGS you like the most. It'll make a massive difference to how much fun you have in the end.
I take a 50min subway trip to my favorite LGS.
There is a LGS 20 mins from my house and a bunch more on the way to where I play, but where I play is where I want to be, feel comfortable and have fun.
Don't let distance detract from finding the LGS you like the most. It'll make a massive difference to how much fun you have in the end.
Im going to go to this LGS for a few events before I make any conclusions. As 6Jerfz said, I could have expected too much (after 11 years in the Army I do tend to set expectations pretty high).
I signed up for the Amonkhet pre-release this weekend which sounds (even though im going to get pummeled)
Thank you everyone for the advice, and have no fear, I am writing down a bunch of questions that I will ask here when the list is complete
You're less likely to get "pummeled" at a release than at FNM, to be honest... At least at a "release," everyone is starting with a limited pool of cards and cobbling together the best thing they can. Sure, the "best" players will probably still win, as they'll know the new cards beforehand, but at a pre-release, the playing field will be much more even.
Like StumbleMuse said, you have better odds at the release event assuming that you are a decent player as opposed to walking into FNM with no clue about what your meta is.
It's not normal at all! Anyone walking in to a shop with questions/desire to learn should be greeted by friendly staff ready to help in any way. This is especially true at an Open House that specifically invites new players to come in and learn. New players = more people to play with, so a bigger, more fun gaming community. I hope you can find a friendly shop to play at.
So a few days ago my local game store had an "open house" designed specifically for those who wanted to learn how to play MTG. When I walked into the store there was no one else there (besides the two employees behind the counter). I asked one of the employees if they were still doing the event and to my surprise the employee knew nothing about it, stating that "they never tell us whats going on". He then told me that the way it works is that seasoned players can come in and teach newbies how to play magic, but he didn't know if anyone was going to show up. I decided I would wait, so I sat down and started looking threw the pre-built deck that I bought so I could try and understand how the cards worked together. I tried to get a jump on things by asking the employees some questions about magic in general, how some of the cards in my deck worked, and questions about upcoming events they were hosting. All of my questions were basically answered with "ask some of the players when they show up".
Some people did finally show up (an hour later) but they were also somewhat new to the game, and we found ourselves learning on the fly and getting few game related questions answered by the staff that were there. Despite this, we did have a good time (I even won a few games).
I went there that day excited to learn, and wanted to use it as a primer to get my courage up so I could go to my first FNM. I didn't feel comfortable walking into a FNM without knowing more about the game and looking forward to FNM (even though I knew I would get stomped). But at this point I am less confident about walking into that store on Friday night because, based on what I've seen, I will get no help from the staff and I have no idea how I could approach someone for advice/help.
My only other choice is driving 40 minutes to the next game store and trying again.
So I guess the questions I have about this experience are:
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
You should visit that store at least one more time, on a night that is busier (stores usually have a schedule or at the very least a list of which formats are on each day of the week, call them and find out this info) and find out if the store owner will be in on any of those nights.
Go and try out the experience at that store again on a busier night and talk to the store owner and share your experience with them. You'll find out pretty quick that the demeanor of the store owner and his/her willingness to improve your experience will be a huge indicator of the expectations placed on his/her employees. If the store owner DGAF then his/her employees have followed suit and that's probably why you were left wanting more from your interactions with them the first time you came in.
At that point you know whether or not the place deserves your patronage. Sorry this was your experience, remember that MTG players aren't always the most personable of people irl or in these forums....
Some people did finally show up (an hour later) but they were also somewhat new to the game, and we found ourselves learning on the fly and getting few game related questions answered by the staff that were there. Despite this, we did have a good time (I even won a few games).
I went there that day excited to learn, and wanted to use it as a primer to get my courage up so I could go to my first FNM. I didn't feel comfortable walking into a FNM without knowing more about the game and looking forward to FNM (even though I knew I would get stomped). But at this point I am less confident about walking into that store on Friday night because, based on what I've seen, I will get no help from the staff and I have no idea how I could approach someone for advice/help.
My only other choice is driving 40 minutes to the next game store and trying again.
So I guess the questions I have about this experience are:
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
My advice is to not let this back you down, just go to the FNM, I am pretty sure you will find most players very helpful, friendly and helping you with the rules. But indeed prepare to lose as most people will al have a working deck in which they put some money.
RJaya Ballard, Task Mage Mono Red Control Decklist
WNahiri, the Lithomancer Mono White Control Decklist
RGWUKynaios and Tiro of Meletis Aikido Control Decklist
UBGisa and Geralf Tribal Aggro Decklist
URGRiku of Two Reflections Non-combo coolstuff Decklist
RWUBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder and Kraum, Ludovic's Opus Equipments Decklist
WBAthreos, God of Passage Reanimate/Goodstuff Decklist
Perhaps. The guy who ran the comic book store where I used to work knew jack ***** about Magic (and actually very little about comics). His specialty was sports cards and watching sportsball all day, and placing the orders/making sure the place was stocked...overstocked...way too much stuff. WE DON'T NEED 50 COPIES OF ANY GIVEN ISSUE OF SPAWN LIKE TWO PEOPLE BUY IT AAAAUUUGGGGHHHH.
The guy who owns the comic shop I go to now also can't really answer a ton about Magic, but his store is also mostly tabletop gaming and comics. At least he's friendly with customers though, and can answer some Magic questions, although he's a casual player.
The guys genuinely might not have had the answers to your questions. The owner of a game store where I used to go couldn't tell you squat about Magic, but he could talk your ear off about Warhammer. If there was a lack of communication about the event, the right employees might not have been there that night. At my job, I'm the only one who knows ***** about *****, so if I'm not there and a customer has a question, tough luck.
Absolutely not.
Life, man. Some people are going to be nice, some people are going to be ********s.
Why don't you ask your questions here?
You will encounter bad apples. This is a given. But you'll come across some pretty nice guys (or gals, whatever). Some LGS's will have a great nurturing environment, others are just flat out toxic and still others just won't care one way or the other. This is true everywhere you go, even work.
Another thing to keep in mind is that gamers will pop up just about anywhere. My local library has a er... conference room I guess and tried to have a "game day" last month for Yu-Gi-Oh, MtG, board games or whatever. I totally missed out on it (I got into a fight with a tree) so I have no idea how good it was. I've played at Pizza places, Starbucks and for a short time, I even played with a group at my work.
Also, not to sound weird, did you try to get the guys/girls phone numbers? I used to live in the mountains and spent many snow days holed up with a friend playing Magic while the storm blew over. Once the power is out, not like you can whip out the game console and play a few rounds of Street Fighter. So if we knew a snow storm was going to hit, we would pack up our bags and hole up in one or the others house. Usually mine since I lived right on the edge of three ski resorts and within skiing distance of two more. Those days were great.... missing school, skiing all day, playing Magic at night.
But I digress, Firevine put it best...
- Matt
I thought about it, but didn't want to sound wierd :)... That is the goal though, to meet like minded people that I can play more with. I was injured in the military a little while ago and besides being a stay at home dad I have nothing else to do (IM BORED!). I love the game and just want to play (not online).
A little outside Grand Rapids MI. The LGS I went to was The Gaming Warehouse in Grandville MI.
I'm Mike, from The Mana Pool.
Check out my Tapped Out profile and comment on my decks!
Try reaching out to White Cap Comics on Twitter (@WhiteCapComics). They are just up the road from you and appear to at least be responsive on social media. They might at least be able to tell you what to expect from the playing scene. I have a really good friend in Grand Rapids, but not anyone that plays mtg.
Good luck! I never liked the vibe at my LGS (where I live now) either and only went there back when I was in college and had a friend on campus that also played. We would just go there and hang out with each other and maybe every once in a while get some other guys into games with us. But overall, the scene was not something I was very enthusiastic about.
- Matt
Other stores aren't very welcoming at all; usually those stores are populated by "regulars," who don't necessarily care about the "growth of the game," or the "growth of the store," more than the growth of their own "trade binder." Playing in these scenarios are often intimidating for the new player as well.
When investigating a new store, I have found Facebook "reviews" to be helpful. You can learn a lot by reading those, sometimes, and you can often get a general "feel" for the store before even going there... Disregard the most favorable, and the least favorable reviews, and read the others. You will often pick up on the general "mood" of the store that way... Hopefully, you find a good store with good people, and maybe that will improve your next gaming experience. Best of luck!!
Rather than turn tail and run off to a different store, keep going to this one and make friends. Don't expect people to be immediately inviting and give you a warm reception. Don't forget that people are complex animals and expecting them to behave one way or the other is setting yourself up for disappointment. Maybe the workers don't know much about Magic? Maybe they had a bad day? Maybe they had a lot of work to do? Whatever the case, don't you think that if they knew you, they would have been more welcoming? It isn't about being a "newbie" to Magic so much as being a stranger.
No one store is going to be less inviting than another because people are the same everywhere. I will put my entire Magic collection on the line and bet you that if you stick it out and keep coming back to this same "unwelcoming" store and you get to know the people that work and play there, you'll dispel all of these silly ideas of it being the LGS or player base's fault.
To be less advicey and just answer your questions:
Is it normal for someone inexperienced with the game to run into resistance while asking a lot of questions?
Not unless you're being obnoxious about it or not listening. Most people are understanding, but can be aloof if they don't consider you a threat in the game. That's normal.
Did I do something wrong or inappropriate by asking the staff those questions before other players showed up?
No. Again, unless you were being obnoxious or asking at inopportune times (e.g. when they have a customer)
What should I expect if I do decide to go to the FNM?
People to act like people. And not just that, but people with cruddy social skills. It IS a bunch of Magic players after all--some of them are simply basement-dwellers with no people skills. It happens.
Whatever you do, don't let things affect you so much. You have to learn to relax and focus on things besides yourself or you're doomed to needlessly worry and be self-conscious. Just laugh everything off. A friend once told me this anecdote/hypothetical in response to a social gaffe I made and advised me how to react:
You're at a bar and you bump into a guy, spilling his beer and he looks pissed. You have two options: 1) awkwardly apologize to him and hope he doesn't kick your ass or call you out or 2) laugh it off, tell the guy "hey sorry buddy, let me buy you a beer".
Guess which one of those is the correct option? If you take it everything so seriously, you're going to be worse off than if you just say **** it and laugh it off like it doesn't affect you (even if it does). So next time you go to this store and people are ignoring you? **** em. You had fun with the people around you last time, so just ignore the people you think are being rude or cold to you and find someone to have fun with.
I take a 50min subway trip to my favorite LGS.
There is a LGS 20 mins from my house and a bunch more on the way to where I play, but where I play is where I want to be, feel comfortable and have fun.
Don't let distance detract from finding the LGS you like the most. It'll make a massive difference to how much fun you have in the end.
Im going to go to this LGS for a few events before I make any conclusions. As 6Jerfz said, I could have expected too much (after 11 years in the Army I do tend to set expectations pretty high).
I signed up for the Amonkhet pre-release this weekend which sounds (even though im going to get pummeled)
Thank you everyone for the advice, and have no fear, I am writing down a bunch of questions that I will ask here when the list is complete
Like StumbleMuse said, you have better odds at the release event assuming that you are a decent player as opposed to walking into FNM with no clue about what your meta is.
- Matt
You should visit that store at least one more time, on a night that is busier (stores usually have a schedule or at the very least a list of which formats are on each day of the week, call them and find out this info) and find out if the store owner will be in on any of those nights.
Go and try out the experience at that store again on a busier night and talk to the store owner and share your experience with them. You'll find out pretty quick that the demeanor of the store owner and his/her willingness to improve your experience will be a huge indicator of the expectations placed on his/her employees. If the store owner DGAF then his/her employees have followed suit and that's probably why you were left wanting more from your interactions with them the first time you came in.
At that point you know whether or not the place deserves your patronage. Sorry this was your experience, remember that MTG players aren't always the most personable of people irl or in these forums....
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RGOmnath, Locus of Rage Grenades! EDHGR
UWSygg's Defense, EDH - Voltron & ControlWU
BUGMimeoplasm EDH ft. Ifnir Cycling-discard comboBUG
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BWSelenia & Recruiter of the Guard suicice combo EDHWB
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