We here at Mount Baker Games are thrilled to announce our first Player Appreciation Open tournament in partnership with Aegis Games in Bellingham Washington on December 9th. Let’s dig into what it is, why it is, and how you can participate.
What is a Player Appreciation Open?
A Player Appreciation Open is a tournament in which a title sponsor, currently Mount Baker Games, puts up a guaranteed prize purse which the players will then compete for. While the details are likely to change, the idea is that players should be charged a nominal fee, and that fee will be split in some capacity between rewarding the host venue and increasing the prize pool. The increase is added to the guaranteed prize purse so that it is always a ‘plus value’ tournament ((odds of winning x prize pool)/entry fee>1). In this way players should be actively rewarded to participate. As long as Mount Baker Games is the title sponsor, this is us putting revenue generated from product sales back into the community, and us giving players an extrinsic reason to try to get good at the game.
Why is there an entry fee at all?
This is a complicated notion. It all comes down to logistics. An Angel copy of Manifold can literally make 11 legal decks. If effort is made, it can even make 11 functional decks. There is a real effort on our part to make how Mount Baker Games interfaces with distributors, retail partners, and players, result in an environment where all actors are rewarded if they behave in their own self interest. The behavior that we want to disincentivize here is for one actor to purchase an Angel copy, build themselves one excellent deck, and then sponsor 10 players who are playing low quality decks, in order to maximize the first player’s chance at greater rewards. By having any entry fee, we make it so that the only people participating are people with some level of investment, which will make the event more enjoyable for everyone.
Also, logistically, we can only support so many players. Our first event will cap at 32 players. With no entry fee, those tickets could all be sold instantaneously to a bad actor. With an entry fee, such an action requires an investment, and yields a reduced reward.
Why isn’t this at Pair o’ Dice Games?
This is a hotbed. For anybody who does not know, Brad McArtor is an owner of Mount Baker Games, a lead designer of Manifold TCG, and the owner of Pair o’ Dice Games. Pair o’ Dice Games is operated with the same goal that Mount Baker Games has to cultivate a community, and to operate a safe ‘third place’ (see our other article on this topic). However, Pair o’ Dice Games is the 4th biggest hobby store in Bellingham (out of four), and Manifold TCG represents a bigger opportunity for Brad than Pair o’ Dice Games does. In addition to that, Aegis Games is an excellent store, with its own excellent community. By partnering with Aegis for projects like this, Mount Baker Games seeks to extend its social reach beyond Pair o’ Dice Games, and to demonstrate to our retail partners that Pair o’ Dice Games will not have excessively unfair opportunities to support and be supported by the Manifold TCG ecosystem. This is why our retail partners all have coupon codes to offer customers a $25 discount off of Angel Copies (aegis25 for instance) and Pair o’ Dice does not.
OK, that’s all well and good. How do I play?
Go to the event page on Aegis’s website and order a ticket. Here’s a link!
There are 32 seats and this is first come – first served. If we sell out with more than 2 weeks before the event, we will have an internal discussion regarding our options to increase the seating, but expect the 32 cap to remain. The event will cost you $10 to play in. You need a Manifold TCG deck that is legal in the 45/45 format. If you don’t know what that means, it is probably the only constructed format that you have been exposed to. You do not need dice or locales, the venue will provide those. Doors open at 9am on December 9th, player meeting starts at 10am. Deck lists will be required, and we’ll put together a deck registration form, as well as have paper ones available the morning of.
Lets kick off the competitive Manifold TCG environment with a bang. And, I cannot stress this enough. There is so much appreciation from the design team for the player base who is slogging their way through our awkward pre-release. We love this game. It looks like you love this game too. Let’s work together to make something great.
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