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36 Hour Anniversary Game-a-thon
Phoenix Games celebrated its first anniversary on November 1st and 2nd. While the anniversary was not of GenCon proportions, it was certainly successful in its own right. We had a healthy attendance throughout the two days, and all who were here had a good time. Although some of the loftier schemes did not work out, we have gotten a good feel for what is reasonable and what is reaching. Not that knowing that an event is reaching will stop us from planning it, but at least we know not to be too disappointed should our reach exceed our grasp.

High School friend of the owner visits the store during the anniversary. That box in front of Anant is the box of Mirrodin he decided to pick up while he was here. It's amazing what you can do when you have a real job.
Chris works third shift on an airforce base. Realizing that I would be up all night for the 36-hour anniversary game-a-thon, he offered to bring coffee to the store. By the time the coffee came, it was much appreciated.

Try though we might, Erin and I gave into the seductive call of sleep. You can't really see it in this picture, but the store definitely had quite a lived in look by the time we took our four hour nap at 4 AM.
This shot gives a better feel for the widespread devastation caused by 16 hours of hardcore gaming. Remember that 20 more hours followed this picture.

Later that same anniversary, the regular Exalted game ran on one side of the store as a group of strategy gamers battled for railroad supremacy. Would you look at that. A space with no picture in it. Anyone want to buy low traffic ad space?

Matrix Revolutions Private Showing
Matrix Revolutions was the fifth private movie showing that Phoenix Games hosted. Opening night was on November 5th, just after the anniversary. While we expected great things from it, and I think that the movie was very good, many were disappointed with the second movie and thus uninspired to see the third. Movie showings have the potential to be very dramatic events. While they are normally successful, and everyone has a great time, there is a risk. Due to the substantial sum that must be invested, there is always the remote chance that an event could fail so catastrophically that it would pull down the whole store. While we ended up doing just fine, selling 231 out of 286 tickets, visions of disaster danced through our heads on this one.

Brian Sabo, a masseur in training, approached me before the showing to ask if he could set up a massage chair and give out free massage in order to get practice for school. I thought it was a great idea and figured that just prior to the movie would be good. We got about three takers for free massagee. We were surprised that so few people showed up for something that they would normally pay $40 for, but sometimes people are a bit slow.
After the movie, we invited people back to the store as is traditional. We didn't get the 50 people that we had after Underworld, but we got quite a few. There was also a technical difficulty with food in that we didn't really have any, but people found their own amusements such as this chess game which attracted a bit of an audience.

This picture really embarassed someone, so it has been slightly modified to obscure certain details.
Some pictures just do not deserve explanation.

Sometimes all you need to have a good time is a nice gaming book and a book case to lean against. Those orange tags on the merchandise were for the Anniversary sale when a good chunk of the store was on sale, particularly products that had outstayed their welcome on our shelves.
This picture has nothing to do with Matrix, but was amusing anyway. Crookhorn claims another victim.

Vampire Black Hand Pre-Release

Phoenix Games had the privilege of hosting a pre-release event for the Black Hand expansion of the Vampire: the Eternal Struggle CCG. We had over a dozen players coming from as far away as Boston. Special thanks to Todd Richter for making this event happen. Every Tuesday night at 6:00, V:tES players gather at the store for a weekly game.

Rearrange and Repair
November was quite a month of moving and fixing things. We finally found the timer which controls the outside lights. The light over the garb was fixed, and most noticable, we completely rearranged the store. At some point during this process we also fixed the outside light in the back, but someone then stole the bulb. Who steals a lightbulb?

After much searching, we finally found the timing device for the outdoor lights. Bill was good enough to climb into the rafters and adjust the timer. No longer will the sun set before our lights come on. I wonder who decided that above the rafters was a good place for a timing box.
Bill and Keith plan how they will rearrange the store. They were nice enough to share with me what they were doing after they started moving the counters.

As though Bill needed a way to make a middle finger more emphatic.
They promised that everything would have a place when they were done. While I had confidence, there were some moments of concern...particularly when they went out to lunch.

It's tough to keep a store operating while people are moving your store around on you.
It takes a village to move a table.

The first Thursday Night Magic Booster Draft after the store was finished being rearranged. The rearrangement got rave reviews, especially because the gaming space was expanded quite a bit. Unfortunately, the drafts would not be big enough to need all the space until January.
The store from the front door after all was moved and cleaned.

The rearranged store.

Bill plans his attack on our broken light as Jason looks on knowingly.
Bill recieves a message directly from God through the ceiling.

Bill relaxes on top of his ladder after a job well done.
The old light fixture. You can't really see it in this picture, but there is black tar which is oozing out of the fixture. This is generally considered to be a bad sign.

Other Nifty Stuff

Wizkids puts out great games like Heroclix and Mechwarrior. They also offer great support in terms of events and prizes. However, sometimes they can be a little tricky to deal with. After our old Battlemaster (Mechwarrior) left in August we were unable to arrange a new one for four months. Wizkids sent us this promotional Counter Assault box, which we took a picture of in the trash. This image was emailed to Wizkids to show what would happen if they continued to give us trouble.
This game of Crimson Skies does not seem to be going well for Bill. BILL SMASH!!!!

Eagle Games' Attack! was split into two games, the basic game and Attack! Expansion, and they were priced at $30 each. This was a terrible mistake. The basic game is aweful. Add the expansion, and you get a pretty decent game, but who buys an expansion for a game they don't like. We played the basic game first and hated it, but I still had the exapansion, so I figured I might as well crack it open and give it a try. Sure enough, it was pretty cool. Sometimes good games overcome bad marketing.
Nothing like a Platnum Angel to get Tam excited.

This site created by Michael Whitehouse on January 9th, 2004.

36 Hour Anniversary Game-a-thon Phoenix Games celebrated its first anniversary on November 1st and 2nd. While the anniversary was not of GenCon proportions, it was certainly successful in its own right. We had a healthy attendance throughout the two days, and all who were here had a good time. Although some of the loftier schemes did not work out, we have gotten a good feel for what is reasonable and what is reaching. Not that knowing that an event is reaching will stop us from planning it, but at least we know not to be too disappointed should our reach exceed our grasp.
High School friend of the owner visits the store during the anniversary. That box in front of Anant is the box of Mirrodin he decided to pick up while he was here. It's amazing what you can do when you have a real job.	Chris works third shift on an airforce base. Realizing that I would be up all night for the 36-hour anniversary game-a-thon, he offered to bring coffee to the store. By the time the coffee came, it was much appreciated.
Try though we might, Erin and I gave into the seductive call of sleep. You can't really see it in this picture, but the store definitely had quite a lived in look by the time we took our four hour nap at 4 AM.	This shot gives a better feel for the widespread devastation caused by 16 hours of hardcore gaming. Remember that 20 more hours followed this picture.
Later that same anniversary, the regular Exalted game ran on one side of the store as a group of strategy gamers battled for railroad supremacy.	Would you look at that. A space with no picture in it. Anyone want to buy low traffic ad space?
Matrix Revolutions Private Showing Matrix Revolutions was the fifth private movie showing that Phoenix Games hosted. Opening night was on November 5th, just after the anniversary. While we expected great things from it, and I think that the movie was very good, many were disappointed with the second movie and thus uninspired to see the third. Movie showings have the potential to be very dramatic events. While they are normally successful, and everyone has a great time, there is a risk. Due to the substantial sum that must be invested, there is always the remote chance that an event could fail so catastrophically that it would pull down the whole store. While we ended up doing just fine, selling 231 out of 286 tickets, visions of disaster danced through our heads on this one.
Brian Sabo, a masseur in training, approached me before the showing to ask if he could set up a massage chair and give out free massage in order to get practice for school. I thought it was a great idea and figured that just prior to the movie would be good. We got about three takers for free massagee. We were surprised that so few people showed up for something that they would normally pay $40 for, but sometimes people are a bit slow.	After the movie, we invited people back to the store as is traditional. We didn't get the 50 people that we had after Underworld, but we got quite a few. There was also a technical difficulty with food in that we didn't really have any, but people found their own amusements such as this chess game which attracted a bit of an audience.
This picture really embarassed someone, so it has been slightly modified to obscure certain details.	Some pictures just do not deserve explanation.
Sometimes all you need to have a good time is a nice gaming book and a book case to lean against. Those orange tags on the merchandise were for the Anniversary sale when a good chunk of the store was on sale, particularly products that had outstayed their welcome on our shelves.	This picture has nothing to do with Matrix, but was amusing anyway. Crookhorn claims another victim.
Vampire Black Hand Pre-Release Phoenix Games had the privilege of hosting a pre-release event for the Black Hand expansion of the Vampire: the Eternal Struggle CCG. We had over a dozen players coming from as far away as Boston. Special thanks to Todd Richter for making this event happen. Every Tuesday night at 6:00, V:tES players gather at the store for a weekly game.
Rearrange and Repair November was quite a month of moving and fixing things. We finally found the timer which controls the outside lights. The light over the garb was fixed, and most noticable, we completely rearranged the store. At some point during this process we also fixed the outside light in the back, but someone then stole the bulb. Who steals a lightbulb?
After much searching, we finally found the timing device for the outdoor lights. Bill was good enough to climb into the rafters and adjust the timer. No longer will the sun set before our lights come on. I wonder who decided that above the rafters was a good place for a timing box.	Bill and Keith plan how they will rearrange the store. They were nice enough to share with me what they were doing after they started moving the counters.
As though Bill needed a way to make a middle finger more emphatic.	They promised that everything would have a place when they were done. While I had confidence, there were some moments of concern...particularly when they went out to lunch.
It's tough to keep a store operating while people are moving your store around on you.	It takes a village to move a table.
The first Thursday Night Magic Booster Draft after the store was finished being rearranged. The rearrangement got rave reviews, especially because the gaming space was expanded quite a bit. Unfortunately, the drafts would not be big enough to need all the space until January.	The store from the front door after all was moved and cleaned.
The rearranged store.
Bill plans his attack on our broken light as Jason looks on knowingly.	Bill recieves a message directly from God through the ceiling.
Bill relaxes on top of his ladder after a job well done.	The old light fixture. You can't really see it in this picture, but there is black tar which is oozing out of the fixture. This is generally considered to be a bad sign.
Other Nifty Stuff
Wizkids puts out great games like Heroclix and Mechwarrior. They also offer great support in terms of events and prizes. However, sometimes they can be a little tricky to deal with. After our old Battlemaster (Mechwarrior) left in August we were unable to arrange a new one for four months. Wizkids sent us this promotional Counter Assault box, which we took a picture of in the trash. This image was emailed to Wizkids to show what would happen if they continued to give us trouble.	This game of Crimson Skies does not seem to be going well for Bill. BILL SMASH!!!!
Eagle Games' Attack! was split into two games, the basic game and Attack! Expansion, and they were priced at $30 each. This was a terrible mistake. The basic game is aweful. Add the expansion, and you get a pretty decent game, but who buys an expansion for a game they don't like. We played the basic game first and hated it, but I still had the exapansion, so I figured I might as well crack it open and give it a try. Sure enough, it was pretty cool. Sometimes good games overcome bad marketing.	Nothing like a Platnum Angel to get Tam excited.