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founding a new council is quite simple, but also means a lot of work
)
did you ever read this text about Council Formation? here is the link:
http://www.councilofelrond.org/Council%20Formation.htm
you will soon find out, that this text is utterly out of date. also it?s
formulated rather bureaucratically. still it might serve us as a
starting point. i will point out some of the really important things:
community:
of course the most important things is to have players! that means at
least a group of >3 players, who are within a reasonable distance
(sweden is a large country, i know!).
and at least one person is needed, that considers himself as the leader
of the pack. that will be you, no doubt
do you have an overview of how many interested MECCG players there are
in sweden right now? i think i have sent you a small list of
emailaddresses once. if not, please tell me!
playing the game:
it goes without saying, that there must be chances of actually playing
the game! it?s not necessary to play tournaments (which means >5
players), at least not when you are just starting the council. have some
casual games, just as you like it. makes it easier for new players to
join, if there are any.
of course it?s fine to have at least one real tournament in a year,
which is the National Championship then.
most important: play regularly! even if there are only 2 or 3 players -
be persistent. others might join one by one ...
it?s fine to have a public location for playing. If yu have the chance
to play at the local gaming store, it?s prefect, since then you will
automatically attract new players. Of course the stores sometimes are
not willing letting you play there, since they won?t make any profit
with MECCG:
advertising the game:
there are many people out there, that have bought a lot of MECCG cards
many years ago. when ICE went bankrupt, most players also quit to play.
mostly because they just thought, this is the end. but as we know, this
was never the end, since many dedicated players are caring for the MECCG
community worldwide.
some of the once active players might easily be brought back into the
game - if the get to know, that there are still chances to play it!
here are a few advices, how we can advertise MECCG:
- make some announcements at local gamestores
- be present at gaming fairs (and don?t forget to bring some CH decks
for some instant games)
- try to get in contact with the national Tolkien Society and ask them
to support you (i might be able to help you here, since i am the
chairman of the austrian TS)
- anything else that comes to your mind
- look out for new players. That?s pretty easy done via ebay. Just check
on a weekly basis all MECCG auctions at your local ebay (given there is
one) and try to get in contact with the bidders. My experience: not one
negative answer to thousands of such messages, but hundreds of positive
ones. It takes some time, but it?s definitely worth the effort!
- don?t forget to spread a sheet of paper at as many occasions as
possible, that asks people for their emailaddresses, in case they are
interested in (re)starting MECCG.
communication:
another very important topic in various ways.
Keep an updated file with some informations of your players (at least
name, emailaddress, location). Keep some contact to all of them on a
regular basis (~monthly). Even if there is nothing very important to
tell them, it?s good for them to know, that there is still something
going on with MECCG in the country.
Be ready to act as the contactperson. You are THE man to represent MECCG
in your country! If there are any questions, you should be able to
answer them (which doesn?t mean, that you have to know the solution to
some most difficult rulesquestion. But you should be able to provide an
address, which might be able to help).
Put together an info-sheet with some hints and advices, that might help
new players, and sent them out whenever you meet a newbie.
Keep good contact to the worldwide MECCG community. This will mostly be
within the Council of Elrond. As the official representative of your
national council, you will be invited to join the COE.
homepage:
It?s nice to have a homepage. But if you have one, don?t forget to keep
it up to date. It also needs some content. If you can?t guarantee that,
it?s better to have a forum, where those who want can meet and talk
about MECCG.
It?s also possible to have a homepage, that just wants to give some
information, that there is an active national MECCG community. Most
important: provide some contact possibilities!
Also having a newsgroup is a very useful thing (see communication).
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