The Noble Art of Demoing Games...

I popped into my FLGS yesterday in order to pick up a box of toys...unfortunately I'm not allowed to show pictures of those toys yet on pain of death but I digress...

While I was there the manager asked me if I'd run through a quick demo of Prodos Games Mutant Chronicles Resurrection game for a gentleman in the store who had expressed in interest which quickly turned into a demo for three gentlemen, lol. As I have a tendency to pour over the rulebooks for the systems that interest me I usually have a pretty decent knowledge of the rules of those systems which has meant that I get asked to demo game systems quite a lot and I've introduced a great many people to a wide variety of game systems over the years while doing so. However it's took a while to get the hang of...

For those of you who aren't aware I'm a 'Henchman' for Wyrd Games which means I do demo's and events for them in return for the odd sneak preview and some free toys and am also currently doing something similar for Prodos's Warzone system though they don't formally have a system in place for it yet (I believe they'll be called 'Doomtroopers' when an official system is created). Privateer Press and Mantic Games both have similar groups of people (called Pressgangers and Pathfinders respectively I think) and I'm guessing that other manufacturers do as well (Wizards of the Coast certainly do but I've no idea what they call themselves). Entry requirements vary for these semi-official roles but none of the ones that I'm aware of give anything that could even vaguely be called 'demo training'...

For some reason the demo classes were really popular...

Whether you're doing it 'officially', as a favour for a store owner, a friend or just because you enjoy doing it there are certain things that I've learned over the years that I'd like to share with you. I'm in no way saying that mine is the only way...it just seems to work well for me is all...

Be Prepared.
In situations such as the 'ambush demo' I mention above it's unlikely that you'll have everything you need to hand in the same way you would if you were planning a demo (either one on one or as an event) but hopefully in those situations you can scrape by with what you have to hand but if you know you're going to be demoing then having all the necessary accoutrements with you is the first stage of making the demo look professional. The actual specifics will vary from game system to game system but the basics remain the same.

Some models...
These needn't be two perfectly balanced bazillion points apocalypse scale armies in order to get your point across. I tend to have two small, characterful (and painted) forces available for the system I'm demonstrating and generally select ones that embody the style of that said system.

Generally for Malifaux I use Seamus, the Mad Hatter Vs. Lady Justice as they're two iconic Malifaux characters with simple to explain back stories and between them they cover much of the games basic mechanics. For Warzone I use Dark Legion against another force as they're the systems 'bad guys' though what I use against them varies based on what I think the prospective recipient is going to enjoy though I default to Bauhaus or Capitol most times.

Obviously painted would be best though...

That 'Good Vs. Evil' idea is a useful benchmark and works for many systems as such games tend to capture the flavour of the system in question far better than something that looks like a training exercise. Systems with starter sets are ideal as this gives you access to ready made forces that are (generally) fairly well balanced and it's also easy to point the person receiving the demo at the models you used should he be so impressed by your awesome skills that he immediately wants to buy one of everything.

Additionally, if you're demoing on behalf of a store or at an event of some kind it's worth making sure that the models you're using are available for purchase locally as nothing's more disappointing than getting all excited about something and then not being able to acquire the models instantly.

The tools of the trade...
Few things break the flow of a demo quite like spending twenty minutes looking for a measuring tape or not being able to use a models abilities because you've forgot the appropriate stat cards or templates. I'm sure most people will wait politely while you desperately search for your dice but it doesn't exactly create the impression of  professional at work, lol. Personally I have a number of small KR cases purchased from my FLGS Titan Games...

...with all the bits and pieces for the relevant game system in them including all appropriate templates and with the demo forces I'm using neatly organised inside. There are other companies that do similar cases at a variety of costs including Battlefoam amongst many others. I just happen to like the KR ones and I have a larger bag from the same company that holds two of the above mentioned cardboard carriers that goes with me to pretty much every hobby situation.

I'd also recommend actually putting things back in good order when you finish rather than having to do it later or misplacing something because you haven't done it at all, lol. For the same reason I always have a quick run through of the necessary bits and pieces because you'd be amazed how often a tape measure, set of dice or cards or even whole Malifaux crews get 'borrowed' and not returned...You'll even do it to yourself sometimes...That may seem like a lot of work but in actual fact you're saving yourself effort in the long run by knowing where everything is and being prepared. I wouldn't necessarily go as far as making yourself a check-list but I do know of people who do. Those companies whose game systems include 'Mini' rulebooks are a great help in this regard.

Some of that may seem to be in the 'stating the obvious' category but I once turned up at an event where there were two representatives of an up and coming game company (that shall remain nameless) where neither of them had bought anything with them presuming that either the other one was going to or that there would be the necessary items at the location...

The Demo Itself...
I rarely demo games using the full officially recommended playing area unless that area is small anyway (Deadzone is a good example) or where the playing area is essential for the running of the game (Dreadball or similar 'pitch' style games). In all other cases I use a smaller area (rarely more than 2' by 2') as on a larger game area you tend to get a somewhat uninteresting turn one where everyone moves towards one another and that's about it. There are some exceptions to this general rule though as games where the movement and manoeuvring is a much more important aspect of the whole game will need this area covered in more detail (Star Trek : Attack Wing and Star Wars : X-Wing spring to mind) but generally you'll want to get stuck into the action as soon as possible.

Unless you're going to be demoing 'noughts and crosses' or 'rock, paper, scissors' then there's most likely a back story involved in your game system and even with the shiny new ones this is probably quite detailed. Though an overview of the systems 'story' will help add depth to the demo there's no need to attempt to relay the entire history of the Imperium, Mantica, Malifaux or the parallel universe that the game is set in to the recipient of the demo. Most people will either take the effort to explore this aspect of the game themselves or not as the case may be and don't need the first twenty minutes of the demo to be an explanation of why that guys hat logo is a slightly different shade of green to the persons standing next to him.

"A portal has been opened to a parallel dimension where magic works, necromancy is rife and strange steampunk technology is commonplace" or "In the far future corporations have replaced countries and there careless explorations have unlocked an ancient evil.." though fairly generic and cliché will do for the most part. This is something you'll obviously have to play by ear but in my personal opinion less is more in this case and if the person having the demo really wants to know the motivations of his force then I'm sure they'll ask as you go along.

The basics will do.
Covering every single aspect of the rule-book in a half an hour demo is pretty much impossible unless the system is so mind numbingly simple that a demo was probably unnecessary in the first place.

A basic idea of what each statistic does is always a good starting point though in a demo environment you'll probably only need to be specific about Movement, Close Combat and Shooting stats as well as whatever the model uses to avoid dying (Toughness, Armour, Wounds, etc.) and any resource mechanic can be mentioned as well. Depending on the system you're demoing you can often leave talk of those aforementioned resources till after you've done a turn or two of moving towards and then shooting or beating the hell out of each other. If the resource mechanic is a fundamental part of the game (Warmachines 'Focus' for example) then you'll need to explain it's most basic uses but try to keep it to the absolute minimum.

In a recent Warzone demo (for example) after a brief overview of the game and a look at the stats I did a turn of moving and shooting without talking about resources or modifiers at all and then I introduced Resource cards and their uses on turn two as well as talking about a few additional modifiers such as terrain and cover. During that turn I deliberately ignored certain things such as elevation and a few potential advanced Actions as the players were having fun shooting the crap out of each other and another layer of complication would have just slowed everything down. When turn three was in full swing it was simple to talk about some of the background and a bit more about the system as the two recipients of the demo had grasped the basics and no longer needed any prompting so the information being relayed to them didn't detract (or distract) from the overall experience.

One of them bought a starter set after the game so it must have gone fairly well, lol.

I don't have a picture of the actual happy customer...this girl looks happy so she'll do as a proxy...

Obviously the level of experience that the demo recipient has is going to be a factor but generally I've found that a simple overview of the background followed by a basic rules run through with additional info added in on a turn by turn basis is the way to go.

Of course if any of you reading this have any other helpful tips then I'd love to hear them in the comments section.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.