EPGS Heroics - April 2002

EPGS Survey Results

From Bob Hranek

EPGS has made its move for 2002
EPGS is a strong gaming club and provides a great place to meet with friends each month and play your favorite games. Just in case you haven't heard yet, we have moved all EPGS meetings to Oxford Valley Mall. Its spacious 2365 ft2 Community room only costs $10 per use, but since we're now required to have Liability Insurance, the current $2 per month dues at Oxford Valley will continue there. A Calendar Year discount membership is available also, the cost depends on when you pay: $10 Jan-Mar, $8 Apr-Jun, $5 Jul-Sep, and $3 Oct-Dec. This mall has an excellent food court on its upper level as well. This move's only downside is that it's a little bit further to drive for many of us.

Always read your EPGS emails and check www.EPGS.org for the latest information.

As I promised, I've tallied up the results of all 42 survey responses I received. Not everyone answered all the questions, but here's what you did have to say and some of my general conclusions:

1) The average NUMBER of 28 responses was that EPGS meetings should have 65 people.

2) The average COST that 31 EPGS members are willing to pay is $6 per meeting.
We're definitely keeping the raffle, since 28 votes are in favor of this with none opposed.

3) EPGS average FREQUENCY turns out to be 9 months attendance per year for 31 responders.

Using the answers from 1, 2, & 3 above, I estimate the maximum EPGS can afford for a room capable of handling 65 gamers is $300 per all-day meeting. Therefore, if you're seeking to replace Oxford Valley Mall, you'll need to find at least 2000 square feet with adequate tables, chairs, lighting, heat, and A/C available every month for no more than $300 or it's not usable for EPGS.

Bob Stribula (Home 570-669-6467, stribula@erols.com) is coordinating the effort to look for a better long-term home for EPGS. Please contact him if you'd like to join the quest.

4) Our TIME factor doesn't concern members as much as I thought it would. EPGS shall remain on every 3rd Saturday, and will expand to the 1st Saturday of every even numbered month as well. Our declared Oxford Valley times are 9:30 AM to 9:30 PM. Of the 31 responses, it turns out that EPGSers would like to play until 10 PM. Since the mall doesn't really get locked down until after 10 PM, this should be fine for us. (Make sure to use the close bathrooms before they get locked promptly at 9:30 PM!)

Those players that would like to play very late must live within our earlier $300 budget when looking for a new place, since 29 responses said we'll pay less than an extra $1 for the privilege.

20 of 29 responses said they wanted email notification before every meeting, so that means 18 EPGS emails per year. There will be monthly Heroics, with the other six just being reminders.

5) LOCATION is still the hottest issue within the club. 21 of 31 responses said Oxford Valley is not too far for EPGS, so it may not be ideal, but we're OK being there for the immediate future. 17 of 30 responses said being closer to the Main Line did not matter, so we're almost divided in half on this issue. The membership is clear regarding public transit however, 25 of 31 responses don't care about it at all. Having train or bus access to any location is still a bonus, but it's not required for future EPGS venues. Military posts raised the most objections (12), followed by Churches and Game Stores (4 votes against each), with 3 votes against Malls, and 2 not liking VFWs.

6) Most members want to be able to get their own FOOD, so any location that forces us to use their catering is out. Out of 29 responses, 7 stated they must be able to get their own, 13 said they'd rather get their own, and 9 were willing to use a provided menu, with a strong emphasis on IF they considered the menu acceptable. 15 of 29 responding members want food within walking distance with the remaining 14 split evenly between "Don't care" and those who'll drive for food.

7) EPGS's ROLE has been pretty well laid out by the responses: 21 of 25 responders just want to come and play games; 26 of 27 members want EPGS to be a place for new game demos and a play testing resource; but 13 to 10 they don't want EPGS to run conventions. One additional voice suggested EPGS could run events at other conventions. Half of our 30 responders want EPGS members to gain discounts from stores we advertise for, 9 state that we should freely support game stores, and 6 of us don't care about this issue. I'll look to continue the relationship Steve Cameron started and keep you posted.

8) TOURNAMENTS are not a high priority of our members: 18 did not answer this at all, 15 of the 24 responders showed some interest in playing in a tournament, but only 6 of us expressed any desire to direct them. This will remain a low-key activity run by a few unless someone would like to step up to the plate and become an EPGS tournament director general.

9) 15 of 26 are interested in purchasing EPGS HABERDASHERY. I received interest in EPGS shirts (14), hats (3), game holders (2), emblems (2), mugs (1), magnets (1), and one vote for cafepress.com? Most responders will pay $20 for a good polo shirt, and less for a T-shirt or the other listed items. Steve Cameron is working on the shirts, so the membership's wishes are already being served.

10) We're already on track with our www.EPGS.org WEBSITE: 17 responders want universal access, 12 want some areas (particularly the membership directory) to be password protected, and only 1 vote to restrict the whole site for members only. If and when we ever gain the capability for members to update their own data on our website, then we'll implement a password scheme to handle this, but this is not in the works yet. 27 to 1, we favor getting as many other sites to link to us (and vice-versa). Other suggestions for our website include a "game-level" search for players and adding a play-by-email capability.

Games people played

Here is a nearly-complete list of the games played at the March meeting:

Axis and Allies - Pacific (AH/Hasbro)
Big City (Rio Grande)
Bohnanza - High Bohne Expansion (Amigo)
Call My Bluff (FX Schmidt)
Das Amulet (Gold Seiber)
Eurorails (Mayfair)
Flower Power (Kosmos)
Hannibal (AH)
Lord of the Rings (Parker/Hasbro)
Lord of the Rings CCG (Decipher)
Princes of Florence (Rio Grande)
Ra (Rio Grande)
Ricochet Robot (Rio Grande)
Samurai and Katana (Tilsit)
Settlers of Catan (Mayfair)
Sternenfahrer (Kosmos)
Thunder's Edge (Fantasy Flight)
Tracks to Tharsis (Bob Stribula)
Vinci (Descartes)
Vom Kap Bis Kairo (Adlung)
Wilderness War (GMT)
Wongar (Gold Seiber)
Wyatt Earp (Rio Grande)