[MidnightLich]

Welcome to today's First Edition Friday Question, where you get a chance to answer questions that will help shape the future of First Edition. If you'd like to catch up on previous entries, here's a list of all of my previous Friday Questions:

18 SEPT 2020: What are you looking forward to in A Private Little War?
11 SEPT 2020: What old decks/themes do you want us to revisit?
4 SEP 2020: Should tactics continue to target sites on a Nor?
21 AUG 2020: Should you have to be in Ops to return fire on a Nor?
14 AUG 2020: How should we name the Excalbians?
7 AUG 2020: Which ship needs a new card?
31 JULY 2020: Which boutique expansion should we make first?
24 JULY 2020: Do you want to see Xindi introduced to 1E?
17 JULY 2020: What makes a good expansion name?
10 JULY 2020: What would make good theme packs in a Cube draft?
3 JULY 2020: What would be a good name for a Klingon?
26 JUNE 2020: Which card story needs a "do over"?
19 JUNE 2020: Which card do you most want to see added?
12 JUNE 2020: Why do you play First Edition?
5 JUNE 2020: What is 1E's biggest barrier to entry?
29 MAY 2020: What do you think of [SPOILER], a potential card from Project Londo?
22 MAY 2020: What is the worst affiliation in the game?
15 MAY 2020: Should bans be effective immediately?
8 MAY 2020: Which episode should inspire a boutique expansion?
1 MAY 2020: What was the best Star Trek gift you ever received?
24 APR 2020: How often do your dilemmas get scouted?
17 APR 2020: What do you want to know about how we work?
10 APR 2020: Should we make animated series cards?
3 APR 2020: Should we make more Tribbles/Troubles?
27 MAR 2020: Should we develop new cards?
20 MAR 2020: What regions should we focus on in the future?
13 MAR 2020: How would you feel about 1E adding extra "bits"?
6 MAR 2020: What are your favorite "almost good" S/P dilemmas?
28 FEB 2020: What are your favorite decks to play?
21 FEB 2020: Which Decipher expansion most deserves a sequel?
14 FEB 2020: Which "broken link" should be fixed first?
7 FEB 2020: What's your favorite episode of Star Trek?
31 JAN 2020: Which TOS main character needs a new card?
24 JAN 2020: What should qualify a card for the "watch list"?
17 JAN 2020: What card would you unban without changes?
10 JAN 2020: What single card would you ban to improve your game?
3 JAN 2020: What are you looking forward to in The Neutral Zone?
27 DEC 2019: How can we help you recruit new players?
20 DEC 2019: Where do you want the game to be in five years?
13 DEC 2019: Which concepts should 1E "import" from other games?
6 DEC 2019: Which couples should get a dual personnel card?
29 NOV 2019: Which old, unused 1E cards deserve some love?
22 NOV 2019: Which upcoming milestones need celebration?
15 NOV 2019: What's your favorite card image?
11 NOV 2019: What was your first 1E experience?
1 NOV 2019 What is your opinion of the "full page" policy?
25 OCT 2019: What do you want to see in a Halloween set?
18 OCT 2019: What is your favorite expansion?
11 OCT 2019: Which TNG main character needs a new card?
4 OCT 2019: Which Star Trek story needs more cards?
27 SEP 2019: How many points should [SPOILER] be worth?
20 SEP 2019: Which rules always confuse you?
13 SEP 2019: What do you think of [SPOILER]?
6 SEP 2019: Which card needs an alternate image (AI)?
30 AUG 2019: Which characteristic needs love?

Hello folks, and welcome back to this week's Friday question. Today we announced A Private Little War, the third and final expansion of the Original Series block. It features a load of new Klingon cards plus tons of other fun stuff. Check it out! But for today's question, I want to talk about what we do to recruit - or more specifically, re-recruit, players into the glory that is First Edition.

What reasons do you use / arguments do you make to re-engage older players?

This week's question comes from my roommate, Andrea Heywood-Lobban (Kamala). I was asking in a group chat for ideas for today's question, and this is what she said: "Why should someone try 1E who hasn't played in 20 years?" I thought that was a great discussion to have and would make for a great question, so I turn it all to you.

What arguments have you made that got an old friend back into the game? Or how did someone get you back into the game? What about the game and the community now draws you in, and keeps you here? In other words, where should we focus on our strengths and shore up our weaknesses to help with this sales pitch?

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend!

-crp

[VioletBlaze]

"You know that game that you probably picked up a few boosters of back in the 90's? Well you can still play it for free, and the fan-led group that continued it fixed most of the problems inherent in the game, and it's a lot of fun now! And if you want to play a better 'game', there's also 2e..."

[BCSWowbagger]

Come to think of it, I've never made an argument. I've just made it clear that I play this game a lot, that I have a lot of fun with it, and that I'm happy to teach anyone who wants to make arrangements with me for teaching (or re-teaching) the game.

Like 95% of whether I get a successful "conversion" or not is based on how consistently (and persistently) I follow up. The key is to change "sure, I'd love to try that out with you sometime" to "let's try it out at this time and place, just you and me."

Most people enjoy it. Few enjoy it enough to keep playing without a sustained friend group playing it, though. My "recruits" may eventually hit the local tournament scene, but they are always very reluctant to do so, and introducing friends to tourneys too early has turned them off sometimes. So I lose them a lot in that gap between "this was fun" and "I'm ready to be a self-sustaining player."

EDIT: Most of my "recruits" have been raw newbies. People who used to play and want to see if the game is still going tend to find this site before I find them.

[AllenGould]

Because it's a good game.

*shrug*

Same answer that works for chess.