If you're interested in the sample press releases and fliers feel free to leave a comment and I'll mail you a PDF.
First off thank you for allowing me to make these pitches to you today. Their construction was an amusing challenge. That said let’s start off with NotTetris.
NotTetris is a live version of the console puzzle game Tetris. On page 2 you can look at the design of the apparatus itself. I have every confidence that it will be easy enough to construct if necessary.
If you are unfamiliar with the rules of Tetris then please take a moment and refer to this page for the basics of Tetris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris
NotTetris will have a different set of rules, but fundamentally it will be recognizable as a Tetris-like puzzle game. I call it NotTetris simply because someone owns the intellectual property for Tetris. A more suitable name can be brainstormed if necessary. For the purpose of this slight and small project we can ignore the possible legal ramifications because the costs to pursue legal action will be much higher than any possible awards that can be won. In the worst case scenario we will be able to run this promotion at least 6-10 times before we have to answer any cease and desist notice. That said let’s consider the rules for NotTetris.
This is a team game with three players on a team. Two of the team players will randomly select a block from those available and the third player will randomly select a block when the first player has placed their block onto the board. Player one will place a block then player two then player three. Following player three then player one will place a block and so on and so forth. They do this in that order until they run out of blocks, run out of time, or if any blocks have touched the top of the frame.
This will be a timed game. I hope to either code a simple timing app or find a timing app off the shelf. The clock will be put up on a monitor so everyone can see it wind down. I would suggest that each team has 30 seconds to place a block initially. After each successive block is placed between 2-5 seconds will be removed from the team’s clock. We’ll have a floor of five seconds. So by that point I imagine things will be rather chaotic and heated. It should be intense. Of course this is theoretical and actually testing may prove these numbers off and we’ll have to adjust them accordingly.
What makes this game design special is the fact that the frame divides the board into what one might look at as they were playing the game on a console or PC. The frame rises when lines are made and the frame falls when players run out of time or if they deserve a penalty by playing out of turn or some other offense. That’s that for gameplay; the only thing left to discuss is scoring.
Player’s will get 10 points for each full line they make and they will lose 2 points for any empty spaces left on the board under the frame. Much like the timing method this scoring will have to be thoroughly playtested and any necessary adjustments will have to made to make scoring make sense. I would recommend that you have some kind of reward separate from the actual for teams that are able to fill the whole board with lines. That should be a relatively unlikely occurrence, but on the off chance it does happen it should be rewarded with something. Maybe a cheap, simple trophy or a Certificate of Achievement that can be redeemed for some drinks.
I only have two more pitches to make; I hope to make them quick. I recognize and appreciate how little free time you have every day and I’m grateful you would spend some of that precious free time reviewing these pages.
Triangle Dating
Speed Dating is common these days. You can do a quick search on google to find any number of local spots that are running one of these types of events. I think it would be great if you tried Speed Dating as an event to draw new patrons to any of your bars, but you’d only be competing with so many others and you’d have to spend real money promoting the event through expensive advertising or flyers.
But if you just change the premise of an event like Speed Dating just a little bit that might be enough to attract the attention of both the media and the internet. If you take speed dating and tweak the format just a little bit you’ll have something interesting to share with your patrons and they’ll have something interesting to share with their friends.
If you are completely familiar with paradigm of Speed Dating then you can skip to the last sentence of this paragraph. In Speed Dating you have two singles one male and female seated across from each other spending ten minutes getting to know each other. At the end of that allotted time either the male or the female changes seats to start a new “date” with a different single person. Triangle Dating turns that paradigm on its head in two fundamental ways.
Instead of a one on one experience you can have a two on one experience. Instead of one man and one woman, you can have either two men and one woman or two women and one man. A single person participating in this event can feel like they are having different types of interactions through the course of the event. This format should also feel more casual, like hanging out with a couple of prospective friends. In addition this format also adds a dash of competition to the mix. Two men vying for the attention of a single pretty woman. They’ll try hard to be impressive. The same could be said for two women vying for the attention of a single handsome man.
The second fundamental difference between Speed Dating and Triangle Dating is time. Instead of a flat ten minutes of awkward conversation, I envision these rounds lasting fifteen to twenty minutes. I say give these people time to shine and charm those sitting around them. In addition to this additional time I would also have a short fifteen to twenty minute break in between rounds. People can pick up where conversations left off and continue them until the next round begins. The pace of this event won’t be close to hectic; it will be relaxed and casual. And at the same time each participant will be able to meet many more people than they would at a more traditional singles mixer or get-together.
This sort of event will require significant lead time. I wouldn’t want you to announce the event one week and hold the event the next week and have no one show up. Press releases will have to be distributed to the local print outlets. You’ll have to use your bartenders effectively to promote the event for you. You’ll need flyers to be posted about a month in advance of the event. I imagine putting this event on the internet in as many places as you can. All told it shouldn’t be too difficult to get this event up and rolling within six weeks and following the first event it can be held monthly. Please consult the appendix for sample press releases and flyers.
Not Another Pub Quiz
Now you can just do a Pub Quiz, that's a fine draw on its own if you can capture the attention of your patrons and their friends. They can show up every week and pay a fee to answer questions for some prize to the winners at the end of the event. If you have someone good doing the questions and a decent host for the event I can see you running this type of event in seasons like a league. But that’s not going to draw out any new people to any of your bars. It certainly won’t have me driving out to the XXXXX every week because if that’s the type of event I want to attend I can just catch the Pub Quiz they hold every week at the Verdugo Lounge or at the Coffee Table Lounge. So you make it just a bit different and maybe you’ll have new blood coming through those doors.
Not Another Pub Quiz(NAPQ) is hybrid debate and talk show event most like an interactive Karaoke for debaters. Before everything starts you put up a subject/topic or issue on the plasma, participants in NAPQ will have about 20 minutes to discuss that topic amongst themselves. Then the host announces a participant’s name and asks them to speak on a subject for 5-10 minutes. Following that short extemporaneous speech or in addition to it the participant speaking may ask for input from the rest of the audience/participants. It should be rather amusing and interesting to watch people talk and interact even for a non-participant.
Sample subjects/topics or issues include:
- Kardashians. What’s up with them?
- Occupy Movement. Helping or hindering America?
- Super Bowl. Great game or totally lame?
- Lindsay Lohan. A great shame or too much fame?
- Immigrants. Make this state great or not?
- The Americana. Super-size it or despise it?
I know most people won’t be cut out for this sort of event. I imagine to start off we’d need a couple of plants or shills to break the ice and show people how this game is played. I think if I could get a hold of XXXXX he’d be pretty good at it. One of them would have to be female; hopefully one of your current bartenders could be convinced to participate. To make it easier to find the right types of players I would suggest marketing to people who used to participate in Junior Statesmen of America, Model UN, or Debate Club. One group we should focus on in particular are Toastmasters who hold monthly meetings in the area.
I’m not exactly sure how to score people’s performance in this sort of contest, but it could be as simple as who gets the most crowd approval or it could just be who talks the longest without annoying the audience. I imagine it might be fun to reward particularly interesting points by letting some people where cool hats or gold star badges. If a crowd is particularly hostile to a person’s idea maybe they can be made to wear a dunce cap. It should all be for fun and in good sport.
This type of event can easily morph into a more traditional Town Hall meeting where we can invite local politicians or their representatives to speak about whatever they’re working on. Then we can force them to endure a Q&A from their constituents. That could be some good times indeed, especially in an election year.
All told this is a type of an event that can really define one of your bars. It could be known for it and draw all sorts of people who would never deign to step through the doors without it.
In closing I hope you give careful consideration to any or all of these ideas. Please refer to my sample press releases and flyers to get a better feel for the possibilities of it all. I hope you do choose to try something to make your bars more special. I really want to have a good reason to come out to the XXXXX every once and while, but unfortunately I usually have better and nearer options. I tried Karaoke at the XXXXX last week. It was fine, but the crowd wasn’t into it. It was much better at XXXXXXXX. And since they’ve become legal in the state of California take these last two words to heart: COCKTAIL INFUSIONS.
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