Guide to Growing your Local Star Wars Armada Community

When I first started playing Start Wars Armada, I was fortunate enough to walk into a thriving community filled with people I now call my friends. Here is what I’ve learned from them.

1. Maintain a Mutually Beneficial Relationship with the Store

We want space to play and the store wants us there! New players are 100% more likely to pickup a game if there are people to play with. And customers are more likely to frequent a shop filled with the sound of laughter and dice.
Buy local. Understand that sometimes there are online deals that are too good to pass up, but we mainly buy from Games Plus.
It’s called the Friendly Local Game Store — not the Friendly Local Armada Store. 🙂 There are other groups vying for the same table space. Be polite, respectful, and appreciative to the staff.
Coordinate with the staff before hand. Every week, we check in with them to see how many tables they have for us. They typically give us 5 of their 10, but sometimes we request additional tables. And sometimes we have to tighten our belts. If there won’t be enough tables, we’re better off finding that out before we show up to play. We also try and notify the store if a table opens up due to a change in schedule.

2. Setup a Discord and Keep a Schedule

We’re all adults and we have other things we could be doing. No one likes to drive out to play only to find they’re the odd man out. A regular may shrug it off, but a new player is less likely to return. We try not to waste anyone’s time.
Players should RSVP their availability in advance. Life happens, but advanced notice of cancellations helps everyone.
Consistent scheduling, i.e. every other Saturday. Consistency helps build habitual play and avoids confusion. (That’s why television programming is consistent.) A consistent Armada schedule also helps players to plan their own schedules. Players can also coordinate their own pick-up games.

3. Prioritize New Players and Those Who Are Unable to Play Frequently

Armada isn’t the biggest community, so it’s important to grow new players. We do that by guaranteeing them games when they RSVP.
Some people are able to play less frequently. We keep them in the game as much as possible by guaranteeing them games. If a player has a long commute, guaranteeing them two games helps convince them to make the drive.
Learning games may not be super fun, but they’re necessary to grow the community. If someone is teaching the game, we try and get them a real game that day too.
Clubbing a new player 400-0 may seem like fun, but they’re less likely to return. Either go easy on new players or pair them up with other newer or more casual players. We don’t let them play Nick until we’re sure they won’t run away. 🙂
We all understand that we may have to sacrifice and only get one (or zero) games in that week. But we’re all happy to do it because more players benefits everyone.

4. Advertise

Ask the staff if you can post an advert with the group’s Discord QR code on their cork board or by their Armada section.
The staff graciously directs customers to our group whenever they show an interest in Star Wars, Armada, or war gaming in general.
Periodically mention your group on social media (this subreddit, Armada Discords or Facebook Groups). There are probably players in your area that have no idea you exist. Holding tournaments is also a great way to attract new players and grow the community.

If you follow these tips, I can’t guarantee your meta will be the world’s largest and nicest — that would be the Chicago meta — but hopefully you can come pretty close. 🙂