UP FRONT
Darts can be addic ting
This issue's story about Arachnid's program of
inviting operators to see successful dart leagues in
operation was fun to do for two reasons . First, it's
not often that any of us in the press get to spend a lot
of time with operators listening to their praises and
complaints about the industry. And second , we
don 't often have the chance to accompany
operators visiting locations .
It was good to see operators realize that the
locations we visited were not so different from ones
they had back home and to hear them say that there
was no reason dart leagues in their locations
couldn't be as successful as the ones they saw. As it
turned out, the group of New York operators I
accompanied decided to do something that even
Sam Zammuto of Arachnid thought was unique-to
cooperate in starting a dart league. Sam quipped
that some operators in the same area don 't even
want total k to each other, let alone work together to
form a dart league.
But that makes their cooperative effort al I the
more impressive because it is unique and maybe a
model for other operators. The goal of making
money is shared by all operators, and here is a
group of operators helping each other accomplish
that.
A week after the Arachnid session on how to
play each game, I had the chance to play electronic
darts , and , you know what? It really is fun. I had
watched players during our Arachnid tour, but to
play myself was an experience. For the first time I
understood how players can get addicted. I played
with two operators and a Wico representative, and
we bordered on the obnox ious, which Sam assured
me was common among dart players. Maybe
obnoxious is not the best adjective, but excited
describes us perfectly. The important thing was, we
had fun .
I realized something else that day. Most people
really don 't know how to play an electronic dart
game. Oh , the rules are written right on the games ,
but few players take the time to read them . And this
is where an operator can help get his dart games
going . He may have to babysit the game for awhile
after placing it in a location-leading players to it
and explaining how it works . They, in turn , will teach
others , and the game will be a hit. It won 't be a waste
of time, because chances are the game will be in the
location for as long as seven or eight years, and the
more people who know how to play the better.
I love the fact that while the game requires a
certain amount of skill , it is not intimidating . No one
without experience playing pool would dare
challenge someone to a game . But you can be lucky
in darts and walk away a hero even if you have never
thrown a dart before.
So, operators , talk with your distributor to see if
he will take a group of you to Arachnid 's
enlightening session . There is absolutely no
commitment you have to make, but the evidence of
electronic-dart possibilities will make the games
hard to resist . Once you are exposed to electronic
darts, you too will be addicted .
~&FdJ
Valerie Cognevich
Editorial Director