Play Meter

tions , much is going to have to be
determined by you beforehand with
a realistic estimate of just how many
people you think you're going to be
able to draw , as well as how much
traffic your location can handle . Bally
did its tournament multi-round basis
only because of the enormity of the
project, while Philadelphia chose to
go through a three-day period , with
the finals drawn from the top daily
winners at each of five locations . The
important thing is to choose an
approach you're able to handle and
one where you don 't find yourself in
over your head or out of control.
Say , you think that you're going to
get 200 players to compete . Maybe
it's going to be best to set up seedings
or initial rounds to accommodate fifty
players a day for four days and for a
total of five hours a day. Think about
it, and come up with a "mix" that
you're comfortable with , although
this is really a personal thing since it
has to fulfill your needs and
expectations.
Now , with the players , prizes , and
tournament rounds out of the way ,
your next concern is going to be with
the games themselves . And although
not the top priority, it is this part of
your tournament that in reality will
either make it or break it. First, don't
go for the dead machine that
everyone's given up on for the past
month , thinking that if the players
know this is the game to play , you're
going to increase your revenue
before you trade it back in to the
distributor .
Go with a new machine , the
winner of the arcade, because that's
what is going to draw in the
hard -core player. In fact , the newer
the machine , the better because it's
going to be the game that's the
cleanest and probably in the best
shape compared to any of your other
equipment out on the floor. Now ,
which game to pick may also be
determin ed. once again . by your
favorite manufacturer (the one who
is giving away something or the one
who has always been good for you)
and your local distributor . If it works
to use one particular machine versus
another. fine . Although , here the
discussion can expand to cover
alternatives
Think for a moment about how
many games you want, or will need ,
to use . Once again , making sure that
whoever is competing will be doing
so on each and every game that
everyone is going to have to play . If,
you only have ten machines to begin
with, tying up two , three , or even
four machines for an extended
period of time , may just be too much
for you . But what if you have the
space to bring in some new pieces
from the distributor especially for the
PLAY METER , M ay, 1978
59