This is the same congress that worked to impeach Trump. Do you really think they're going to do something Trump actually wants?
Depends on what their donors want, really. Democrats in Congress haven't exactly been the #Resistance figures they purport to be and have voted in favor of Trump's agenda numerous times (largely where Democratic donors and Republican donors have aligned goals). And it is in line with neoliberalism to break an aspect of the public sector so that the private market can "fix" it. It's literally McKinsey's claim to fame and that's who current national darling Andrew Cuomo has tapped to develop his "Trump-proof" economic reopening plan for New York so it's not like McKinsey and their tactics aren't still valued by Democratic politicians. I wouldn't say never when it comes to Democrats going along with Republican projects to chip away at public services to enrich private businesses. But that's a tangent for another day.
Even if LGSs have shipping, this pandemic will still be the death of most of them regardless. Tens of millions are unemployed in America alone, discretionary spending is going to be way down through Q2 and Q3 at least. I saw an article this morning about luxury brands in a mild panic because of it. MtG isn't quite Cartier or Lexus, but it is a luxury product and sales are just going to be down. WotC likely has in depth demographic data about its consumers, so they may have a more accurate idea of how much of its base is economically disadvantaged by the pandemic, but I would expect it to be a significant portion. Hell, I still have my job but I'm not buying anything from Ikoria/Commander for the time being because I wouldn't be able to play anyway.
It remains to be seen how much the damage will be, but even a 5-10% dip could be a disaster for many LGSs. I'm not sure how analogous it is, but I used to manage in hotels and restaurants and not a one of them could have survived more than a few months of 5-10% decreases in sales (for reference, a decent average profit margin for restaurants is 3-5% and hotels 6-14% give or take though much higher outliers exist for both). I don't imagine LGSs have profit margins much higher than that, but somebody with more experience can feel free to correct me.
I took a dangerous gamble a few weeks ago by supporting my LGSs through their e-commerce websites in the prospect that they might be able to bounce back from this pandemic. It's already gotten to a point where I'm already starting to run out of singles to purchase from them for some decks I've been trying to complete, one of which is for a friend of mine that I won't know If I'll ever see again though I have his e-mail address to contact him. I was also planning on purchasing singles for Ikoria and Commander 2020 though thankfully there wasn't very much I was interested in given the current circumstances. One of the LGSs I normally go to on Friday nights is temporarily closed even though it's eBay store is still open while the other that I go to on Saturdays is still open for curb-side pickup and mail deliveries. Luckily I didn't spend my $1,200 Stimulus Check on the singles I've already ordered from my LGSs since I'm saving it for essential items as I've only spent $300 on the stuff I needed thus far. So my financial situation right now is pretty stable for the most part especially since my parents make more money than I do living in the same household.
I still have my job working at a grocery store chain for 17 years as a sacker / utility worker making $200 every two weeks plus with hazard pay I'm getting extra income. I only work 5 days a week during a 4 hour shift while I'm now stuck on cleaning duty and sometimes carts whenever I get the opportunity. It's been pretty rough compared to what I'm used to doing which is sacking but the set schedule I've acquired for myself without having to work during the weekends has been a real blessing for me that I'm thankful for. I don't get to socialize with my co-workers as much as I did when I used to go to my LGSs during the weekends but that's to be expected I guess. The weird thing about my LGS experience leading up to the pandemic is that despite all the negativity surrounding the culture that everyone's talked about for the last 5 years is that I didn't feel a real sense of closure like I did when I quit Yu-Gi-Oh! back in 2004. There's just something about the community that you don't get from Digital that will be deeply missed similar to how I felt when North American Amusement Arcades went out of business in the late 90's and early to mid 2000's. Sure there's Dave & Busters but it's not the same.
Maybe I'm just getting old as kids these days have already decided the fate of the LGS by going digital exclusively. I wouldn't be surprised at this point yet it's sad just thinking about the positive aspects of the LGS experience that they've already chosen to miss out on. Every generation blames the one before after all so I guess that's to be expected. I fear a Post COVID-19 society where social gatherings become extinct and self isolation will forever be the new normal regardless of whether or not If a vaccine is found. It almost feels as though this pandemic was a ploy to push older millennials into a digital space because the younger millennials don't find the positive aspects of the LGS experience let alone social gatherings for that matter all the worth while. They were raised under a different mindset compared to how I was raised growing up as a young teenager because society didn't treat them as fairly in regards to what goes on in pop culture. The Internet has made that extremely difficult in some ways compared to how it was with Cable Television's draw of being able to captivate audiences better. Something about this pandemic still makes me feel uncomfortable.
What people don't realize about the Coronavirus Pandemic is whether or not Local Game Stores (LGSs) will have the sufficient funds from the government to help weather the storm they're in. There's a lot of big businesses who are trying to profit off of this pandemic by siphoning money they don't really need that could've gone to Local Game Stores (LGSs) who are already financially struggling. Then of course there's the issue with landlords and having to constantly pay rent at a time when most Local Game Stores (LGSs) are unable to stay open due to the pandemic. If you're a Local Game Store (LGS) owner, forced to close your business temporarily, and you have a lease on your property then the money you owe your landlord isn't going to go away. It's only going to accumulate the more the lock down lasts especially when it comes to rent. So these owners are left with only two choices: Either they stay open to continue paying their employees; or they close temporarily in which their employees don't receive pay just to open back up again to pay rent while owing their landlord money they don't have. Thus the owners are forced to file for bankruptcy and liquidate.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Well, some places have started to open up after the nationwide shelter in place. Much of Georgia and some of Florida opened this past weekend and, according to an interview with the Mayor of Las Vegas, that city’s ready to re-open. Meanwhile, we here in Illinois will see some relaxing of the shelter order whilst in Virginia, everything remains closed until mid-June. However, due to the nature of the game store model prior to the national shelter in place, most stores will see significant changes in their business model once their state lifts the shutdown order. This is due to the reliance of most game stores on in-store play (I have seen estimates of around 80% and higher) to drive an extensive amount of store traffic and sales. After the shutdown ends, the game industry will see a significant change in that business model, at least for the next year.
Case in point the Pokemon Pre-release for the Sword and Shield Rebel Strike booster set scheduled for the past week. Unless your store is located in one of the areas that is not practicing social distancing, you were not running a pre-release for the set this week (see “Pokemon Shuts Down Organized Play”).
If you check DCI Reporter (which most of us have had no reason to do since WOTC canceled all events through mid-May, you will notice that all events you had scheduled through mid-May have vanished from your schedule and the pre-release events have all disappeared as well. Instead, the only option offered is to run a Magic Casual Pre-release: Ikoria At-home Prerelease (see “WotC Adds Coronavirus Accommodations for ‘Ikoria’ Prereleases”). Stores can sell customers Ikoria Pre-release Packs and Commander Decks (although, according to my distributor, the main allocation of Commander Decks will be delayed, see “Half the ‘Commander’ Decks for ‘Ikoria’ Delayed”; deck displays allocated for the prerelease weekend should arrive on time, but not those stores ordered for regular release), but they do not get the excitement of having customers in the store opening booster packs and excitedly exclaiming over the cards that they pulled. Of course, since we have had people on YouTube opening boxes and cracking packs of Ikoria for at least a week now, and spoiler lists have appeared since early this month, any surprise over cards in the set has long dissipated, with only the excitement of players opening their own packs and seeing what they get remaining. (There is a growing body of evidence that indicates giving product early to social media "influencers" has little to no impact on subsequent sales or consumer behavior, but that is a topic for another column.)
Konami has also canceled all of their events through mid-May (see "’Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’ Printer Shuts Down") and is allowing stores to cancel or reduce orders on the pre-release for their next set of Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Given that so many stores base their model around events and in-store play, it is hard to see how that model continues given the new environment, at least for the estimated year it takes to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Given the traditional design of tournaments, especially card tournaments, for the players to sit directly across the table from each other in order to allow a clear view of the opponent’s cards, it is hard to see how maintaining a safe distance from one another happens. I have some ideas on this and would be interested in hearing from anyone with thoughts on how to accomplish it. Email me at Castleperilousgames@gmail.com with your thoughts.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
So unless quarantine laws are different in each state / province, ALL Local Game Store (LGS) owners are already breaking the law just for operating non-essential businesses. In other words they're not legally allowed to sell their products to customers with an online presence via e-commerce, mail deliveries, and curb-side pickup be damned. If they can't stay in business because the "stay at home" order tells them not to then they literally have no choice but to liquidate everything they have because they're no longer able to sell.
Then the question becomes how are they going to liquidate their inventory If they're not even allowed to physically enter their store? The product HAS to go somewhere. It can't just be sitting around collecting dust while they wait until they can open shop again just to pay off small business loans / rent they can't even owe to their landlord only for them to go bankrupt permanently. Since the U.S. Government can't even help fund these businesses with the loans necessary to pay off their landlord they're already screwed either way.
I would argue that gaming is critically essential (for mental health), as much as, if not more so than access to liquor stores which literally sell a harmful carcinogenic substance that only increases the odds of illness and premature death, and have remained open (at least in Canada) throughout this entire ordeal. Even SQDC (weed) stores in Quebec are classified as an "essential" service. How ironic for something which was illegal less than two years ago!
Case in point: Humanity is best defined by the games we play, and more accurately by how we play them.
Life is full of: players, competition, adversaries, teams, zones (each with their own sets of rules), cheaters, resources, trade, timing restrictions, winners, and losers.
In essence, gaming is in our nature, everywhere in society, and an integral part of our very existence.
So unless quarantine laws are different in each state / province, ALL Local Game Store (LGS) owners are already breaking the law just for operating non-essential businesses. In other words they're not legally allowed to sell their products to customers with an online presence via e-commerce, mail deliveries, and curb-side pickup be damned. If they can't stay in business because the "stay at home" order tells them not to then they literally have no choice but to liquidate everything they have because they're no longer able to sell.
Then the question becomes how are they going to liquidate their inventory If they're not even allowed to physically enter their store? The product HAS to go somewhere. It can't just be sitting around collecting dust while they wait until they can open shop again just to pay off small business loans / rent they can't even owe to their landlord only for them to go bankrupt permanently. Since the U.S. Government can't even help fund these businesses with the loans necessary to pay off their landlord they're already screwed either way.
I would argue that gaming is critically essential (for mental health), as much as, if not more so than access to liquor stores which literally sell a harmful carcinogenic substance that only increases the odds of illness and premature death, and have remained open (at least in Canada) throughout this entire ordeal. Even SQDC (weed) stores in Quebec are classified as an "essential" service. How ironic for something which was illegal less than two years ago!
Case in point: Humanity is best defined by the games we play, and more accurately by how we play them.
Life is full of: players, competition, adversaries, teams, zones (each with their own sets of rules), cheaters, resources, trade, timing restrictions, winners, and losers.
In essence, gaming is in our nature, everywhere in society, and an integral part of our very existence.
Alcohol and marijuana are deemed essential because of their medical implications (alcoholic withdrawals and medical marijuana, essentially) and the concerns that closing those stores would result in people going to hospitals when they otherwise wouldn't have. I'm less convinced on pot stores being essential when I think online orders would suffice (alcohol I get because homeless and impoverished populations tend to have higher rates of alcoholism and they are unlikely to have access to the means of online delivery), but I at least understand why it's deemed essential.
Your assertion that gaming is essential (if not more essential than booze or pot) was a valiant effort, but ultimately unconvincing from a public health standpoint. My organization literally has gaming programs for kids to promote better mental health and I'm still unconvinced. There are ways to utilize gaming in a covid-safe way that will still benefit mental health, and because those options readily exist, gaming stores (which would pose a risk to infection rates, one that would need to be weighed against potential benefits) really just can't be justified as essential. When mental health services facilities themselves are closing physical locations and delivering mental health supports in other ways, I'm not sure gaming stores have a leg to stand on.
Seems like a lot of people already have dystopian viewpoints of what a post COVID-19 world will look like. You're forgetting that the vast majority of the human race has a normalcy bias where they want to continue to do things that feel natural to them. We're creatures of habit after all. That being said as far as the future of the Local Game Store (LGS) is concerned it seems as though there's this idea of turning Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games with MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokémon TCG into e-Sports which defeats the purpose of owning tons of overhead and play space for people to play when they can just play online at home. You have to understand that not everyone prefers to play digitally regardless of the repercussions of this virus as there will always be a need for social gatherings. Acting like it no longer has a place in a post COVID-19 world is dehumanizing even with clinically proven treatments and vaccinations.
I think most people are waking up to the reality of just how fragile the world really is and how a global crisis or natural disaster can change peoples' lives forever in an instant. Guess it also proves just how predatory the Secondary Market for a lot of Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games really are and why it should potentially be branded as an illegal form of gambling especially for minors. The problem is that there really hasn't been a strong enough case against the whole pay-to-win loot crate issue surrounding Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games where most politicians only go after Video Games instead. They don't have enough information on the issue itself to really tackle it head on as it will probably be years before something is actually done. The bigger issue right now is how we get things remotely normal after the pandemic as well as trying to ease tensions with China because of what has already transpired.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Guess it also proves just how predatory the Secondary Market for a lot of Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games really are
They haven't cornered the market on "predatory". Media and politicians are the worst. Their true colors are showing at this time.
Paper Magic will survive. People are going to get back together, its human nature. It will suffer a contraction but it will still be there. As bad as elements in Humanity are at times there is even greater good that comes from it. People have and will always make a difference. Its up to us to make that difference and make that difference for what is right. Wait and see, my post will likely get attacked for being positive, or being too naive, or blah blah blah. Hang in there my friend.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
So I recently looked into what Wizards of the Coast has been doing with FNM @ Home events and what concerns me the most about this is that there's no actual paid entry fee to help support Local Game Stores (LGSs) to stay in business even though they can set up online communities through Discord, WhatsApp, and Facebook to help run these events. Also I don't think it's right for Wizards of the Coast to sweep non-WPN stores under the rug by not allowing them to sell Mystery Booster products and singles to stay afloat.
If anything I think the "stay at home" order is making it more difficult for people to sell their MTG collections to LGSs especially since they can only buylist cards through the mail and it has to go through some kind of appraisal by the LGS before you get your money back from it. If Wizards of the Coast hadn't got rid of the MSRP for MTG products by bending the knee to Amazon then there's a good chance that LGS owners wouldn't of been forced to price gouge the Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition products in order to stay in business.
This was a deliberate move on Wizards of the Coast's part to make LGSs look bad compared to big box retailers like Walmart and Target as well as online retailers with Amazon being the monopoly they are. All it took was for a Black Swan Event like COVID-19 to occur by amplifying Wizards of the Coast's attempt to do away with LGSs for good so they can continue to focus more on Arena and MTGO despite what Mark Rosewater says. As mentioned earlier, 2020 has been a year where corporations and businesses are really showing their true colors and Wizards of the Coast is no exception.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
So I recently looked into what Wizards of the Coast has been doing with FNM @ Home events and what concerns me the most about this is that there's no actual paid entry fee to help support Local Game Stores (LGSs) to stay in business even though they can set up online communities through Discord, WhatsApp, and Facebook to help run these events. Also I don't think it's right for Wizards of the Coast to sweep non-WPN stores under the rug by not allowing them to sell Mystery Booster products and singles to stay afloat.
This is the exact reason why my WPN store is not taking part in the FNM@Home events. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed, but I fully understand why they don't want to do it and it helps cut the sting a bit when all the prizes are cosmetic anyways (I refuse to spend money on MTGA cosmetics).
If anything I think the "stay at home" order is making it more difficult for people to sell their MTG collections to LGSs especially since they can only buylist cards through the mail and it has to go through some kind of appraisal by the LGS before you get your money back from it. If Wizards of the Coast hadn't got rid of the MSRP for MTG products by bending the knee to Amazon then there's a good chance that LGS owners wouldn't of been forced to price gouge the Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition products in order to stay in business.
I don't agree with the first part of that comment. LGSes have greater overhead so their typical offerings for card X will be on the low end or even lower. The advantage is you can easily haggle higher prices or whatever to negotiate higher premiums. Sellers have all sorts of other avenues to sell of their cards via eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, or online merchants. These avenues each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Can't argue the last point.
This was a deliberate move on Wizards of the Coast's part to make LGSs look bad compared to big box retailers like Walmart and Target as well as online retailers with Amazon being the monopoly they are. All it took was for a Black Swan Event like COVID-19 to occur by amplifying Wizards of the Coast's attempt to do away with LGSs for good so they can continue to focus more on Arena and MTGO despite what Mark Rosewater says. As mentioned earlier, 2020 has been a year where corporations and businesses are really showing their true colors and Wizards of the Coast is no exception.
Well... yes and no. Paper is too much of a cash cow to completely do away with the format. I don't believe that MTGA and MTGO are where they need to be to completely get rid of paper. For WotC/Hasbro, this is more like icing on a cake, not the cake itself.
To understand where MTG might be headed, compare the My Little Pony, Transformers, D&D, Nerf, and the recent Ikoria Godzilla cards with the hundreds of Monopoly IP variations introduced since Hasbro bought Parker Bros. Not counting the war time versions, Monopoly really only had two significant versions for sale. Looking at the list, it appears that Hasbro has introduced something on the order of 50 (my calculations may be off) different versions of the game each year since acquiring the IP. There are only a handful or two of digital versions of the game. This is not counting the Monopoly licensing such as for McDonalds and the weird city variations.
MTG isn't going to die, but we are seeing a (horrendous) transformation into something Monopoly-Like by Hasbro as long as Hasbro controls WotC. It doesn't seem like the Planeswalkers thing is working out like how Hasbro wants it to, so we're going to see more crossover marketing that will possibly expand into something making Magic barely recognizable. Every time I think about what Hasbro seems to be pushing onto WotC, I'm just reminded of the merchandising scene from Space Balls. "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the game is made. Magic-the T-shirt, Magic-the Coloring Book, Maagic-the Lunch box, Magic-the Breakfast Cereal, Magic-the Flame Thrower. The kids love this one. And last but not least, Jace the doll."
I believe that WotC is treating LGSes like garbage but it's because big box stores and Amazon probably offer better return on the volume. LGSes require a certain amount of support whereas big box stores just want you to hand them product en-masse. If WotC is given any opportunity to cut costs, you can bank they'll do it.
Following up on last week’s column on what sort of changes we can expect to see in organized play over the next year or so, it looks as if, much like with Magic, we will not see any in-store tournaments from Konami until sometime in June. Also much like WOTC’s push to get players to participate in Friday Night Magic on Arena and encouraging stores to run their own tournaments on Arena, Konami is now offering stores the opportunity to sanction Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments on assorted gaming platforms, and instead of offering digital awards for participating, recommending that stores charge for the events and offer OTS promo packs as prizing, with the participants receiving the packs via whatever delivery method the store is currently using, or holding them for the players until the store opens back up. Record-keeping would be a bit of a hassle but for stores with a heavy investment in Yu-Gi-Oh! it might prove worthwhile.
After I asked in last week’s column for some thoughts from stores as to how the nature of organized play and game store retailing might change in the time of COVID-19, I received some thoughtful responses which I post here with the permission of the authors. This week, the response from ComicReaders in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
We sell comics, graphic novels, board games, CCGS, etc and have a game room that comfortably sits 48 people. We have been closed to the general public since March 23. We've been doing orders by phone, email, and Facebook and offering curb-side pick-up since then. We stopped holding events in the store on March 16, but even the week before attendance was down. Our provincial government has a plan to "re-open Saskatchewan" in May. Certain retail stores (we are included in that list) can reopen to the public starting May 19 but there are various restrictions. So that is where we are at the moment and where we expect to be through to the end of May.
I expect we won't be allowed to have in-store events when we re-open on May 19. Certain guidelines, I think, won't make that possible:
Two-meter distancing between people in the store
A maximum of 10 people in the store at one time
I also think even though we will be open there won't be a sudden increase in renewed interest in playing games at the store. The pandemic won't be over. Our numbers of active cases have decreased but each day there are still a handful of new active cases in the province. I think people are going to be very cautious.
We are fortunate that we have a relatively large store. We are currently in the process of redesigning our floor plan in order to allow 2 meters of space between each set of racks. We are moving some of our product into the game room because I don't think we're going to need that gaming space until at least July.
My overall concern about in-store gaming is how long before people are comfortable returning. I'm thinking it will be low numbers throughout the summer at least. Tournament fees, product purchases of CCGS and supplies. Not having that in the store is going to hurt. I'm not sure yet how to replace those lost sales.
I really think the release of Ikoria and Commander 2020 will be the litmus test for how heavily the pandemic has affected my Magic: The Gathering community. I've had inquiries and have taken pre-orders, so I'm optimistic.
For Dragon Ball Super, Yu-Gi-Oh, Cardfight Vanguard, Pokemon and Final Fantasy, sales have dropped significantly. Zero sales for Final Fantasy. It's a 70 - 90% decrease for the others depending on the game.
Changes to the model in the future:
Communication to the gaming community about regional pandemic guidelines and restrictions and how that impacts in-store play.
Communication to the gaming community about safe gaming in the store, if and when we are allowed to have events in the store. Surfaces wiped down. Hand-wash stations. No handling of each other’s gaming materials. No trade binders.
I think miniature games are poised to return when allowed because players don't handle each other’s materials and distance between players is not an issue. Card games are going to be tougher. We'll do some tests around safe distance between players in regards to readability of cards, etc.
Engage with your communities even if they are temporarily or permanently shifted to online versions of their games.
Next week, comments from Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs Ohio and the Chicago Board Game Café in, well, Chicago Illinois, as well as any other comments I receive. If you have comments on how you are adapting or how you see the future of organized play and game retail in general, I would be glad to received them at castleperilousgames@gmail.com.
I'm not sure just how strict the guidelines will be for Local Game Stores (LGSs) attempting to re-open their businesses back up during the pandemic though I think it will vary based on state laws and city / province regulations. For example, one of the Local Game Stores (LGSs) in my area that I go to on Saturdays is doing a limited re-opening of their store. In short the retail area and limited amount of gaming space will be available on May 15th. At the time I'm posting this I don't know the full details as that will be discussed later. As for the other Local Game Store I go to on Friday nights which is also primarily a Comic Book Shop, they recently reported that they'll be opening back up on May 15th since they got word from Diamond Comic Distributors that they'll be shipping comic books for them to sell on May 20th. They did warn that dramatic changes can happen without warning since a pandemic has its own way of doing things.
I was a bit shocked but not surprised that most of Magic: the Gathering's competitors aside from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon TCG are struggling financially in terms of sales which went down by 70-90%. Another big reason for this aside from the quarantine is due to the fact that most Local Game Store's don't have as much inventory for these card games as the risk of purchasing singles and flipping these cards for money / store credit isn't worth the reward. The LGS owners and employees don't think these games will stand the test of time especially If you look at the history of discontinued Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games over the last couple decades. It creates a situation for other LGSs to cater to these niche card games that their competition normally doesn't provide for their customers and community.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Anybody have info / anecdotes about LGSs in Japan? In-person tournament culture is very strong over there. I'm interested in seeing how different regions with varying mixes of regulations, outbreak progression, and cultural / personality traits react and develop in the coming months.
Anybody have info / anecdotes about LGSs in Japan? In-person tournament culture is very strong over there. I'm interested in seeing how different regions with varying mixes of regulations, outbreak progression, and cultural / personality traits react and develop in the coming months.
Based on my understanding it seems as though they're trying to resolve the face-to-face interactions of In-Store Play at LGSs with external webcams / phones / tablets attached to stands with internet connection and access to Discord for communication. While it would be more convenient as Online Card Games like Hearthstone and Shadowverse, the companies behind these Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are more worried about losing Paper sales to Digital due to the pandemic since the profit margins are much lower. Porting over Paper to Digital would take months If not longer especially when it comes to translating cards from Japanese to English or vice-versa.
The problem is that the Online counterparts for these Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are too far behind where the companies behind these games make most of their profits from offline sales as they didn't expect a Black Swan Event of this magnitude to completely disrupt their business model the way it has. So far MTG and Pokémon TCG are the only Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games that have a dedicated online platform as opposed to Yu-Gi-Oh! where Konami recently discontinued their online platform for Duel Links. So far I haven't heard any announcements as to whether If these games will have an eSports presence as far as sanctioned Organized Play and Organized Events go.
So for those of you who don't know what a Black Swan Event is, it's an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black Swan Events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight. So it's always important to assume a Black Swan Event is a possibility, whatever it may be, and to plan accordingly. Nassim Nicholas Taleb went into more detail on this subject matter in his 2007 book, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable". Other examples of Black Swan Events include 9/11, the 2008 Great Recession, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, and Brexit.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The latest ICv2 article talks about the future of In-Store Organized Play, the Local Game Store (LGS) model that comes along with it, and how the bankruptcy of J. C. Penney might tie into all of this:
One more email received on my question a couple of weeks ago regarding what is going to happen with in-store Organized Play and the future of the OP game store model, this one from Eric Garneau, head of Games and Retail at the Chicago Board Game Café. "I would really love Wizards of the Coast to open up Arena card pools for Ikoria over prerelease weekend, so stores could run a social distancing-era tournament with people building decks out of cards they pulled in physical prerelease packs. In my head, on prerelease Friday I could drive around Chicago like some kind of Magic: The Gathering Santa Claus, bringing people the physical product they preordered, and then running a remote event using those same cards that night. It feels like the functionality should already exist in Arena; it's just if WotC would be cool with it. I know this idea has been expressed on the WPN Facebook group and they said they would look into it.
Meanwhile at the FLGS, most stores reported doing very good sales with Magic: The Gathering – Ikoria Lair of the Behemoths this past weekend, with a number saying their sales hit a typical pre-COVID-19 sales weekend, and a number of stores that had recently come out from under quarantine seeing what they said were sales comparable to Black Friday, even with no in-store play (I also did hear of a few stores running in-store tournaments but most said they canceled everything). A major reason given was players having played with the digital cards on Arena now wanted to get copies of the physical cards in their hands. How were your release weekend sales? Let me know at castleperilousgames@gmail.com.
And then, by my count, at least three major retailers have declared bankruptcy since most states shut down for quarantine last March: J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, and just last Friday, J. C. Penney. However, it would appear that the primary reason for the bankruptcy declaration was not the closure, although the drop-off in sales there did not help matters any. Rather it was the same thing that pushed Toys 'R' Us into filing for bankruptcy back in 2018 (see "Toys 'R' Us Closing All US and UK Stores"): a reliance on the private equity method of funding to pull a company through.
Although publicly traded, shareholders with enough stock in the company can control it, and with a publicly traded corporation, someone can control it with a surprisingly small amount of stock ownership (the controllers of JC Penny did so while only owning about 8% of the stock), can direct the actions of the corporation, since the rest of ownership is too diffused for the other stockholders to exert much influence on the corporation's actions. In case of TRU, J. Crew and Neiman Marcus, private equity firms borrowed against the value of the company to buy all of the outstanding stock in the company, taking them from publicly traded corporations to privately held ones that now held all of the debt that the private equity firm had taken on to purchase them. Ideally then, the private equity firm puts in new management to turn the company around, moving it towards profitability and using those profits to pay down the debt before selling the company at a profit 2-3 years later with a target ROI of about 25%. While the majority of private equity firms do just that, a few fail and those are the ones that make headlines as their failures usually lead to bankruptcy and a significant amount of media attention.
I know this probably sounds crazy to think about but what If the over reliance of private equity funds to pull companies like Toys R Us and J. C. Penney out of bankruptcy is expected to happen with Hasbro? Remember Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast and the reason why there's been a severe lack of quality control lately when it comes to selling new MTG products is because they're trying to milk as much money as possible before reaching their contractual obligation with the parent company they work alongside with. In other words Hasbro is taking advantage of the Toy Industry completely collapsing on itself so that they can become more financially stable as a company long-term. Throwing Wizards of the Coast under the rug is one of their last obligations before pondering how their business model will inevitably change in the near future.
So in this hypothetical scenario, it's going to force Wizards of the Coast to officially discontinue Paper Magic since they no longer have the resources they had when they worked with Hasbro since 1998. Without Hasbro it's going to be a lot harder to get Arena and MTGO to be good enough to replace Paper Magic that appeals to both casual and competitive players alike. I think it will expose a lot of vulnerabilities with Wizards of the Coast as a company that people are going to try to exploit that they previously weren't able to with Hasbro backing them up beforehand. For example, they could be more vulnerable to class action lawsuits that Hasbro's lawyers and attorneys would've effectively prevented these federal cases from going forward. Wizards of the Coast may be forced to furlough or layoff their employees because they don't have the financial backing of Hasbro to help sustain themselves further.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Well, this seems like it went way off-topic.
Hey, I don't live in the USA, I live in Australia, we might even be able to do instore events in about 3 weeks when our lockdown fully ends (Provided this partial unlock goes well).
I am trying to work out how I am going to decide to obtain Ikoria. I want paper cards for my Peseant Cube, normally I just get the required cards from drafting for a few weeks but I have no paper drafts available. Then due to living in the middle of nowhere shipping costs a ton so if there is an online order we typically collect multiple peoples orders together to get what we need.
So I recently went on one of my LGSs main websites and found out that even though they have events scheduled there's a strong possibility that they may get suspended or delayed depending on what the new guidelines for Phase 2 of re-opening the economy from COVID-19 will look like. I was hoping to get more information about the current In-Store Play suspension set by Wizards of the Coast which I would've assumed that ALL LGSs would've followed by now. It's not a gaming company's responsibility to tell people whether or not they can casually play MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokémon TCG at their LGS when it's something that should be enforced by LGS owners and employees. Perhaps the reason why they didn't enforce this for players not attending Organized Play events is possibly due to not wanting to deal with the LGS business model any longer and are probably looking to liquidate their inventory.
If they care enough about their local community in the hopes that they'll come back when the quarantine is over then I don't see them liquidating their inventory and filing for bankruptcy. Given the unpredictability of this virus it's really hard to say just how long they'll be able to hold out cause If it's 12-18 months without a treatment or vaccine then there's no way they're going to be able to weather this storm even though they're currently allowed to be open for business. Now If a second outbreak of COVID-19 occurs in the near future then I'd really hate to see non-essential businesses being forced to close back down again after what we've already been through these past couple of months. This would also involve the U.S. Government passing another Stimulus Package to help keep them in business with a second round of Stimulus Checks in the mail.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Now If a second outbreak of COVID-19 occurs in the near future then I'd really hate to see non-essential businesses being forced to close back down again after what we've already been through these past couple of months.
For many businesses, the cost of a "false dawn" reopening where they close again in 2-4 months may wind up worse than if they'd just remained closed. That's at least true in Canada, many of my friends' businesses are remaining closed even though early reopenings have already begun because a second closure/reopening cycle would ruin them.
A second wave at this point is virtually inevitable, given what we've already seen in places that reopened, if it even really goes away before that. We'll likely see a small surge in cases throughout the summer because of these ill-advised reopens and then the presumptive second wave in September-November somewhere. I mean, we had over 100,000 new cases just today (half from just the US, Russia, and Brazil) and I think this week saw the record for largest single-day jumps in cases broken twice (the 20th and today - both over 105,000 new cases) so it's not like this is even really calmed down significantly.
Reopened stores are all but guaranteed to be shut down once more when the reopen results in a surge of cases.
This would also involve the U.S. Government passing another Stimulus Package to help keep them in business with a second round of Stimulus Checks in the mail.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Best of luck, the US government seems allergic to actually supporting working class people and small businesses - especially when compared to elsewhere. I have 75% of my employees' salaries covered in addition to $2000/month for four months direct to my staff members who had reduced hours from the closures, it's made it very easy to justify safely remaining closed for all of our in-person work and enabled us to be supported through contracts drying up. The federal government in the US could barely be arsed to toss people $1200 and the stimulus packages probably won't save small businesses.
Small businesses like LGSes in the States? They won't receive the help they need, and many will die off because of it.
Small businesses like LGSes in the States? They won't receive the help they need, and many will die off because of it.
Thinking about that led to me wondering If a more sustainable method of In-Store Play is needed that would help ease the burden of having to support Local Game Stores (LGSs) where the profit margins to keep themselves in business through Organized Play events for MTG and other Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are severely low. I remember hearing rumors about GameStop and Target trying to cash in on "selling" the LGS experience however my biggest concern for this is that it would be too corporate based on how big box retailers are especially Walmart.
GameStop is already going the way of Blockbuster but mainly due to their lack of good public relations with their customers where as with Blockbuster it was Netflix and Redbox that ultimately did them in. I remember Toys R Us used to run Organized Play events for Pokémon TCG back when Wizards of the Coast used to own the rights for it though I'm not sure If that was the same case for Yu-Gi-Oh! during the late 90's and early 2000's. I didn't get into Pokémon TCG until the late 2000's though I've been itching to get back into it at my LGS with Pokémon Sword & Shield now available on the Switch.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Be prepared for a massive amount of bankruptcies.
An LGS is too small of business for the government to care about. If a business was making less then a million a year I highly doubt it got any money from the PPP in the United States. I don't have any good news or suggestions for you on this. Best case scenario is online orders sustain the business until it can re-open more. Or it closes forever. Maybe someone else buys the stores and creates a new store there.
Also things are going to start to get wild soon. The PPP program in the USA was only good for 8 weeks of pay for a company. That's going to be over 2nd week of June for a lot of places.
This is a fair, and realistic, point. We can talk about what the American government is doing to support small businesses and what else they *could* be doing, but at the end of the day they haven'r delivered real supports. Whether it's a lack of political will, a fixation on their donor class supporters, corruption, a lack of perspective, or a failure of priorities (or any combination of those and others), at the end of the day it's not happening an won't for the foreseeable future. So the consequence will be continued business closures, including many LGSes.
I don't know what can realistically be done, aside from buying what you can and supporting your LGS with your money, but a huge number of people are out of work and struggling for food/shelter so it's not like an LGS is top priority for them. I guess there's always contacting your state and local representatives, for whatever good that might do. Some states might be supporting small businesses somehow or could, I'm not sure if that's going on in America but Canadian provinces are putting some supports into action themselves.
I don't mean to sound preachy here but I've recently come to the realization that we REALLY need to stop living in a material mindset and more on an eternal mindset when it comes to how we view the world and our own personal environment because If we don't then we end up destroying ourselves through the excessive monetization of our own selfish gaming hobbies that's been a HUGE burden to LGS owners and employees who are really just looking for money to retire on instead of providing a lifestyle for everyone else at the expense of their own misery. A lot of times passion gets in the way of what people truly want in life where they don't often think of the risks they take and whether If they're going to get some kind of long term reward for their efforts. We're already seeing the case now where the risk was never worth the reward because they didn't take extra precautions to keep their businesses safe in preparation for a financial or in this case a public health crisis like COVID-19.
While I do still believe in the importance of human congregation in these challenging times we're in right now, it's hard to make an argument that the public social impact it's made within Tabletop Gaming was a less enjoyable experience than Triple A Video Games / eSports in general. The only reason why it would be less enjoyable is because people didn't want to put in the effort to make it possible or that the Pay-to-Win / Loot Crate aspect to keep it going just wasn't affordable anymore for most people. Video Games originally didn't require actual money to upgrade people with when all that changed when companies started to monetize consumers (DLCs / Micro-transactions) because they were old enough to afford the costs compared to how young they were back then where they couldn't. I guess my point is that there's still going to be people who are wanting that "fix" when it could've otherwise led them down a path of drug abuse and alcohol addiction leading to more serious health issues (not excluding COVID-19 but you get the point).
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I don't mean to sound preachy here but I've recently come to the realization that we REALLY need to stop living in a material mindset and more on an eternal mindset when it comes to how we view the world and our own personal environment because If we don't then we end up destroying ourselves through the excessive monetization of our own selfish gaming hobbies that's been a HUGE burden to LGS owners and employees who are really just looking for money to retire on instead of providing a lifestyle for everyone else at the expense of their own misery.
Shhh, Capitalism wouldn't like to hear you say that.
A lot of times passion gets in the way of what people truly want in life where they don't often think of the risks they take and whether If they're going to get some kind of long term reward for their efforts. We're already seeing the case now where the risk was never worth the reward because they didn't take extra precautions to keep their businesses safe in preparation for a financial or in this case a public health crisis like COVID-19.
Well, that presupposes that those risks were taken for longterm gain. For many small businesses, sometimes risky decisions are the only gambit you have left to get through a month and stuck between a rock and a hard place, you take the best of limited options. Extra precautions are systemically limited for a lot of small businesses, and the sad fact is that many businesses fail regardless of the decisions made by owners. And that was before the pandemic, the current situation will decimate small businesses, LGSes included.
I guess my point is that there's still going to be people who are wanting that "fix" when it could've otherwise led them down a path of drug abuse and alcohol addiction leading to more serious health issues (not excluding COVID-19 but you get the point).
Okay? I don't understand how this intersects with covid-19 and LGSes, though.
Well, this seems like it went way off-topic.
Hey, I don't live in the USA, I live in Australia, we might even be able to do instore events in about 3 weeks when our lockdown fully ends (Provided this partial unlock goes well).
I am trying to work out how I am going to decide to obtain Ikoria. I want paper cards for my Peasant Cube, normally I just get the required cards from drafting for a few weeks but I have no paper drafts available. Then due to living in the middle of nowhere shipping costs a ton so if there is an online order we typically collect multiple peoples orders together to get what we need.
Update: We unlock June 6th :), I ordered two prerelease packs from my LGS. I'll go flip through the singles. I am not certain if there will be a place to play though since there is still space requirements and not a lot of space in the store. Might go across the road to the hot chocolate store to play.
Well, this seems like it went way off-topic.
Hey, I don't live in the USA, I live in Australia, we might even be able to do instore events in about 3 weeks when our lockdown fully ends (Provided this partial unlock goes well).
I am trying to work out how I am going to decide to obtain Ikoria. I want paper cards for my Peasant Cube, normally I just get the required cards from drafting for a few weeks but I have no paper drafts available. Then due to living in the middle of nowhere shipping costs a ton so if there is an online order we typically collect multiple peoples orders together to get what we need.
Update: We unlock June 6th :), I ordered two prerelease packs from my LGS. I'll go flip through the singles. I am not certain if there will be a place to play though since there is still space requirements and not a lot of space in the store. Might go across the road to the hot chocolate store to play.
Oof, best of luck. Wear your mask, bring wipes/hand sani, do all the things recommended to keep yourself and others safe. Do you have a plan for social distancing?
Oof, best of luck. Wear your mask, bring wipes/hand sani, do all the things recommended to keep yourself and others safe. Do you have a plan for social distancing?
Things are actually super under control atm. Under 600 cases total. We got down to just two cases but then a plague ship turned up last week but they are all in quarantine. Reminder... I live in the middle of nowhere. Basically there is no community spread everyone with it is in quaratine.
I'll bring hand sani but masks are only for people who are sick.
Oof, best of luck. Wear your mask, bring wipes/hand sani, do all the things recommended to keep yourself and others safe. Do you have a plan for social distancing?
Things are actually super under control atm. Under 600 cases total. We got down to just two cases but then a plague ship turned up last week but they are all in quarantine. Reminder... I live in the middle of nowhere. Basically there is no community spread everyone with it is in quaratine.
"Under control" can become an outbreak easily. A province here in Canada recently celebrated no cases, then a single person tested positive after exposing over 100 people. A person at the infamous pool party on Memorial Day at Lake of the Ozarks in America, a person has since tested positive and everyone there was exposed. The major outbreak in New Rochelle in New York State of almost 3000 people began with a single person. It only takes one person to trigger an outbreak, and being in the middle of nowhere isn't as much of a protection as you may think. For instance, the province of Saskatchewan in Canada is sparsely population with a few cities and it's northern region (with no cities and a number of disparate small communities) has the most cases of any region in the province.
I'm glad you feel your region has the pandemic under control, and it's important to keeping things under control that reasonable precautions are taken - especially as things reopen. What we've seen in many places reopening has been a trend of some people behaving as though there is no risk at all and behaving in ways that are ultimately reckless for themselves and those around them. Take no chances, keep yourself safe.
I'll bring hand sani but masks are only for people who are sick.
No, masks are for everyone. Both because it's possible to spread the virus while a/presymptomatic and because it's just a basic sign of respect. My mask protects others and their masks protect me. Masks are especially vital in indoor spaces where contact with other people is common and social distancing is challenging.
please keep discussion related to the impact on LGSs and Magic. Please try and avoid discussion on covid outside of its impact on MtG related subjects-Motleyslayer
Depends on what their donors want, really. Democrats in Congress haven't exactly been the #Resistance figures they purport to be and have voted in favor of Trump's agenda numerous times (largely where Democratic donors and Republican donors have aligned goals). And it is in line with neoliberalism to break an aspect of the public sector so that the private market can "fix" it. It's literally McKinsey's claim to fame and that's who current national darling Andrew Cuomo has tapped to develop his "Trump-proof" economic reopening plan for New York so it's not like McKinsey and their tactics aren't still valued by Democratic politicians. I wouldn't say never when it comes to Democrats going along with Republican projects to chip away at public services to enrich private businesses. But that's a tangent for another day.
Even if LGSs have shipping, this pandemic will still be the death of most of them regardless. Tens of millions are unemployed in America alone, discretionary spending is going to be way down through Q2 and Q3 at least. I saw an article this morning about luxury brands in a mild panic because of it. MtG isn't quite Cartier or Lexus, but it is a luxury product and sales are just going to be down. WotC likely has in depth demographic data about its consumers, so they may have a more accurate idea of how much of its base is economically disadvantaged by the pandemic, but I would expect it to be a significant portion. Hell, I still have my job but I'm not buying anything from Ikoria/Commander for the time being because I wouldn't be able to play anyway.
It remains to be seen how much the damage will be, but even a 5-10% dip could be a disaster for many LGSs. I'm not sure how analogous it is, but I used to manage in hotels and restaurants and not a one of them could have survived more than a few months of 5-10% decreases in sales (for reference, a decent average profit margin for restaurants is 3-5% and hotels 6-14% give or take though much higher outliers exist for both). I don't imagine LGSs have profit margins much higher than that, but somebody with more experience can feel free to correct me.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
I still have my job working at a grocery store chain for 17 years as a sacker / utility worker making $200 every two weeks plus with hazard pay I'm getting extra income. I only work 5 days a week during a 4 hour shift while I'm now stuck on cleaning duty and sometimes carts whenever I get the opportunity. It's been pretty rough compared to what I'm used to doing which is sacking but the set schedule I've acquired for myself without having to work during the weekends has been a real blessing for me that I'm thankful for. I don't get to socialize with my co-workers as much as I did when I used to go to my LGSs during the weekends but that's to be expected I guess. The weird thing about my LGS experience leading up to the pandemic is that despite all the negativity surrounding the culture that everyone's talked about for the last 5 years is that I didn't feel a real sense of closure like I did when I quit Yu-Gi-Oh! back in 2004. There's just something about the community that you don't get from Digital that will be deeply missed similar to how I felt when North American Amusement Arcades went out of business in the late 90's and early to mid 2000's. Sure there's Dave & Busters but it's not the same.
Maybe I'm just getting old as kids these days have already decided the fate of the LGS by going digital exclusively. I wouldn't be surprised at this point yet it's sad just thinking about the positive aspects of the LGS experience that they've already chosen to miss out on. Every generation blames the one before after all so I guess that's to be expected. I fear a Post COVID-19 society where social gatherings become extinct and self isolation will forever be the new normal regardless of whether or not If a vaccine is found. It almost feels as though this pandemic was a ploy to push older millennials into a digital space because the younger millennials don't find the positive aspects of the LGS experience let alone social gatherings for that matter all the worth while. They were raised under a different mindset compared to how I was raised growing up as a young teenager because society didn't treat them as fairly in regards to what goes on in pop culture. The Internet has made that extremely difficult in some ways compared to how it was with Cable Television's draw of being able to captivate audiences better. Something about this pandemic still makes me feel uncomfortable.
What people don't realize about the Coronavirus Pandemic is whether or not Local Game Stores (LGSs) will have the sufficient funds from the government to help weather the storm they're in. There's a lot of big businesses who are trying to profit off of this pandemic by siphoning money they don't really need that could've gone to Local Game Stores (LGSs) who are already financially struggling. Then of course there's the issue with landlords and having to constantly pay rent at a time when most Local Game Stores (LGSs) are unable to stay open due to the pandemic. If you're a Local Game Store (LGS) owner, forced to close your business temporarily, and you have a lease on your property then the money you owe your landlord isn't going to go away. It's only going to accumulate the more the lock down lasts especially when it comes to rent. So these owners are left with only two choices: Either they stay open to continue paying their employees; or they close temporarily in which their employees don't receive pay just to open back up again to pay rent while owing their landlord money they don't have. Thus the owners are forced to file for bankruptcy and liquidate.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
https://icv2.com/articles/columns/view/45643/rolling-initiative-covid-19-its-effect-game-store-model
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I would argue that gaming is critically essential (for mental health), as much as, if not more so than access to liquor stores which literally sell a harmful carcinogenic substance that only increases the odds of illness and premature death, and have remained open (at least in Canada) throughout this entire ordeal. Even SQDC (weed) stores in Quebec are classified as an "essential" service. How ironic for something which was illegal less than two years ago!
Case in point: Humanity is best defined by the games we play, and more accurately by how we play them.
Life is full of: players, competition, adversaries, teams, zones (each with their own sets of rules), cheaters, resources, trade, timing restrictions, winners, and losers.
In essence, gaming is in our nature, everywhere in society, and an integral part of our very existence.
I used to be a demigod, but now I'm an omnimage
Alcohol and marijuana are deemed essential because of their medical implications (alcoholic withdrawals and medical marijuana, essentially) and the concerns that closing those stores would result in people going to hospitals when they otherwise wouldn't have. I'm less convinced on pot stores being essential when I think online orders would suffice (alcohol I get because homeless and impoverished populations tend to have higher rates of alcoholism and they are unlikely to have access to the means of online delivery), but I at least understand why it's deemed essential.
Your assertion that gaming is essential (if not more essential than booze or pot) was a valiant effort, but ultimately unconvincing from a public health standpoint. My organization literally has gaming programs for kids to promote better mental health and I'm still unconvinced. There are ways to utilize gaming in a covid-safe way that will still benefit mental health, and because those options readily exist, gaming stores (which would pose a risk to infection rates, one that would need to be weighed against potential benefits) really just can't be justified as essential. When mental health services facilities themselves are closing physical locations and delivering mental health supports in other ways, I'm not sure gaming stores have a leg to stand on.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
I think most people are waking up to the reality of just how fragile the world really is and how a global crisis or natural disaster can change peoples' lives forever in an instant. Guess it also proves just how predatory the Secondary Market for a lot of Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games really are and why it should potentially be branded as an illegal form of gambling especially for minors. The problem is that there really hasn't been a strong enough case against the whole pay-to-win loot crate issue surrounding Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games where most politicians only go after Video Games instead. They don't have enough information on the issue itself to really tackle it head on as it will probably be years before something is actually done. The bigger issue right now is how we get things remotely normal after the pandemic as well as trying to ease tensions with China because of what has already transpired.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
They haven't cornered the market on "predatory". Media and politicians are the worst. Their true colors are showing at this time.
Paper Magic will survive. People are going to get back together, its human nature. It will suffer a contraction but it will still be there. As bad as elements in Humanity are at times there is even greater good that comes from it. People have and will always make a difference. Its up to us to make that difference and make that difference for what is right. Wait and see, my post will likely get attacked for being positive, or being too naive, or blah blah blah. Hang in there my friend.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
If anything I think the "stay at home" order is making it more difficult for people to sell their MTG collections to LGSs especially since they can only buylist cards through the mail and it has to go through some kind of appraisal by the LGS before you get your money back from it. If Wizards of the Coast hadn't got rid of the MSRP for MTG products by bending the knee to Amazon then there's a good chance that LGS owners wouldn't of been forced to price gouge the Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition products in order to stay in business.
This was a deliberate move on Wizards of the Coast's part to make LGSs look bad compared to big box retailers like Walmart and Target as well as online retailers with Amazon being the monopoly they are. All it took was for a Black Swan Event like COVID-19 to occur by amplifying Wizards of the Coast's attempt to do away with LGSs for good so they can continue to focus more on Arena and MTGO despite what Mark Rosewater says. As mentioned earlier, 2020 has been a year where corporations and businesses are really showing their true colors and Wizards of the Coast is no exception.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
This is the exact reason why my WPN store is not taking part in the FNM@Home events. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed, but I fully understand why they don't want to do it and it helps cut the sting a bit when all the prizes are cosmetic anyways (I refuse to spend money on MTGA cosmetics).
I don't agree with the first part of that comment. LGSes have greater overhead so their typical offerings for card X will be on the low end or even lower. The advantage is you can easily haggle higher prices or whatever to negotiate higher premiums. Sellers have all sorts of other avenues to sell of their cards via eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, or online merchants. These avenues each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Can't argue the last point.
Well... yes and no. Paper is too much of a cash cow to completely do away with the format. I don't believe that MTGA and MTGO are where they need to be to completely get rid of paper. For WotC/Hasbro, this is more like icing on a cake, not the cake itself.
To understand where MTG might be headed, compare the My Little Pony, Transformers, D&D, Nerf, and the recent Ikoria Godzilla cards with the hundreds of Monopoly IP variations introduced since Hasbro bought Parker Bros. Not counting the war time versions, Monopoly really only had two significant versions for sale. Looking at the list, it appears that Hasbro has introduced something on the order of 50 (my calculations may be off) different versions of the game each year since acquiring the IP. There are only a handful or two of digital versions of the game. This is not counting the Monopoly licensing such as for McDonalds and the weird city variations.
MTG isn't going to die, but we are seeing a (horrendous) transformation into something Monopoly-Like by Hasbro as long as Hasbro controls WotC. It doesn't seem like the Planeswalkers thing is working out like how Hasbro wants it to, so we're going to see more crossover marketing that will possibly expand into something making Magic barely recognizable. Every time I think about what Hasbro seems to be pushing onto WotC, I'm just reminded of the merchandising scene from Space Balls. "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the game is made. Magic-the T-shirt, Magic-the Coloring Book, Maagic-the Lunch box, Magic-the Breakfast Cereal, Magic-the Flame Thrower. The kids love this one. And last but not least, Jace the doll."
I believe that WotC is treating LGSes like garbage but it's because big box stores and Amazon probably offer better return on the volume. LGSes require a certain amount of support whereas big box stores just want you to hand them product en-masse. If WotC is given any opportunity to cut costs, you can bank they'll do it.
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45691/rolling-initiative-reginas-comicreaders-retail-potential-organized-play-changes
I'm not sure just how strict the guidelines will be for Local Game Stores (LGSs) attempting to re-open their businesses back up during the pandemic though I think it will vary based on state laws and city / province regulations. For example, one of the Local Game Stores (LGSs) in my area that I go to on Saturdays is doing a limited re-opening of their store. In short the retail area and limited amount of gaming space will be available on May 15th. At the time I'm posting this I don't know the full details as that will be discussed later. As for the other Local Game Store I go to on Friday nights which is also primarily a Comic Book Shop, they recently reported that they'll be opening back up on May 15th since they got word from Diamond Comic Distributors that they'll be shipping comic books for them to sell on May 20th. They did warn that dramatic changes can happen without warning since a pandemic has its own way of doing things.
I was a bit shocked but not surprised that most of Magic: the Gathering's competitors aside from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon TCG are struggling financially in terms of sales which went down by 70-90%. Another big reason for this aside from the quarantine is due to the fact that most Local Game Store's don't have as much inventory for these card games as the risk of purchasing singles and flipping these cards for money / store credit isn't worth the reward. The LGS owners and employees don't think these games will stand the test of time especially If you look at the history of discontinued Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games over the last couple decades. It creates a situation for other LGSs to cater to these niche card games that their competition normally doesn't provide for their customers and community.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The problem is that the Online counterparts for these Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are too far behind where the companies behind these games make most of their profits from offline sales as they didn't expect a Black Swan Event of this magnitude to completely disrupt their business model the way it has. So far MTG and Pokémon TCG are the only Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games that have a dedicated online platform as opposed to Yu-Gi-Oh! where Konami recently discontinued their online platform for Duel Links. So far I haven't heard any announcements as to whether If these games will have an eSports presence as far as sanctioned Organized Play and Organized Events go.
So for those of you who don't know what a Black Swan Event is, it's an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black Swan Events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight. So it's always important to assume a Black Swan Event is a possibility, whatever it may be, and to plan accordingly. Nassim Nicholas Taleb went into more detail on this subject matter in his 2007 book, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable". Other examples of Black Swan Events include 9/11, the 2008 Great Recession, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, and Brexit.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
https://icv2.com/articles/columns/view/45750/rolling-initiative-prerelease-suggestion-weekend-sales-report-private-equity-road-bankruptcy
I know this probably sounds crazy to think about but what If the over reliance of private equity funds to pull companies like Toys R Us and J. C. Penney out of bankruptcy is expected to happen with Hasbro? Remember Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast and the reason why there's been a severe lack of quality control lately when it comes to selling new MTG products is because they're trying to milk as much money as possible before reaching their contractual obligation with the parent company they work alongside with. In other words Hasbro is taking advantage of the Toy Industry completely collapsing on itself so that they can become more financially stable as a company long-term. Throwing Wizards of the Coast under the rug is one of their last obligations before pondering how their business model will inevitably change in the near future.
So in this hypothetical scenario, it's going to force Wizards of the Coast to officially discontinue Paper Magic since they no longer have the resources they had when they worked with Hasbro since 1998. Without Hasbro it's going to be a lot harder to get Arena and MTGO to be good enough to replace Paper Magic that appeals to both casual and competitive players alike. I think it will expose a lot of vulnerabilities with Wizards of the Coast as a company that people are going to try to exploit that they previously weren't able to with Hasbro backing them up beforehand. For example, they could be more vulnerable to class action lawsuits that Hasbro's lawyers and attorneys would've effectively prevented these federal cases from going forward. Wizards of the Coast may be forced to furlough or layoff their employees because they don't have the financial backing of Hasbro to help sustain themselves further.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Hey, I don't live in the USA, I live in Australia, we might even be able to do instore events in about 3 weeks when our lockdown fully ends (Provided this partial unlock goes well).
I am trying to work out how I am going to decide to obtain Ikoria. I want paper cards for my Peseant Cube, normally I just get the required cards from drafting for a few weeks but I have no paper drafts available. Then due to living in the middle of nowhere shipping costs a ton so if there is an online order we typically collect multiple peoples orders together to get what we need.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
If they care enough about their local community in the hopes that they'll come back when the quarantine is over then I don't see them liquidating their inventory and filing for bankruptcy. Given the unpredictability of this virus it's really hard to say just how long they'll be able to hold out cause If it's 12-18 months without a treatment or vaccine then there's no way they're going to be able to weather this storm even though they're currently allowed to be open for business. Now If a second outbreak of COVID-19 occurs in the near future then I'd really hate to see non-essential businesses being forced to close back down again after what we've already been through these past couple of months. This would also involve the U.S. Government passing another Stimulus Package to help keep them in business with a second round of Stimulus Checks in the mail.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
For many businesses, the cost of a "false dawn" reopening where they close again in 2-4 months may wind up worse than if they'd just remained closed. That's at least true in Canada, many of my friends' businesses are remaining closed even though early reopenings have already begun because a second closure/reopening cycle would ruin them.
A second wave at this point is virtually inevitable, given what we've already seen in places that reopened, if it even really goes away before that. We'll likely see a small surge in cases throughout the summer because of these ill-advised reopens and then the presumptive second wave in September-November somewhere. I mean, we had over 100,000 new cases just today (half from just the US, Russia, and Brazil) and I think this week saw the record for largest single-day jumps in cases broken twice (the 20th and today - both over 105,000 new cases) so it's not like this is even really calmed down significantly.
Reopened stores are all but guaranteed to be shut down once more when the reopen results in a surge of cases.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Best of luck, the US government seems allergic to actually supporting working class people and small businesses - especially when compared to elsewhere. I have 75% of my employees' salaries covered in addition to $2000/month for four months direct to my staff members who had reduced hours from the closures, it's made it very easy to justify safely remaining closed for all of our in-person work and enabled us to be supported through contracts drying up. The federal government in the US could barely be arsed to toss people $1200 and the stimulus packages probably won't save small businesses.
Small businesses like LGSes in the States? They won't receive the help they need, and many will die off because of it.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
GameStop is already going the way of Blockbuster but mainly due to their lack of good public relations with their customers where as with Blockbuster it was Netflix and Redbox that ultimately did them in. I remember Toys R Us used to run Organized Play events for Pokémon TCG back when Wizards of the Coast used to own the rights for it though I'm not sure If that was the same case for Yu-Gi-Oh! during the late 90's and early 2000's. I didn't get into Pokémon TCG until the late 2000's though I've been itching to get back into it at my LGS with Pokémon Sword & Shield now available on the Switch.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
This is a fair, and realistic, point. We can talk about what the American government is doing to support small businesses and what else they *could* be doing, but at the end of the day they haven'r delivered real supports. Whether it's a lack of political will, a fixation on their donor class supporters, corruption, a lack of perspective, or a failure of priorities (or any combination of those and others), at the end of the day it's not happening an won't for the foreseeable future. So the consequence will be continued business closures, including many LGSes.
I don't know what can realistically be done, aside from buying what you can and supporting your LGS with your money, but a huge number of people are out of work and struggling for food/shelter so it's not like an LGS is top priority for them. I guess there's always contacting your state and local representatives, for whatever good that might do. Some states might be supporting small businesses somehow or could, I'm not sure if that's going on in America but Canadian provinces are putting some supports into action themselves.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
While I do still believe in the importance of human congregation in these challenging times we're in right now, it's hard to make an argument that the public social impact it's made within Tabletop Gaming was a less enjoyable experience than Triple A Video Games / eSports in general. The only reason why it would be less enjoyable is because people didn't want to put in the effort to make it possible or that the Pay-to-Win / Loot Crate aspect to keep it going just wasn't affordable anymore for most people. Video Games originally didn't require actual money to upgrade people with when all that changed when companies started to monetize consumers (DLCs / Micro-transactions) because they were old enough to afford the costs compared to how young they were back then where they couldn't. I guess my point is that there's still going to be people who are wanting that "fix" when it could've otherwise led them down a path of drug abuse and alcohol addiction leading to more serious health issues (not excluding COVID-19 but you get the point).
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Shhh, Capitalism wouldn't like to hear you say that.
Well, that presupposes that those risks were taken for longterm gain. For many small businesses, sometimes risky decisions are the only gambit you have left to get through a month and stuck between a rock and a hard place, you take the best of limited options. Extra precautions are systemically limited for a lot of small businesses, and the sad fact is that many businesses fail regardless of the decisions made by owners. And that was before the pandemic, the current situation will decimate small businesses, LGSes included.
Okay? I don't understand how this intersects with covid-19 and LGSes, though.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
Update: We unlock June 6th :), I ordered two prerelease packs from my LGS. I'll go flip through the singles. I am not certain if there will be a place to play though since there is still space requirements and not a lot of space in the store. Might go across the road to the hot chocolate store to play.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Oof, best of luck. Wear your mask, bring wipes/hand sani, do all the things recommended to keep yourself and others safe. Do you have a plan for social distancing?
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
Things are actually super under control atm. Under 600 cases total. We got down to just two cases but then a plague ship turned up last week but they are all in quarantine. Reminder... I live in the middle of nowhere. Basically there is no community spread everyone with it is in quaratine.
I'll bring hand sani but masks are only for people who are sick.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
"Under control" can become an outbreak easily. A province here in Canada recently celebrated no cases, then a single person tested positive after exposing over 100 people. A person at the infamous pool party on Memorial Day at Lake of the Ozarks in America, a person has since tested positive and everyone there was exposed. The major outbreak in New Rochelle in New York State of almost 3000 people began with a single person. It only takes one person to trigger an outbreak, and being in the middle of nowhere isn't as much of a protection as you may think. For instance, the province of Saskatchewan in Canada is sparsely population with a few cities and it's northern region (with no cities and a number of disparate small communities) has the most cases of any region in the province.
I'm glad you feel your region has the pandemic under control, and it's important to keeping things under control that reasonable precautions are taken - especially as things reopen. What we've seen in many places reopening has been a trend of some people behaving as though there is no risk at all and behaving in ways that are ultimately reckless for themselves and those around them. Take no chances, keep yourself safe.
No, masks are for everyone. Both because it's possible to spread the virus while a/presymptomatic and because it's just a basic sign of respect. My mask protects others and their masks protect me. Masks are especially vital in indoor spaces where contact with other people is common and social distancing is challenging.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains