Warhammer Store Organised Play Pack: in-store gaming "party-in-a-box"

[N1SB]

I'm just sharing pertinent data, not contradicting anyone, but here's the long story short:

Synopsis - for at least our Warhammer Store, it looks like Store Managers are encouraged to hold in-store gaming with some support from Games Workshop HQ via "Organised Play Pack 2022", this generic prepared party-in-a-box.  I think this is something that players...if organised...can ask their Redshirts (maybe FLGSs too) about.

I saw it from a distance, it is real and physical, so to many here it's not news.  It's a printed box with a Necron on the cover.  Opened, I can see:

• A folded poster, looks like for a scoreboard of player rankings, etc.
• Many packs of Secondary Objective cards for players
• Prizes that look like those "employee of the month" glass trophy plaques

I call it a party-in-a-box because it looks exactly like those things with themed paper plates and napkins and cups for a child's birthday party, but in this case, for man-children Warhammer parties, which is every day in a Warhammer Store.  It looks super-generic, can be used for either Tournaments or Campaigns, etc.

The context was our Warhammer Store manager is organising a Crusade (Narrative Play) campaign based on the Badab War.  It seemed this Organised Play Pack was what GW Nottingham corporate HQ gives him by way of support...and it's probably the best type of support, because it's really to encourage player participation.

The only reason I caught a glimpse of it was he was checking the party-in-a-box, cross-referencing it with probably some directions from Corp (like he was checking "so I got the poster scoreboard, check, cards, check...oh the prizes are under here, check check"), but put down everything when a customer needed help as is right & proper for a store manager.  During that time, a group of us kinda peered over the lid.  I don't think anything was confidential, but in case it is, for the record it's because we snuck a peak while the Redshirt was Putting Customer Needs 1st.  It was actually probably disappointing for a Necron player because he saw the Necron cover art, thought it was some new Necron thing.  It also suggests it was made for 9th edition in general because Necrons was half of the starting boxsets, NOT for the upcoming Arks of Money Omen.

(If you're wondering what we looked like peaking in, imagine cats studying a new box for their primary programming: IF i fits, THEN i sits.)

Here's my opinion of this Organised Play Pack as a former Product Manager.  I used to prepare this sort of party-in-a-box.

It's exactly the type of thing I would put together to incentivise partners to promote my product.  I would have them handy to send out as soon as someone asks, "I want to sell your thing, so I need localised brochures and presentation materials, premiums (i.e. free swag), trial CDs, etc."

The party-in-a-box suggests they have stacks of this at Nottingham ready to send out to their 500 Warhammer Stores worldwide because it's very polished.  I felt ashamed of myself, everything was tidy, it didn't have dividers, but it did have that cardboard bumper to secure the contents so they weren't sliding around.  I didn't see any instructions booklet on how to use it, but maybe our Redshirt hid that, or if I made this, it'd be in the form of an email (probably what it was, as he was looking at his laptop screen when going over the contents.)

(I don't know if FLGSs get these, too.  It didn't say "Warhammer Store exclusive", but it said something like "Official Event" or some such.)

The details aren't as important as the sheer existence of this.  It wouldn't exist if GW didn't want to encourage this behaviour.  It's their way of saying, "We give you our FULL support," when all they really give is a party-in-a-box...but it's better than morale support.  Clearly, they want people to use these.

Just sharing, maybe this is a free resource people in their own metas could tap into, because it's the type of thing GW HQ want to give away.