Victoriana

[doctor_kaos]

So very figuring out Victoriana at the moment. At present I’m really pleased with how we’re doing.  Something I’ve realised is that if you tally up everything you spend on a game, it’s totally impossible to break even.  Seriously, if it’s not a labour of love, then you’ve not got a chance. The rules are really shaping up and the background is

Comments

[sarahlascelles]

"but people are far too used to paying the bare minimum for a game."

Yes, very much so. Its a weekend of entertainment with food and accomodation. Thats not cheap.

[kingandy]

Historically I've paid anywhere between £50 and £100 for fully-catered indoor accommodation (NWO being the high end, maybe a little over actually, and Clockwork Monkey being the lower). So both those estimates sound in the right ballpark...

[kingandy]

"it’s totally impossible to break even"

It's not. However there is a certain scale and frequency that is required in order to break even. I'm thinking of PD - Matt draws a living wage and the business is basically breaking even; I get the impression it would be possible to even turn a profit if he wasn't so dedicated to ploughing all the proceeds back into the game. All it requires is 5-800 people willing to pay £50 six times a year and an enormous crew of unpaid volunteers.

[doctor_kaos]

Ahh, but that enormous crew of unpaid volunteers is the labour of love thing I was talking about.

[bacony]

Plus Matt in fact does not always draw a living wage...

[kingandy]

Has he died?

[doctor_kaos]

Well we’re certainly in the right ball park, maybe a little cheaper than you guys have quoted. Which gives me confidence.

[doctor_kaos]

Well we'll see. I have a damn fine caterer. I know how much the camp and the food is going to cost, it's just working out how much we need for props now :D

[areteus]

One thing to consider about food and accomodation... unless you are also charging for crew you need to make sure that your players pay for at least one crew member each - food, site cost etc. Now, given that you seem to have lots of volunteer crew at the moment and few players, one thing you may want to consider doing is charging crew for the food they will eat. This frees up more of your budget for other things, like costume.

You may also want to think about early booking discounts and a large 'paying on the door' surcharge. The sooner you get money in the bank (and money in the bank = confirmed bookings rather than 'I might comes' which are worthless) the better so this encourages people to book. You can be nice later and waive some or most of the surcharge for people with a good excuse but that should be at your discretion.

[richc]

Would you like the old victoriana videos and guff?

[doctor_kaos]

Please matey, to privateweasel@gmail.com